When Quest Chester discovered Webcor’s summer internship program, it wasn’t just the prospect of learning from industry experts or contributing to an iconic Webcor project that intrigued him. It was the internship’s simple but meaningful name: project engineer (PE) intern.

“I like to think that it’s a position every engineer should start with,” he says. “The idea of starting out as a full-time  engineer in any field without knowing how to navigate the role or having the appropriate skillsets just doesn’t sit right with me.”

It sounded like the perfect opportunity for the aspiring engineer, who’s currently majoring in electrical engineering at UC Merced. This summer, he’ll be spending his days immersed in Gantt charts and project submittals at UCSF New Hospital at Parnassus Heights (NHPH), a remarkably complex healthcare project being delivered by the HerreroBoldtWebcor (HBW) tri-venture.

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Although Quest will primarily be creating charts illustrating the interior pod schedule, tracking the progress of the bathroom prototypes for the interiors team, and building submittals for the interior mock-ups, he’s prepared to tackle any and all challenges his team throws his way over the next two months.

“To me, that can be literally anything,” Quest says. “You won’t learn otherwise!

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“It’s already clear to me that the engineering grind is very much worth it. I don’t mind how long it takes—watching and learning from all these successful people only motivates me to work harder, earn my degree, pursue more internships, and build new connections.”

The value of networking and nurturing professional relationships was something Quest recognized early in his college career. Three months into his freshman year at UC Merced, he attended the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) National Convention, where he first learned about Webcor and connected with our college recruiters.

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Two months later, he met Project Manager Karen Turcios and Project Director Erik Biczkow at an on-campus Webcor recruiting event. Their introductory conversation quickly led to a dinner invitation, where they discussed Quest’s career aspirations and affinity for engineering. Their evening ended with a second invitation—this time to interview for an upcoming summer internship.

Three months later, Quest was sitting in Webcor’s King Street office with five other PE interns for orientation. He’d officially landed his dream role as a PE intern—and he was ready to hit the ground running.

“Learning how to professionally collaborate with others while seeing a project progress will be a really valuable learning experience,” Quest says. “I haven’t toured the site yet, so I’m excited to eventually explore the project and learn about the work we’re doing firsthand.”

Quest has long been fascinated by the unique influence a city’s built environment has on its overall culture. He’s excited to be part of something so significant in a major city such as San Francisco and looks forward to the hands-on, behind-the-scenes experience he’ll be gaining this summer.

“Merced, San Francisco, and LA are just a few examples of cities Webcor’s impacted through construction,” Quest says. “We’ve helped create different environments to which residents have had to adapt. With adaption comes new behaviors; maybe it’s just my nerd spiel, but it’s cool to think about how different environments Webcor creates change behaviors within these cities. I want to be here when we create these changes and witness the evolution of people’s behavior over the years.”

In addition to analyzing built environments, Quest enjoys wrestling and creating tufted rugs. Despite being vastly different, both activities fill him with a deep sense of joy and satisfaction.

“I wrestled all four years of high school, and I was an All-American wrestler my senior year,” he says. “I still like to compete in tournaments when I can. They’re difficult to find, but when I do, I’m winning!

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“In my peaceful time, I like to create tufted rugs. Choose any image you want—I can make it into a soft, cotton yarn rug.”

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