For those studying building construction at Virginia Tech, students could decide specific tracks to follow. Andrew took the path of VDC/BIM, aligning himself with the tech side of the industry. He was able to gain his most decisive internship his junior year after attending the MCAA GreatFutures Forum. After meeting the W.E. Bowers team at the GFF19 Job Fair, he was offered an internship and then eventually a full-time offer as he continued working throughout his senior year. He has been at Bowers ever since graduating in 2021. He was originally hired to essentially assist with R&D on new and innovative software acquired by the company, but that they hadn’t had the chance to fully dive into yet. However, with an intern they were able to focus on their usual work and responsibilities, while the intern had the time to learn all there is to know about new software. The leadership team could then decide whether it was a right fit for the company or not. Slowly, as more software got introduced and others were shelved, his experience and understanding of what was best for the company grew, along with his roster of software and tools. Along this journey, Bowers slowly transitioned to creating solutions in-house, realizing that finding something to perfectly fit their needs and goals would not be as easy as just buying one off the shelf. As a result, Andrew’s role naturally shifted to one of an App Developer/Data Analyst. The scope of work he has accrued over the 4 years includes: training co-workers, managing fabrication tracking software, laser scanning, creating PowerBI dashboards, Microsoft/sql database management, and app development through low-code platforms.
During Andrew’s time as a Student Chapter Member at Virginia Tech, he served as Vice President for two years and participated in the student chapter competition both his junior and senior years. His final year, the team took 2nd place overall in the competition.