Meet Clark Summer Associate Mathilda Sitruk

Clark's summer associate program offers students opportunities to build their skills in real-world scenarios, including making connections and developing their networks. During the 12-week program, participants gain insight into the daily planning, decision-making, and communication required for successful projects.

Hear firsthand about the experience from Mathilda Sitruk, a Clark summer associate working on the Century City Center project in Los Angeles.

Describe your role at Clark.

I'm working on the Century City Center project in Los Angeles, California, which is a 40-story high-rise building featuring office, retail, restaurant, and fitness spaces. I spend most of my mornings on the jobsite, usually visiting about three times a day, and the rest of the time in the office. I shadow my manager, walk the job with her, write RFIs, help with the punch list, and coordinate with trade contractors and architects.

Tell us a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in LA! I was born in New York City, but moved to LA when I was six years old.

Where do you go to school?

I attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I just finished my freshman year, and I'm studying civil engineering. I plan to focus on construction management and geotechnical engineering.

What is a fun fact that someone might not know about you?

When I was nine years old, I got into an eating contest with a family friend and ate 52 dumplings in one sitting. And yes, I won!

How have your background or interests shaped your experience so far?

I've been able to travel a lot, which has helped strengthen my curiosity about how everything works. Seeing the unique infrastructure in different cities has always driven that curiosity about how buildings work. I'm constantly asking my manager questions on the jobsite because I think it's great to understand all the small parts of the structure and how they fit into the big picture.

What drew you to Clark?

I was drawn to Clark because of the quality of its summer associate program. From my research, I could tell it was a company that puts a lot of work into our success and wouldn't just give us busy work. I also live close to the LACMA David Geffen Galleries project and saw the Clark signage there, which made me realize how big of a company Clark is and the significance of their projects in my own community.

"From my research, I could tell it was a company that puts a lot of work into our success and wouldn't just give us busy work."

Mathilda Sitruk, Clark summer associate and rising sophomore at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Has anything surprised you so far?

What has surprised me is the extent of coordination required for a project of Century City Center’s scale – between us, the trade contractors, and the architects. So many things need to happen in exactly the right order and in the right way to make the project successful. I've learned that the most effective way to communicate is to get all the different parties together in a room at once to coordinate directly.

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What has been your favorite part of your Clark eXperience? Or what are you most excited for?

My favorite part has been the people. Everyone in the office has been willing to take the time to explain things to me, and it really feels like they all want me to succeed. My other favorite part is going to the jobsite and seeing the tangible impact of my work. It's one thing to look at plans in a meeting, but it's another to be standing right in front of it. I'm excited to attend a safe plan of action meeting with Clark and the trade contractors to learn more about safety procedures and round out my experience.

Do you have specific goals for this summer? Or longer term?

For this summer, my goals are to get my OSHA 10-hour certification and increase my knowledge of construction software like Procore and Bluebeam, which I've never used before. Long-term, I would like to become a project manager. I like how they get to be experts in one area, for example, finishes or MEP, and oversee all of that.

Learn more about the summer associate experience and hear from other summer associates.