Behind the scenes of a summer internship at Graniterock

Curious about what it's like to work as a summer intern at Graniterock? 

Tune into this episode of RockTalk the Podcast!
 
Hosted by Ciera Puente, a marketing intern and business major at San Diego State, she chats with fellow interns Rayven Bedolla and Jose Meza Munoz about their roles and experiences this summer. 

Rayven, an environmental services specialist and environmental science major at University of Hawaii Manoa, dives into the world of environmental permits and inspections.
Jose, a construction management major at CSU East Bay, shares what he's learned from the hands-on work and how it translates classroom knowledge into engineering solutions. 

From daily routines to the invaluable lessons learned, this show provides a glimpse of intern life at Graniterock.

We wrap up with what these three enjoy grabbing from the free vending machine at the corporate office. 
Thanks for listening!

Chapters

• 0:06 Interns at Granite Rock Discuss Roles
• 8:50 Interns Discuss Experience at Quarry
• 15:29 Coffee and Chocolate Milk Mix-Up

Transcript

Ciera: 0:06

I don't like hearing my voice. Oh my god, this is quiet. Hello and welcome to Rock Talk, the Podcast. My name is Sierra Puente and I will be your host for today's episode. I just finished my first year at San Diego State as a business major and now I'm the marketing intern here at Granite Rock for the remainder of the summer, and I have two other interns here with me today Raven Bedoya and Jose Meza Munoz. So why don't you guys share what your position is at Granite Rock, what school you go to and what you're in? Raven, we can start with you.

Rayven: 0:40

My name is Raven Bedoya and I am the environmental services specialist intern, so I'm working with the environmental team and then I go to UH Manoa, over on Oahu, and I am also an environmental or science major. So I'm going to be in my senior year, going to graduate in the spring.

Ciera: 0:57

Oh, that's so fun. I know it's so exciting. What about you, jose?

Jose: 1:00

I'm Jose Meza. I'm a construction management major at CUZ East Bay. I'm on my last semester, so I will be graduating this December. I'm working with the construction here the engineering team, with Luis Eddie, and my PM is Martin.

Ciera: 1:13

All right. Yeah, that's great. That's super exciting. Are you guys enjoying your time so far?

Jose: 1:18

Yeah, yeah, coming to an end kind of sad, sadly.

Ciera: 1:21

Yes, yeah. So what is your major at school and how does that correlate with your position here and your studies that you've been doing so far and what you're doing out on job sites, and just in general?

Jose: 1:32

so construction management, it's a little bit of everything. You learn a lot of quantities, soils and everything and I'm basically putting everything into what I'm doing on the field. So all the stuff, underground work, paving everything, learning about quantities, conversions to tonnage a little bit everything and learn that a little bit in school. All the websites we use learn good amount at school. So construction management, it's the overall. It's not. It's almost like civil engineering, but a little bit different.

Ciera: 2:00

Yeah, that's great, and do you see a future in this? Like, are you excited to pursue it in the future? Or yeah, that's great, and do you see a future in this, like, are you excited to pursue it in the future?

Jose: 2:06

or yeah, that's the plan to finish december and see where I end up we'll see, all right what about you, raven.

Rayven: 2:13

I'm an environmental, earth science major and so I've been learning in school about like environmental law and just generally about the earth right. So for my position as an intern with environmental services, sometimes I've been looking at permits and things like that. So it was nice to have that class to actually understand what they're talking about and these things because they can be really confusing sometimes.

Rayven: 2:33

Um, and then a lot of labs that have been helpful too, just to know how strict you have to be, procedures right and yeah, and I've been really liking it like this is a good eye-opener for me knowing that I really did enjoy my major and this is what I want to do with my future.

Ciera: 2:47

Oh, that's awesome. So what does the typical day in your life look like?

Rayven: 2:50

Come to corporate and do some work that I have to do, like I've been working on water treatment system. So I'll work on that a little or other projects that I'm doing for people helping out with that, and then a lot of times we'll go to different sites. So whether that be Watsonville, redwood City or Aromas, just it's really random bounce around whoever has inspections that day, and then the environmental team is just big in, including me. So even if they have to go do, say, a hazmat inspection at Capital, I might not be able to contribute anything or have anything to do, but it's just really nice for me to go along, learn what they're looking for, learn what the process is and just be more familiar about it in the future yeah, that's great.

Ciera: 3:26

I'm sure you're learning a lot of fun stuff. I am, it's been fun yeah. What about you, jose? What does your day in the life look like?

