Growing From Within: LPA’s Internship Program

By Jessie Kuhn

Six interns turned LPA professionals reflect on their journeys — and shine a light on how to design a better early career learning experience.

Every summer ushers in a new era of possibility for the lives of burgeoning creatives and LPA Design Studios.

In May, around 20 interns join the firm across its seven studios. Over the course of roughly 20 weeks, they not only have the opportunity to utilize their skills across a variety of integrated disciplines, but each project intentionally offers opportunities to be curious, tenacious, diligent and part of a real team working on real projects.

“We have a program where students are meaningfully exposed to the full breadth of the company,” says LPA CEO and Chief Talent Officer Wendy Rogers, who is passionate about ensuring the internship program’s richness remains consistent — as she, too, started at LPA as an intern. Over the years, she has witnessed how it exponentially builds a better firm over time. “The goal is to be able to attract and retain the best and the brightest. And great talent wants to continue to work with more great talent.”

LPA has long taken a strategic focus on how the internship experience can engage and challenge the next generation. All internships are paid, and students generally work full time throughout the summer, often extending their roles to co-ops or work studies after. Mentorship is critical, and comes from designers, project engineers, project leaders, directors and others. LPA arranges weekly calls with firm leaders, and interns can also benefit from the same tech talks and learning sessions that licensed professionals in the firm enjoy. And, finally, toward the end of the program, everyone takes part in Embark — a full-day workshop for interns and new grads, featuring panels with young professionals and leadership, project site tours and interaction with all of the firm’s disciplines.

Design Director Ozzie Tapia describes the broader experience as figuring out if there’s an alignment of ethos between different students and LPA — an alignment that could forge a future at the firm. “Internships are the beginning of cultivating those relationships,” he says. And Tapia would know — he started as an LPA intern, too.

Interns are often only at LPA for a season or two. But sometimes, there’s alignment. On the following pages, we take a look at the careers of different LPA interns turned professionals. Their stories depart from the “grab the exec team a coffee” mentality that often dominates the corporate world — and just might offer fresh insights into how to design a better internship at large.

In the late ’80s, Wendy Rogers was a student at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. “I honestly just needed a job,” she says with a laugh. “I did not have plans to be here for close to four decades.” At the time, she needed 1,000 working hours in her field as a graduation requirement. She had done other jobs the prior summers at smaller firms. But her mother urged her to ease her commute for the next one, so she zeroed in on Orange County. “I sent a letter to every architecture firm that was in the Yellow Pages there,” she recalls. “I was really lucky when Jim Kelly called me back.”

The longtime LPA leader brought Rogers into the office for an interview and tour, leaving her portfolio on the desks of other key decision-makers as they went along — and he eventually presented her with an internship offer. “I accepted it right away and I started working during school. I still have the offer letter,” says Rogers, noting that back then, earning the required hours for a degree sometimes necessitated working 15–20 hours a week while also juggling regular school duties. “That taught me time management and the discipline of where you strategically spend your time,” she adds.

The internship proved to be a launchpad for the rest of Rogers’ career at LPA, spanning nearly four decades and encompassing many milestones, such as the title of Chief Talent Officer in 2013 and eventually CEO. But it all started with earning the trust of leadership in her intern days to challenge her appropriately. “I was given tremendous responsibility, and it felt like you then had to live up to that,” she says. “And the best part was, I always knew that if I started to get out over my skis, I had people there who were going to help me.” That trust wrapped in support made such an impact on Rogers that it’s driven her to help develop a framework within LPA so the next generation can also benefit from it. Rogers sees each internship as an opportunity to unlock confidence and build knowledge so that everyone can contribute at the highest levels.

Several years ago, one moment set Ayda Abar’s career path in motion. “Wendy Rogers had attended a school lecture one day, and as she was leaving, I worked up the courage to approach her and introduce myself,” recalls Abar, a third-year Cal Poly Pomona student at the time. The conversation resulted in the first of two internships at LPA and, eventually, a job. “We still joke about that day and the importance of that tenacity in all aspects of my life and work.”

Abar wanted to find an internship where she could absorb everything, so the right fit was key. She says she was initially drawn to LPA for its strong design ethos and the belief that good design has a meaningful impact on the people and communities it serves — and she credits the internship program with fostering a positive entry point into the culture of the firm. “It introduces people not only to the work, but the values. There was a strong sense of collaboration, mentorship and a shared belief in creating thoughtful, impactful design.”

Even her initial interview embodied this way of thinking, as she says it felt more like a conversation where she could express her curiosity, thoughts about design and eagerness to learn rather than just feeling like people were looking for the “right” answers that checked all the boxes. In turn, she felt valued as an individual with ideas.

A pivotal project she worked on during her internship was the West Hollywood Aquatic and Recreation Center. Having the opportunity to take part in such a project, even in a small way, created big meaning for Abar as a student. “I was able to build a physical model, take it to the construction site and see it built in real time,” she recalls. Years later, the model is still on display at LPA, serving as a reminder that hard work, eagerness to learn and tenacity pay off.

