Internships Open Doors to Careers at Any Age

 An internship can launch a career at any stage of life. On the Bally's Chicago Casino project, internships are opening doors to new trades, new skills and new opportunities for people with different backgrounds and career goals. 

At the Chicago Community Builders Collective (CCBC), we're proud to work alongside subcontractors who invest in the next generation of the construction workforce. Through hands-on experience, mentorship and meaningful project work, interns are contributing to one of the largest projects in Chicago's history while discovering careers they may never have considered. 

Meet three interns whose experiences show that opportunity doesn't have an age limit. 

When Dual Passions Collide 

Kevin Nunn, 18, interned over the summer through Clayco’s “The Possibility Studio – Building the 312,” a workforce development program that introduces young people to construction and related careers through real-world experience and mentorship and highlightsclear pathways into the construction industry. 

Kevin Nunn

When Kevin Nunn talks about his future, he’s thinking light years ahead. The recent CVS High School graduate plans to study astrophysics, an interest sparked by documentaries like Neil deGrasse Tyson’s film on supermassive black holes. His curiosity about the universe sits alongside another passion much closer to the ground: building things with his hands.  

That combination of interests led Kevin to a Clayco internship that placed him with ALL Construction Group on the Bally’s Chicago Casino project, where he served as an assistant safety manager on a major construction site. ALL Construction Group, a certified minority business enterprise (MBE), specializes in large-scale masonry, concrete restoration, and general construction management, giving Kevin a front-row seat to complex, real-world building.  

Twice a week, Kevin arrives on site around 9 a.m. and starts with a safety audit. He walks around the site, checks materials, personal protective equipment (PPE), and overall conditions. He fills out audit forms, then continues circulating, making sure workers stay hydrated, watching for heat or weather risks, and helping decide if or when work needs to pause or end early. 

“Basically, I make sure that everyone on the site is safe throughout the day,” he explains.  

As one of the youngest people on the project, Kevin often must remind experienced tradespeople to put on gloves or goggles—but he says age disappears when safety is on the line. His leadership in high school robotics prepared him well: robotics, he notes, comes with its own sharp edges, flying parts, and strict safety rules.  

“Age doesn’t really matter on a construction site because everyone needs to be safe,” he says.  

Kevin’s detour into construction over the summer was intentional. He says he wants the skills to one day build his own workshop or shed and to understand building beyond what’s in textbooks.  

“Doing this can really give me experience in actual real-world construction instead of just sitting in a classroom learning about it.”  

Whether he’s thinking about black holes or building codes, Kevin is charting a future that blends big ideas with hands-on work—grounded on site, but always looking up. 

Bill Downs

The Spark That Ignited a Career

Gurtz Electric Co., a subcontractor to CCBC on the Bally’s Chicago Casino project, runs a year-round internship program that’s busiest in summer, when about 20 interns are placed across the company. What began as a small program for engineering and architecture students has grown to include interns in accounting, finance, and computer science, with each placement tailored to project needs and the individual’s development. While most summer interns are college students, the program is not limited to them—of the four Gurtz interns who worked on the Bally’s Chicago Casino project this year, two were Millennials.

Bill Downs, 32, learned about Gurtz Electric Co. through a friend who works there. He had earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Western Michigan University but found himself increasingly drawn to the electrical trade after hearing about the day-to-day work. He joined Gurtz as an intern and supported major projects like the Bally’s Chicago Casino. 

On the Building Information Modeling (BIM) side of electrical construction, he helped prepare projects for bidding by reviewing and overlaying blueprints to spot changes and worked closely with the estimating team to keep bid documents accurate.  

“The internship gave me a chance to see how jobs were going to be done,” Bill said. “Once I saw that process, I knew I wanted to be involved in the hands-on work every day.” 

That experience led him to apply to IBEW Local 134, where he was accepted into the apprenticeship program. “I enjoy seeing the work we do to build something from the ground up,” he said. “Every job gives you a sense of gratification because you know you played a part in making it successful.” 

Bill credits Gurtz with helping launch his career: “Gurtz is a great place to work because you’re surrounded by people who are dedicated to what they do and willing to share their knowledge. That kind of support helps you become better at your job every day.”   

He is now building a career as an electrician while continuing his apprenticeship training. 

An Unexpected New Beginning 

Carrie Wright

Carrie Wright, 41, never imagined that an internship at Gurtz Electric Co. would lead to a full-time career in design engineering. With a Master of Design in Designed Objects (MDDO) degree from the School of the Art Institute Chicago, she has explored different ways to apply her design and project management skills. At Gurtz, she found a pathway to design engineering.  

“Turns out, it is a great fit,” Carrie said. “I can apply my skills and experience in design and project management to a new field.”  

From day one, Carrie’s internship was hands-on. Once she completed software training, she joined the BIM team and contributed to live projects like the Bally’s Chicago Casino, supporting takeoff and estimation, compiling data for receptacle plate engraving, and helping resolve coordination clashes using Bluebeam. Working in the Gurtz office, she became increasingly confident navigating project files and collaborating with project managers, BIM staff, and fellow interns. 

“Whenever I had questions, there was always someone willing to help,” she said. “Over time, I learned the workflow, became more independent and gained the confidence to troubleshoot issues on my own.”  

The collaborative, supportive culture and the seriousness of the work reshaped her view of internships. 

“This internship wasn’t about getting coffee or doing busy work. I was able to train on practice project assignments and then contribute to real ones. Working on live projects gave me an honest look at what this career is really like and helped me realize this was the path I wanted to pursue.” 

Now a full-time design engineer at Gurtz Electric Co., Carrie says, “I feel very lucky to work for an employer who is willing to invest in me and my growth. I love contributing to a large team project. Through collaborating with everyone, I learn something new every day.”  

Kevin, Bill and Carrie followed different paths, but each found new opportunities through internships with CCBC partners working on the Bally's Chicago Casino project. Their experiences highlight how workforce development creates lasting value, not only for individuals, but for the future of Chicago's construction industry. 

Whether someone is entering the workforce for the first time or pursuing a new career, internships can open unexpected paths. Through the Bally's Chicago Casino project, CCBC partners are helping people gain practical experience, develop new skills and build careers that will strengthen Chicago's construction workforce for years to come.