Vectorworks is a program that I had very little experience with before my internship, but through nine weeks, I gained a lot of comfort and knowledge in using it. Vectorworks, being CAD software, allowed for full creativity and expertise in designing landscapes. Through my work with Ben Rankin, a certified landscape architect, I engaged in a lot of hands-on work in the field. What set this internship apart was that I placed nearly every plant and marked out every bed that was on the plans. While I placed them with precision, there were also times when the site analysis prior wasn't exactly correct, and I had to make on-site changes.
My name is Nicholas Bradford, and I am from Annapolis, Maryland. I am an Agriculture Business Management Major with the intent to pursue an undergraduate degree in Landscape Architecture through the School of AGNR at the University of Maryland. To prepare for my future studies and to enhance my professional development, I completed an internship with Walnut Hill Landscape Company. Walnut Hill is a design-to-build landscape company located in Annapolis, Maryland, serving the surrounding areas. During this nine-week internship, I worked on landscape architecture design and management.
Throughout the internship, I gained experience in various fields and aspects relevant to a landscape design company. For six weeks, I worked closely with Ben Rankin, who is currently the only landscape architect at the firm. Through my work with him and my role shadowing him during these weeks, I gained the knowledge of how to create a design and implement it from start to finish. An interesting aspect of this process was that we would go directly to the grower to select plants for the larger jobs to ensure they met our quality standards. The other three weeks of the internship involved working with management and the crews. Working with the crews that managed the built landscapes provided me with experience in meeting clients' needs, effective communication, and teamwork to accomplish tasks. Whether it was the small-scale pruning of boxwoods or the weeding of beds, what stood out was that there were always ways to improve and perfect the craft of landscape management.
Working with the company provided me with insight into the professional career of a landscape architect. There were many instances where I met with very high-level and high-profile clients, providing me with an incredible chance to network and establish my name in the field. Throughout my time with Walnut Hill, I gained knowledge and experience on how to cater to clients while also maintaining and improving the environment.