Although Maya Amyx just joined LPA full time about two years ago, her first interaction with the firm was when she was a freshman studying landscape architecture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. LPA Project Designer Andrew Wickham served on the department’s advisory board, and Amyx didn’t hesitate to volunteer as a student representative. Later that year, she was able to tour LPA’s Sacramento studio, and was hooked. “I remember meeting a very welcoming team and seeing exciting projects that aligned with my favorite parts of landscape architecture,” she says.

When she eventually got an interview for a summer internship, landscape architecture leaders Kari Kikuta and Rich Bienvenu delved into a conversation reminiscing about their career beginnings. It reaffirmed Amyx’s early impressions of LPA — and perhaps showcases how a firm’s people can organically be its best asset in talent recruitment. “I was surprised by how personable they were, even in the middle of an interview,” Amyx says. “It was the perfect introduction to how open and supportive the entire landscape architecture team is.”

As an intern, she wanted to understand the reality of day-to-day work in landscape architecture and how disciplines collaborate, which she says she was able to do in design meetings with architecture and civil engineering professionals. She was also curious to see real-world applications of sustainable design, which she says often felt theoretical in school — and was able to witness it in action through carbon modeling, beneficial planting palettes and more.

As graduation neared, Kikuta called Amyx about a full-time opportunity in the Sacramento studio, where the shared wisdom continues.

“Mentorship seems to be available on every project whenever team members take the time to introduce me to code, construction methods, stormwater techniques and more,” notes Amyx.

Attitude has been key for Nick Arambarri when it comes to his 25-year career. While on summer break from his sophomore year at Cal Poly SLO, a family member told him that the best thing he could do to make his professional aspirations a reality was to get an internship somewhere. As he was on the hunt for a position within an architecture firm, a neighbor tipped him off to LPA.

“But, the only experience I had was cleaning pools and cleaning offices,” Arambarri says. “I interviewed with Jim Kelly. I had no experience and did not get the job.” Instead, he ended up working for a solo practitioner that year. “Fast forward to the next summer … and I did get an internship with LPA.”

After studying in Denmark, he returned to LPA for another summer and later joined the team officially in 2001. With the breadth of work and experience he was able to attain during his internships, he was optimistic that his colleagues knew his capabilities. “That was really important, because when I graduated in 2001, the dot-com bust happened and there were people struggling with employment,” Arambarri says. Design projects were put on hold across the field, and layoffs loomed industry-wide. But because of his internship experience, leadership knew he had CAD skills, and he was able to pivot and evolve his role by picking up Redlines.

“It exposed me to a different part of the firm and different skill sets that I needed,” he says. “It was a reminder to me that you really need to work hard and be flexible.” He also often reminds himself that Kelly didn’t hire him at first — but the LPA leader later ended up becoming the biggest mentor of his career, with the two working closely.

“If you have the right attitude, you can go far,” Arambarri says.

Uncertainty loomed worldwide in 2020 for many young professionals as graduation neared — but Maureen McShane had just secured a full-time job on the LPA electrical team, an opportunity made possible because of the connections she made during her internship the summer prior. “Because of the time and effort LPA put into my growth that summer, I was hopeful to return,” she says. “I felt lucky that I got my foot in the door right before COVID hit.”

McShane, who graduated from Lafayette College, now works in the Austin studio and loves collaborating with different teams. When she was an intern, she realized that integrated design was not explicitly taught at most schools — you have to pick it up in the real world, and there’s a learning curve. So she went into that summer ready to learn. She loved going on site visits and actually seeing the work come to life, and thinks the connections interns make in the program are a strong driver for retention (as is the emphasis on culture and belonging).

Ultimately, her early career experiences impact how she approaches interns now. “I remember there was so much uncertainty back then. I think it has helped me hold space for interns having questions that they may be afraid to ask, and normalizing mistakes and learning curves to hopefully encourage confidence,” she says

The third time was the charm for Ozzie Tapia when it came to finally having an internship experience that felt fulfilling, balanced and full of common ground. Prior to his first summer at LPA, he’d held one internship at a fairly high-profile firm, and another in a smaller setting. Neither had been what he expected, and he wanted more out of the entire experience. “My university, Cal Poly Pomona, happened to have a career fair at the time, and that’s where I met Wendy Rogers,” he recalls. Ready with his résumé and portfolio, Tapia interviewed on the spot, and Rogers shared a book highlighting the firm’s work, which stoked his curiosity. The next day, she invited him for a second interview at the studio, where he met more of the team. “Seeing how people were interacting — the energy and the passion — that really did it for me as a young student,” he says. He ended up interning two summers.

What happened beyond the internship took Tapia by surprise. When he returned to school, the professional dialogue continued. “They would reach out and want to know how my thesis was going. They offered to provide critique and feedback,” he recalls. “That was really cool. It was genuine.” Following the support he received post-internship, Tapia joined LPA after he graduated, which was 22 years ago.

“There’s an overlap of genuine people who care deeply about what design can do, but they genuinely also care for clients,” Tapia says. “There’s a lot of this connective tissue and characteristics that we all share. That’s why I’ve been here my entire professional career.”

Jessie Kuhn is a journalist who has profiled everything from design studios to arts organizations and artisans. A former editor in chief of the design magazines HOW and PRINT, she is currently a marketing and communications director.