Helten’s Summer Internship Extra Meaningful
Aug 12, 2022 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
As Kansas State football continues to grow with the ongoing construction of its new indoor practice facility, one of the program's student-athletes received an opportunity for personal growth as he nears graduation.
K-State senior linebacker Thomas Helten, who will graduate with a degree in construction science and management in December, served as an intern with GE Johnson Construction Company this summer. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity afforded the native of Garden Plain, Kansas, the chance to further enhance his knowledge of the construction industry while working on a project that will impact football student-athletes for many years.
"For me to be able to have an impact on the indoor practice facility is really cool," Helten said. "When I come back for games, I'm always going to think of the summer that I worked on the project. It's been really cool to be a part of it, and to know that as a K-State fan for life I'll always come back and see it."
Helten interviewed with GE Johnson soon after the completion of football spring workouts and reported to work in early June. He completed his internship when K-State reported to fall camp last Tuesday.
"I'm going to start working full time for a construction company in January and wanted to gain knowledge to help me in the industry," Helten said. "My classmates have already gained a lot of experience through internships. The internship will allow me to better understand conversations in class this semester. All I needed was actual experience."
Helten's internship began with a four-day training session in Colorado Springs, where he received his laptop and necessary software to aid in his internship experience. Once he returned to Manhattan, he gained first-hand knowledge of the duties of a superintendent, project manager, and project engineer, and learned the day-to-day operation of a construction site.
"Obviously, we were given our own tasks as well," he said. "But I learned about all the coordination involved and the conversations and e-mails that must take place on the site. It's very time consuming. I learned all the little things that go into such a big project. There's way more involved than most people would think.
"Honestly, I've been surprised by the number of meetings — three to four meetings per day — the logistics, and all the moving parts on the site and how much goes into one little task — all the communication. This is big stuff. Everything must be perfect because it's millions of dollars and everybody has to be on the same page."
Helten spent much of his time with a pair of project engineers — recent K-State graduates Randal Chushuk and Tanner Hughes. Helten knows that he'll begin his career as a project engineer, so he soaked up as much knowledge as possible each day.
One day, Helten helped move fence, and another day he helped pump rainwater from inside the skeleton of the indoor practice facility to keep the construction area as dry as possible. Sometimes, he inspected freshly poured concrete, and documented any potential glitches within the site to share with his superiors. The list of duties spiraled all the way to ensuring that the steel used on the project was straight.
"So, there was some quality control," he said. "We were also in charge of some hazard recognition to make sure there were no hazards. We made sure everybody was working in safe conditions. We did a little bit of everything."
As for a typical day?
"One day we basically went straight out and pumped all the water from inside the indoor facility into the storm drain," he said. "Then I completed some duties on the computer and responded to some e-mails, and then I left at 1:30 p.m. to head to the Vanier Family Football Complex for strength and conditioning for football."
One extra perk potentially directly impacts the K-State football program.
"We got some hard hats, safety glasses, and gloves ready for some recruits that were going to tour the facility," he said. "The project is helping a lot with recruiting. People get more and more impressed as the indoor practice facility grows bigger and bigger. From a distance, it looks pretty big, but once you're inside, you realize how big it really is, and how cool it's going to be."
Helten might see his worlds collide late this fall.
"Ideally, I'll be practicing in there in late November or early December," he said. "It's going to be really cool once we start practicing in there, and to think back about all the different stages of the project. We'll be able to enjoy the finished masterpiece every day.
"Just knowing all the stress and man hours involved will allow me to appreciate the facility more than anyone, I think."
As Kansas State football continues to grow with the ongoing construction of its new indoor practice facility, one of the program's student-athletes received an opportunity for personal growth as he nears graduation.
K-State senior linebacker Thomas Helten, who will graduate with a degree in construction science and management in December, served as an intern with GE Johnson Construction Company this summer. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity afforded the native of Garden Plain, Kansas, the chance to further enhance his knowledge of the construction industry while working on a project that will impact football student-athletes for many years.
"For me to be able to have an impact on the indoor practice facility is really cool," Helten said. "When I come back for games, I'm always going to think of the summer that I worked on the project. It's been really cool to be a part of it, and to know that as a K-State fan for life I'll always come back and see it."
Helten interviewed with GE Johnson soon after the completion of football spring workouts and reported to work in early June. He completed his internship when K-State reported to fall camp last Tuesday.
"I'm going to start working full time for a construction company in January and wanted to gain knowledge to help me in the industry," Helten said. "My classmates have already gained a lot of experience through internships. The internship will allow me to better understand conversations in class this semester. All I needed was actual experience."
Helten's internship began with a four-day training session in Colorado Springs, where he received his laptop and necessary software to aid in his internship experience. Once he returned to Manhattan, he gained first-hand knowledge of the duties of a superintendent, project manager, and project engineer, and learned the day-to-day operation of a construction site.
"Obviously, we were given our own tasks as well," he said. "But I learned about all the coordination involved and the conversations and e-mails that must take place on the site. It's very time consuming. I learned all the little things that go into such a big project. There's way more involved than most people would think.
"Honestly, I've been surprised by the number of meetings — three to four meetings per day — the logistics, and all the moving parts on the site and how much goes into one little task — all the communication. This is big stuff. Everything must be perfect because it's millions of dollars and everybody has to be on the same page."
Helten spent much of his time with a pair of project engineers — recent K-State graduates Randal Chushuk and Tanner Hughes. Helten knows that he'll begin his career as a project engineer, so he soaked up as much knowledge as possible each day.
One day, Helten helped move fence, and another day he helped pump rainwater from inside the skeleton of the indoor practice facility to keep the construction area as dry as possible. Sometimes, he inspected freshly poured concrete, and documented any potential glitches within the site to share with his superiors. The list of duties spiraled all the way to ensuring that the steel used on the project was straight.
"So, there was some quality control," he said. "We were also in charge of some hazard recognition to make sure there were no hazards. We made sure everybody was working in safe conditions. We did a little bit of everything."
As for a typical day?
"One day we basically went straight out and pumped all the water from inside the indoor facility into the storm drain," he said. "Then I completed some duties on the computer and responded to some e-mails, and then I left at 1:30 p.m. to head to the Vanier Family Football Complex for strength and conditioning for football."
One extra perk potentially directly impacts the K-State football program.
"We got some hard hats, safety glasses, and gloves ready for some recruits that were going to tour the facility," he said. "The project is helping a lot with recruiting. People get more and more impressed as the indoor practice facility grows bigger and bigger. From a distance, it looks pretty big, but once you're inside, you realize how big it really is, and how cool it's going to be."
Helten might see his worlds collide late this fall.
"Ideally, I'll be practicing in there in late November or early December," he said. "It's going to be really cool once we start practicing in there, and to think back about all the different stages of the project. We'll be able to enjoy the finished masterpiece every day.
"Just knowing all the stress and man hours involved will allow me to appreciate the facility more than anyone, I think."
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