Jose: 3:32

day in the life is, you know, waking up, going to the job site first thing in the morning, checking in with the foreman, checking in collecting tags, checking in on the work if it was keeping up to the schedule, the plan schedule, and then I go to the different job site, which we have two at the moment. We have Alasal and Aroma's going on.

Jose: 3:49

Oh great Aroma's should be finishing up on Saturday, so then I only go to Alasal. Then I come back to the office, check in with my PEs and PMs Right and see if they have anything for me, check the time cards and do a lot of computer work, make calls and you know lunch and then more computer work and go home sounds like a busy day.

Ciera: 4:10

Yeah, that's kind of nice, though keeps you occupied yeah, keeps you occupied, yeah, always doing something yeah, that's great. So obviously, as an intern, a lot of stuff is new. So what are like some big challenges that you've encountered and how have you overcome them so much? I?

Jose: 4:23

haven't really ran into any challenges so far, probably just trying to stay on top of all the stuff I have going on Right, like meetings, and trying to make them on time, like today for example.

Ciera: 4:34

Managing time is hard.

Rayven: 4:35

Probably the challenging part, especially when you have to drive.

Jose: 4:38

Yeah.

Ciera: 4:39

Yeah, and it's new. This is a real job. You know we're working 8 to 5, Monday through Friday.

Jose: 4:52

It's a lot to manage especially with outside social life and other things that you have going on. So, yeah, it's very valid. You have to think about the commuting time so you have to be there an hour you have to manage it yeah, heckle it and come back. Yeah, more stuff yeah, definitely.

Ciera: 4:59

What about you raven?

Rayven: 5:01

I mainly worked at like coffee shops before, so this is total new, totally different thing for me. So this was like my first major specific job and so that was really nice, like I was saying earlier, just actually learning that I really do like this, and so that was really reassuring for me. I haven't encountered much challenges. I wasn't really familiar with Excel or Microsoft at all right, so I've been googling a lot wiki. How is really nice that?

Ciera: 5:23

is so true, I've only used Google stuff up until now, and now I'm using it, like you said, excel, and I'm like, yeah, how do I input another row?

Rayven: 5:32

yes, there's so many little, little things.

Jose: 5:35

There's little things there's like a button for everything I know a lot of tedious stuff. Yeah, yes, that's so true and like the formula stuff.

Ciera: 5:43

Oh, the equal sign it drives me crazy, yes, but that you know. It's great because you'll apply it to different jobs and oh yeah, in the future, yeah who is one of your biggest supporters and someone that you would like to shout out that you work with, maybe on your team or another intern or just other people that you've worked with around at granite rock so I've been working a lot with jackie borges, and so she was an intern prior at granite rock too.

Rayven: 6:11

So she just got hired full-time, like I think, february ish, right. So it's been really nice because she she's been in my shoes before. She works with the environmental team. She actually works biological services, but I've been helping out with some of her projects and so that's been really nice, because sometimes I'm like, oh, should I call? I call them, or should I text them, or oh, should I do this, should I do that? And she's really able to give me guidance because she's been in my shoes before. So that's been, it's been really really nice.

Rayven: 6:36

Like yeah, just to be able to know that someone else gets what I'm going through.

Ciera: 6:41

So that's really nice. No, that's super great for great things about her. Seems like someone that's cool.

Rayven: 6:52

You great things about her. Seems like someone that's fun, she's cool. You have a chit chat with her? Yeah, definitely yeah. So, like josh reed and nikita, they're just very patient teachers, like they're always answering any questions I have and always able to point me in a direction. And if they don't even totally know, they're just like feel it out, I mean, I don't know, you don't know, so you can't make a mistake, like nothing's gonna be wrong. So that's been also really nice, just knowing that they get that I'm learning. Yeah, I'm going to be wrong. So that's been also really nice, just knowing that they get that I'm learning, so I'm going to make mistakes and they're not going to be upset about it.

Ciera: 7:11

So that's been really nice too. Yeah, no, that's great. What about you, jose?

Jose: 7:15

Well, it's not just one over here, probably my team. It'll probably be Luis, eddie and Martin. They've always supported me Always keep me busy Always have always have some stuff to do and we always check up with them and they always give me good points. So let's say, if I do some work, I go check up with them and they're like okay, this is good, maybe fix this, fix that it's always giving me stuff to work on and always fix me yeah, that's awesome.

