Christopher Sean Timmons
Christopher Sean Timmons Jr.
Spotlight: Christopher Sean Timmons Jr., WGI, Kyle Paul Construction
Major: Architectural Engineering
Hometown: Abilene, TX
Clubs: AEI - Architectural Engineer institute
Notes From Christopher
My name is Christopher Sean Timmons Jr. I'm from all around Texas really, I've lived in San Antonio, Austin, Round rock, and Abilene, but I've been living in Arlington for the past 3 years to attend UTA. I am in my third year as an Architectural Engineering major.
What attracted you to Architectural Engineering?
In high school, I was good at science and math, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I didn't really consider college until my junior year of high school. It was then that my love for architecture fully came to fruition with an architectural design class, and I realized it was something that I wanted to pursue. I initially selected my major from the thought of “I like architecture and engineering; I'm going to pick that.” I quickly found that studying architecture in high school and studying architecture in college are both very different things, and I was motivated to change majors initially.
However, I found that it's so much more than just architecture and engineering. This degree has a heavy-handed approach on sustainability, and that's where my passion was driven to, notably by Dr. June Park. I fully believe that with this degree, and a very dedicated individual, they can shift the world of “buildings” into a much more sustainable practice, and this is what was inspired to me by a handful of the amazing professors within this small program.
Tell us about your internship. What organization did you intern with? What did you achieve in your internship?
My first internship/co-op was with Kyle Paul Construction, a custom homes company. In the winter of 2020, I really wanted something to keep me occupied. Most of my friends had joined the military, and I would be in my hometown for a month with next to nothing to do, and I really didn't want to go back to work with Wingstop. For this internship, I taught myself all that I could about the architecture side of Revit within a week to impress what would be my future boss. My boss, the lead drafter, and his boss, the owner, both liked the insight and quality of work that I provided and wanted to keep me for the spring semester. I stayed with that company until May 2022. It was an amazing experience that taught me much more than architectural design. It made a handful of courses much easier because of the knowledge that I had gained involving the construction industry. I left the company to switch gears into the more structural side of my degree.
The images I have included are a handful of my projects that I did with Kyle Paul Construction. The first image is the third house I designed with them. The owners really liked the first iteration and that's what is seen on the final product.
The second house was the company's feature in Parade of Homes, an annual event featuring home builders in the Abilene and Lubbock areas. This house was to be in and out of the design phase ASAP, so that construction could begin. It was my only project for quite some time because of the quick turnaround. Construction was finished just as quickly due to the deadline of the event.
The third home is one of the last houses that I worked on with the company, the owners wanted a Mediterranean style for their design. I spent a lot of time researching aspects of the Mediterranean style, and it paid off in comparison to the end product.
My following internship was with WGI in summer 2022. At this company, I was a structural design intern. I was able to gain knowledge of concrete, steel, and wood frame structures. Most of my time spent there was designing structural details for a wide variety of buildings, such as high rises, parking, podium structures, and residential. One of the most notable projects I worked on at WGI was Contraband Pointe, which was a series of steel-framed structures. I was put onto this project after one of the drafters got sick and could not meet the required deadline, which was three days from when I was assigned it. A majority of the other structural designers and engineers were busy with other projects at the time; because of this, a majority of the work was put onto me and another engineer. He and I worked tirelessly to meet the deadline. However, the fruits of our labor did pay off, and the architects for that project greatly enjoyed the quality of the work that was accomplished, and as such, WGI has received six or seven more of their projects from them since last summer.
The information that I learned from this company made my structural classes a breeze, with every new topic presented I had some prior knowledge. Aside from schoolwork, it made me much better at talking to professionals, which was something I had struggled with. Being able to present yourself as one professional to another is a very valuable skill for progressing in one's career.
What are you doing this summer?
For the summer of 2023, I have decided to go back to WGI, except this time as a structural engineering intern. This round of applications was especially stressful for me since I didn't want to have a gap in my resume before I graduated, and I also have a lease and needed to pay rent. It also didn't help that the buildings market was quite slow at this time; many companies were hiring less interns this summer and the chances of getting a structural engineering internship seemed quite low to me. Even with these circumstances, I was able to secure a few offers due to my work experience, and academic accomplishments. Structural engineering is a very lucrative and stressful field, as I've learned from my colleagues at my previous internship. With, I chose the company that I believed would care about me the most, WGI.
What could your future career be?
When I graduate from UTA I plan to go into structural engineering. However, as I previously mentioned, my passion is for sustainability. While a structural engineer can lightly push for a more sustainable building, the decision is mostly up to the architect, the owner, and most importantly, the budget. That's why I want to start my own practice down the line of my career, and home in on sustainable buildings and construction practices. With the knowledge and insight from this school, and strong sense of dedication and work ethic, I believe it to be entirely possible to bring change and make the construction industry green.
Some of Our Featured Interns
Jorge Arturo Levario-Delagarza interned at Lockheed Martin, NASA, and SpaceX. He majored in mechanical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering.
Kyra Delgado interned at Dunaway. She majored in Civil Engineering
Ashish Jaiswal interned at Meta. He majored in computer science.
Lauren Gomez interned at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. She majored in Biomedical Engineering.
Christopher Sean Timmons interned at the WGI and Kyle Paul Construction. He majored in Architectural Engineering.
Bedford Oyinkro interned at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. He majored in aerospace engineering.
Cindy Cruz-Rodriguez interned at General Motors. She majored in industrial engineering.
Andres Landeros interned at Parker Aerospace. He majored in Mechanical Engineering..
Diganth Prakash interned at Nokia. He majored in Computer Sciance
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Majors
Aerospace Engineering
Architectural Engineering
Biomedical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Construction Management
Electrical Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Resource and Energy Engineering
Software Engineering
Minors
Aerospace Engineering Minor
Biomedical Engineering Minor
Computer Science Minor
Electrical Engineering Minor
Industrial Engineering Minor
Materials Science & Engineering Minor
Mechanical Engineering Minor
Nanotechnology Minor
Nuclear Engineering Minor
Sustainable Engineering Minor