Familiar Face, New Role: Associate Profile on Project Engineer Parker Jenkins

Even though Parker just started full time at P1 Construction a few weeks ago, his is a familiar face. Having already spent two summers with P1, he is the latest in an ever-growing number of interns who come back to work for P1 full time after graduation.

Parker grew up in the Kansas City area, and during his last year of high school, he was deciding whether to go into engineering or construction management. It was during this time that one of his teachers helped guide him towards Pittsburgh State University (Pitt State) by showing him the construction management program.

“After hearing about the program, I was able to visit the campus and I just knew that was what I wanted to do,” Parker said.

Parker says the Pitt State program is geared toward general contracting. Many of his fellow students wanted to work on big sites for large general contracting (GC) companies, and he started down that path as well.

When his plans to intern for a large GC fell through at the last minute, he contacted one of his professors who oversaw the HVAC program and was the chapter advisor for the Mechanical Contractors Association of Kansas City (MCAKC).

“He convinced me to give mechanical contracting a try and got me in contact with P1,” Parker said. “During that first summer as an intern with P1, I realized I really enjoyed the mechanical side of the industry.”

He liked it so much that he signed up as an intern for two consecutive summers.

The first summer he reported to Senior Project Manager Carey Minihan and worked with Project Manager Nate Pierce on the ambulance conversion project at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

He also teamed up with Project Manager Jack Kobe on the Liberty Hospital Treehouse project.

During his second summer internship, Parker reported to Eric Affolter and spent most of his time on the Saint Luke’s East Outpatient Surgery expansion and renovation project.

“The projects I worked on immersed me in the healthcare industry, and that was a great learning opportunity,” he said.

“I was asked to do a lot, which is what I wanted in an internship,” he added. “Even though it was challenging at times, I always knew I could go to anyone and get whatever helpI needed.” Parker said he learned things that helped during his final year at college, and says he is still learning something new every day.

“They only teach you so much at school, especially about mechanical contracting, but I knew after my first internship that this is where I wanted to be,” Parker said.

It was near the end of his second internship that Parker received the offer to become a full time P1 employee after graduation.

“Coming on full time at P1 was an easy choice,” he said.

“During my time as an intern, I learned P1 is truly an elite mechanical contractor, in the region and in the nation, and that was something I wanted to be a part of.”

He says the work is challenging, but being surrounded by subject matter experts he enjoys working with is easy. 

Going forward, Parker says he just wants to soak up as much information as possible.

“There are a lot of smart people here,” he said. “I want to learn from them, progress in my job, and hopefully move up in time.”

He also sees the value of mentorship, which he hopes to pay forward.

“I believe this is a field where you never stop learning and growing, and with that mindset, I hope I can mentor others in the future,” Parker said.