Ciera: 7:40

Sounds like everyone has some great teams around here, great people to work with, definitely blessed to be in the environment that we're in. What is your guys's favorite part about working for granite rock and I know it's just been a short time working here and you haven't really gotten to delve into the company's culture and everything but just based off of your time, what would you say your favorite part has been so far?

Jose: 8:02

favorite part we have done so far is probably go to the quarry of course that was fun climbing on top.

Ciera: 8:07

I forgot the name of the machine already, but climbing on top I don't know if you guys you guys know the crap I think so yeah, that moves like a little bit by every once in a while yeah, yeah, I went on that one too, that things, we all went on that we all went yeah wait probably that was pretty fun later.

Jose: 8:26

Yeah, I've seen how big it is compared to how you see on google maps oh my gosh.

Ciera: 8:30

Yeah, it looks big, but it's not in person bigger I know because I've never really been around that kind of equipment. Or, like you said, your jobs in the past have just been working in coffee shops. I've just worked in restaurants as like a busser, so I've never really seen anything anything like this. So it's just such a cool experience. So what about you? What's your favorite part so far?

Rayven: 8:52

um, I'd probably say the people. Yeah, I'm a big talker, so, like, just everyone is so friendly and so helpful and so nice and, yeah, like I said, sometimes going to job sites, sometimes I might go up by myself and I don't know where to go or I don't know who I should be talking to, and everyone's so helpful, willing to put me in the right direction, actually walk me over there. So that's been, it's been amazing. It makes a world of a different to come to work and enjoy the people that you're working with and connect with them.

Jose: 9:19

Yeah, for sure yeah, everybody's friendly, always answer your questions.

Ciera: 9:23

If you have any questions, yes, yeah and if they don't know the answer, they send it to someone yes, yeah so true yeah, because it's not just your team that you can rely on, it's really anyone in the company if you were to ask them.

Jose: 9:32

Like they're there to help you we're in the construction division and don't know anything about construction. Always ask and they can answer.

Ciera: 9:37

Yeah, definitely so what was your guys reaction to seeing the quarry for the first time? You know it's obviously a huge area. You know it's not something that you've kind of pictured before.

Rayven: 9:48

I'd probably say I was just amazed, and it was. You always see quarries and movies and things like that, like old ones and stuff. So it was cool to see one that's actually active and it was just amazing, I don't know. I we always see granite just everywhere, but what it? Looks like when you dig it out and blow it up.

Ciera: 10:04

It's just, it's so cool you know, driving and being out, I see granite rock trucks all the time and you know, before I swear I never saw them. It wasn't on my mind. Now I see at least two or three a day when I'm driving around. I'm like kind of crazy, yeah. I'm like hey, and I know you said, uh, the crop was like your favorite part so far and being able to go and see all that. But is there anything else about the quarry that?

Jose: 10:24

probably when we're going driving down the hill. You know we're all in the bus and you just see how big it is going into the pit, yeah, and you know, to being 200 feet below sea level, that's crazy too.

Ciera: 10:35

It is so crazy, it's so surreal, just like looking up and, of course, being seeing the big dump trucks.

Jose: 10:40

Those are, yeah humongous if you stand right next to the wheel, definitely different size yeah and all the testing. Like you can probably see, they had some um sieve tests separating the rocks oh yeah, so the bigger rocks would go to one side and the smaller rocks will go into the sieve yeah and I forgot the name. What is it called, but the?

Rayven: 11:00

oh, the conveyor belt.

Jose: 11:01

The conveyor belt, yeah, one of the dollar bills, yeah one of the oldest conveyor belts in longest yeah north and things something like that something like that.

Ciera: 11:10

It's crazy, yeah, crazy stuff out here.

Jose: 11:14

Yeah, a lot of stuff. The company has been here for many years, so there's a lot of yeah, yeah, you gotta have it yeah it's the best good stuff, yeah yeah, for sure, jose, you're working, uh, aromas right now.

Ciera: 11:26

And what is your work out there? What have you been doing?

Jose: 11:29

so when I first got here, the job just started. So we're doing a bunch of eda ramps, so some concrete work which is rebar, and you know point some concrete on top, some layouts and stuff like that. So I was out there taking pictures, you know, checking out the forum and seeing what's going on, taking quantities because you know we didn't measure the length, depth and width to find how much tons of concrete we need oh, okay yeah, and after that we started doing some grinding work, which was last week some grinding, grinding some road, and then this week we're doing some paving okay, yeah, that's super great those plans.

Jose: 12:04

I had to do some layouts on the plans. Do some quantity takeoffs and etc sounds like fun.

