Construction management student leaves his mark on campus through internship projects

As the fall semester gets underway, University of Wisconsin-Platteville students are once again filling the hallways of the newly renovated Boebel Hall, but for one student, touring the floors has an extra special meaning. Since May of 2020, UW-Platteville senior Matt Babich, who is double majoring in construction management and construction safety management, has been interning for Miron Construction as a project management intern. Miron Construction is the company responsible for the Boebel Hall remodel and the building of Sesquicentennial Hall – two projects Babich has been heavily involved in.

“There’s no feeling to compare to it,” said Babich, of Sugar Grove, Illinois. “The sense of pride I have; these projects mean a lot to me. I’m having a great time doing it.” 

The ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the re-opening of Boebel Hall took place on Aug. 27. The building underwent a $23.7 million state-funded renovation to improve, expand and update instructional laboratories, preparation and support space, undergraduate research space and a general assignment classroom. Babich called it an exciting day to see faculty, staff, students and community members being guided through the science building.

“It was really neat,” he said. “I got to walk through, and I stopped to talk to a couple of teachers. It was awesome. They had nothing but good things to say about the building. Everyone was talking about how much they loved it. It was really rewarding.”

Throughout the renovation process at Boebel Hall, Babich said he learned how to effectively manage a project. Now he is taking these skills and experience over to the Sesquicentennial Hall job site. 

“My role is similar but elevated,” said Babich. “I’m taking on a lot more responsibility, moving up almost to that project management role versus the internship role. It is still a lot of communication and coordination; I’m working with executives and vice presidents to develop schedules for the building. It’s awesome to take that next step.”

“I’m happy to be back with all my friends and walk past [Boebel Hall] and say I helped with that. It’s special to me. I quite literally made my mark on campus.” – Matt Babich

Babich’s internship is allowing him to see how two entirely different projects are handled. He will be involved in the Sesquicentennial Hall project the entire fall semester. 

“You learn things differently when a building is already standing compared to starting from the ground up,” said Babich. “It’s different questions, from ‘can we take this wall down? Can we open this area up?’ versus ‘how do we get from point A to point B?’”

Between Babich’s hands-on opportunities with Miron Construction and through his lab courses at UW-Platteville, he’s ready to tackle his final collegiate semester. Babich is graduating in December and Miron Construction has offered him a full-time position. Starting in January of 2022, Babich will be a project manager for Miron Construction at its Neenah, Wisconsin, office. For now, Babich is grateful to be on campus engaging with his professors and peers, while finishing up his internship.

“I’m happy to be back with all my friends and walk past [Boebel Hall] and say I helped with that. I’m happy to be back, and I’m excited for one more semester,” he said. “It’s special to me. I quite literally made my mark on campus.”

To learn more about the Boebel Hall renovation, visit https://www.uwplatt.edu/boebel-hall-renovation.

To learn more about Sesquicentennial Hall, visit https://www.uwplatt.edu/sesquicentennial-hall.