Westhampton Architectural Glass Offers A Hands-On Internship Program

Westhampton Architectural Glass in Speonk offers a unique internship program where students interested in the craft are offered the opportunity to gain knowledge, exposure and experience.

The company creates glass and aluminum pieces for residential and commercial projects on the East End. The Speonk showroom opened in 2018, when owners Paul Siller and Bob Busking consolidated their three former locations in East Hampton, Westhampton and Flanders.

Interns are directly involved in the process and become familiar with design, engineering, comprehensive drawings and more.

“The bottom line is [this program] is going to really help their education and their growth,” Mr. Siller said.

Westhampton Architectural Glass presently has four interns: Alex Jaquin, a Remsenburg resident and Westhampton Beach High School graduate currently attending SUNY New Paltz; Matthew Menis a Manorville resident and Eastport South Manor grad attending Cornell University; Blake Busking, another Remsenburg resident and WHB grad, now attending Clemson University; and Eric Lehman a Riverhead residnet and Riverhead High School grad now attending Purdue University.

All the interns are passionate about engineering and architecture.

Mr. Lehman said he always knew he was going to pursue a career in this field.

“I’ve always liked to work my hands and build stuff. And I think I kind of got a knack for it,” he said.

Mr. Jaquin was drawn to engineering because of his high school’s robotics program.

“I really liked the design and actually making different stuff and the creativity,” he said.

Mr. Menis’s passion for math and science made engineering a great fit for him.

“A lot of people don’t like math,” he said. They “just see a bunch of numbers on the page and go nuts. I always sort of viewed it more as a puzzle that I’m trying to solve. And it’s always been really interesting to me.”

He also found physics particularly interesting, he said.

“I loved physics,” he said. “It was just so concrete, so real world. And it was just everything I wanted. But I also want to stick with math as well. So I combine physics and math into mechanical engineering.”

The current interns found the program appealing for a variety of reasons. Mr. Jaquin was interested because he enjoyed working with employees who mentored and sponsored his High School robotics team. The company’s unique projects and local location led Mr. Menis to sign up. Mr. Busking and Mr. Lehman were drawn to the multitude of learning opportunities offered.

All four interns said they really enjoy the program.

“It’s truly been very fun. Every day I am coming in excited to come to work. And then the first time I look at my watch, it’s like already 4:30 and time to leave. Time really has flied,” said Mr. Menis. “When I’m here, every day is something new, something fun.”

“I love it. I definitely learned a lot. There’s a lot of hands-on technical experience,” said Mr. Jaquin.

The program allows interns to learn various parts of the trade. They read blueprints, do 3D modeling, make constructing prototypes, sand pieces, work on doors, and more.

“There really is no sort of consistent day to day,” said Mr. Menis.

The program also teaches the interns a variety of valuable skills.

Mr. Jaquin said perseverance is the most significant thing he has learned. “To just keep working through a problem and not being afraid to ask for help if you get stopped and be able to collaborate with other people to get new ideas,” he said.

“I would say the most important thing is learning how to work in a team,” said Mr. Menis. “So getting into a work environment and seeing how dependent my work is on others and vice versa has been really helpful because I don’t expect to work alone in the future. So just knowing how to interact with people and work on projects from start to finish is very helpful.”

Mr. Busking notes the importance of “understanding the different processes and how different people approach it. And everyone’s different.”

The internship program is structured like an old fashioned apprenticeship. Interns work side by side with seasoned employees gaining hands-on experience they may not get in strictly academic settings like a college classroom.

The interns agree there are major differences between the average college course and the program.

“In a college setting, a lot of it is just sitting in a classroom and taking notes or just doing simple planned out labs, where here, I have a lot more freedom to really just get my hands dirty and do a lot of different things,” said Mr. Menis. “I just feel like this is putting me ahead and giving me some real world skills that college wouldn’t have given me.”

Mr. Lehman is currently working on assembling a shower door. He is creating the mock up using computer programming and other machinery. “I feel like I’m getting the whole spectrum and I’m experiencing all of it,” he said.

Mr. Menis is using a device known as the Hilti POS 15/18. It shoots lasers at every significant corner. Then it generates the exact dimensions of where any window or door is going to go. After, it immediately uploads the measurements into an Excel spreadsheet which then can go directly to CAD “to make your design so much easier, so much more efficient,” said Mr. Menis.

Mr. Busking is fabricating different kinds of structures.

Mr. Jaquin is 3-D modeling door details. “We wanted comparison between the previous and the new detail. So we’re able to present that to the homeowner with 3-D renderings so they can see what the change is and why we’re making that change,” he said.

In the past, Mr. Jaquin’s favorite project was 3D printing an automatic door sealing mechanism. “It’ll prevent any water from the ocean or the bay or air from getting into your house” said Mr. Jaquin. This is a big concern for waterfront homes.

All the interns agree that one of the most enjoyable parts of the program is seeing the finished product. It makes it feel like the work you’re doing is of value, said Mr. Lehman. The projects they create span from sliding glass doors to hurricane-resistant windows.

Mr. Busking commended the interns for their tremendous amount of energy, drive and desire. The benefits the program will have for them is unmeasurable, said Mr. Siller. “It’s going to strengthen them regardless of what direction of engineering they decide to go into,” he said.