I will never forget my internship with Ruppert Landscape. Over the course of this past summer, I've gained so much knowledge and love within the industry. I will take this information with me throughout this upcoming school year.
I was employed at Ruppert Landscapes, Frederick, in the maintenance division branch. Ruppert Landscape typically targets more HOA properties than large-scale commercial properties. Over the summer I learned that will not always be the case. With Fredericks branch specifically, Ruppert wants to target more commercial properties.
A typical day in the field at Ruppert no matter if it's HOA or commercial consists of mowing, line trimming, pruning, and details. My responsibility on every job site was to line trim. Each crewman had an assigned job on each site to make things easier.
I chose this internship because my previous boss from the City of Frederick had recommended it to me, and it just so happens that his wife was Ruppert's regional manager. Ruppert Landscape gave a more well-rounded educational experience comparatively to Parks and Recreation.
Throughout my internship, I spent most of my time in the field, but I was also able to gain some managerial experience and maintenance experience in our shop. Most of my days in the field as mentioned previously, were spent line trimming, but there were also days I was able to spend learning about and mixing pesticides to apply. Pruning was a huge thing that our managers often stressed. Pruning goes in with “details”. Details are the little things that customers would notice and that would make a difference.
One of my favorite yet tedious tasks while at Ruppert was all of the budget meetings. I loved learning how everything was being operated and accounted for. If there was a meeting being held, I was there. It was just very interesting to me to see how decisions were made when things happened that were completely unaccounted for.
If I had the opportunity, I would absolutely work at Ruppert Landscape again. I love that every day there is something new. Everyone always helped to make sure I was getting all of my questions answered. This internship has confirmed my passion for horticulture and business. I feel that there's a lot of room to grow my career at Ruppert Landscape.
