A conversation with our Intern, Alexander Bormel: His View from the Construction Site
May 2023
Northstar believes in mentoring and fostering the next generation of talent who are interested in a career in the project management field. As part of our intern/co-op program, we partner with Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and CREST (Commercial Real Estate Success Training), to identify candidates.
In this session, we welcomed Alexander (Alex) Bormel, a junior studying construction management and commercial real estate. We sat down with Alex to get his take on what he has been up to working with our Northstar team. Tell us a little about your background
Hello, my name is Alexander Bormel. I am a Wentworth Institute of Technology student heading into my last semester as a junior studying construction management and commercial real estate. I was adopted from Moscow, Russia, at the age of two and grew up in Potomac, Maryland. I grew up interested in construction and real estate, often watching Property Brothers, HGTV’s House Hunters, and DIY videos on YouTube, leading me to my internship at Northstar. When I wasn’t watching home improvement shows, I was searching through Zillow.
WHAT IS THE GREATEST LESSON YOU’VE LEARNED WITH YOUR CO-OP AT NORTHSTAR?
The most important lesson I learned at Northstar was the importance of enjoying the people you work with. Every day I see the Northstar team excited to come to work and sad to leave because of the people they get to work with which taught me that a positive work environment can make a huge difference. I hope to be as fortunate in my career.
WHAT NEW SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE DID YOU GAIN THROUGH YOUR NORTHSTAR CO-OP?
During my internship at Northstar, I gained skills in building and managing interpersonal relationships with contractors, designing and managing the implementation of a lab storage plan, and becoming more proficient at reviewing and understanding various documents such as RFPs, CDs, and invoices.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE NORTHSTAR CULTURE?
From day one, it was made clear to me that despite the title differences, everyone basically did the same things, i.e., they were all project managers at the end of the day. What this meant to me was that Northstar would be a very safe and collaborative workplace. This for me was confirmed during our first team business meeting when I saw everyone laughing and making jokes during what I initially thought was going to be a boring company update meeting.
I’d like to personally thank, Katie Huckins, John Schena, Janet Tse and Danica Woo for accepting me onto their teams and working so hard to make my experience as great as it was.
I would also like to thank the entire Northstar team for everything they did to make me feel welcome and comfortable throughout my three months with the team.