Ciera: 12:10

So how do you see granite rock working in the aromas community and how do you see that kind of implement in there?

Jose: 12:17

well, I know aromas. The roads were pretty old, especially the aromas road. Aromas road that leads into the quarry. That's one of the most driven roads so it has a lot of potholes. It's pretty bad. Fixing it, it's going to help us out and also the community out, so they don't crack a ram or something. Yeah, exactly. It would cost more expensive to the community.

Ciera: 12:35

Yeah, and with the ADA ramps, those are also great yeah especially if anybody's on a wheelchair and everything they can use those and get around the aroma, since they didn't have any ramps, sidewalks or anything. Yeah, for sure. No, that's great. If you guys had to choose any equipment to drive from the quarry or just like anything that you've seen, what would you choose?

Rayven: 12:58

Cat 992 loader.

Ciera: 13:00

I asked Josh this I was like what are those?

Rayven: 13:02

super big loaders that they use down in the pit and he was like what are those super big loaders that they use?

Jose: 13:10

down in the pit and he was like I'm pretty sure that's the serial thing for it, or the.

Rayven: 13:12

What is it the equipment thing? I don't know equipment number and or like the manufacturer, like what it's called by the manufacturer and then also, I think, the the type of engine oh okay, yeah, whatever those super, super big ones the choir work like look like it could lift up like a house or something.

Jose: 13:24

Yes, there's some big equipment out there that can lift some heavy stuff yeah, those big letters and then those small ones can't really lift anything it's intimidating out there.

Rayven: 13:33

Maybe they could get like three of us on those tiny ones and what about you?

Ciera: 13:38

what's your favorite piece equipment?

Jose: 13:39

probably, like I said earlier, probably the dump truck. Oh yeah, that's pretty humongous. You can't drive those on the road. They're not legal, only in the quarry allowed oh, wow you can't take those out at all and they're pretty big, so I can only imagine just trying to drive it and see the difference yeah difference when you're driving it compared to your regular car.

Ciera: 13:58

No, it's so crazy to see all that kind of stuff.

Rayven: 14:00

It is different and, like the guys and the people that drive them, they must be so excited like there's so many, so much room for error. Yeah, and so they have to be on their toes all the time, yeah.

Ciera: 14:10

Just being aware of your surroundings and being safe, yes safety first, safety before all always and probably.

Jose: 14:17

I don't even know if they do have backup cameras. I don't think so I don't think so they all have to do manually back it up and stuff like that, compared to how it is right now.

Ciera: 14:24

All the cars have backup cameras yeah, definitely thank god for the backup alarms, though oh yeah, oh yeah a lot of people know. Okay, final question you guys. This is really important, since you guys both work at the corporate office. What is your favorite snack to choose from the vending machine, or drink?

Rayven: 14:43

I always get the fig bar in the morning yes and I used to get. I think they were like we're just like a worse version from school. They would give us like and it was the fig bars, but these ones are a lot better yeah, yeah, free vending machines.

Ciera: 14:56

I mean you gotta get the yummy snacks, oh yeah, and then the sparkling waters.

Jose: 14:59

They always have so many flavors so I'm like, oh perfect, yeah, whichever one I'm feeling today, yeah, that's great my third thing that I usually always get, especially when I don't have breakfast and I forget my own protein shakes. So probably the protein shakes in there, yeah, yeah, yeah later on, probably for lunch, I usually get a bag of chips yeah, my favorite is the chocolate milk I haven't tried it yet.

Rayven: 15:18

You have to try the chocolate milk. I'm also lactose intolerant, so I'm a little hesitant. I'm a little scared it's so good.

Ciera: 15:23

Sometimes I'll get the coffee, because you know they have little coffee things, and I'll pour a little bit of the chocolate milk in there.

Jose: 15:28

Oh yeah, that's pretty good. So casey recommended that. Shout out to casey. She told me to yeah, try the chocolate milk and pour on top of the coffee yes, it makes it good.

Rayven: 15:36

It's like a little mocha okay, you guys talk about after this.

Jose: 15:40

I'm gonna go pour a little of coffee, a little bit of chocolate milk in there. Yeah, a little bit of protein shake and it's good.

Ciera: 15:45

Sweet, that's great, all right. Well, thank you for coming on. Rock Talk, the podcast for the intern edition. This was great to have you guys here and I hope you have a great rest of your summer interning at Granite Rock and we hope to see you again next summer. Fingers crossed.