Rachel Lavon, Pratt '07, has become a part of Manhattan's history.
Lavon worked as a project engineer for the renovation of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum-a two-year, $115 million dollar project. The museum reopened this week with a grand Veteran's Day ceremony led by President George W. Bush.
Since 1982, the museum has honored the U.S.S. Intrepid, an aircraft carrier that was commissioned in World War II and went on to serve the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, during the Vietnam War and in the North Atlantic during the Cold War. The exhibit honors all those who have served in the armed forces.
The recent renovation took place because the owners of the museum, Hudson River Park Trust and Intrepid Museum Park, wanted to repair and redesign the dilapidated pier to the ship. They hired the construction company, Skanksa, to demolish the existing pier and rebuild a new one.
"My role was to assist the project manager," Lavon said of her position as an engineer for Skanska. "Handling work in the fields, managing document controls, payments, making sure that the contractors stayed informed and mostly helping the project manager in working as the middleman between the owners, designers and sellers."
Skanska faced some challenges due to a tight time table for the construction, Lavon said. The owners had set a deadline and Skanska had to finish the pier in time for the U.S.S. Intrepid to return. The project was almost shut down when the ship first failed to leave the pier because it was stuck on mud.
Regardless of these difficulties, Lavon said she had a great experience working on the project.
"Normally a management team for a project like this is very large, but ours was only three people," she said. "I got to learn a lot more and had lots more hands-on experience."
Lavon added that she was able to take part in such a big project soon after graduation because of the experience she gained and connections she made as an intern for the construction company.
Her involvement with Skanska started at one of Duke's career fairs. She began working as an intern in her sophomore year and continued working summers and during school years. She said she believes that these two years have helped her build some credibility and trust from the company.
After she graduated from Duke, Lavon said Skanska had no problem transferring her from its Raleigh/Durham office to the New York office where she started working full time.
Lavon said Duke has offered a lot of opportunities and has been very helpful in assisting her discover and start on a new career.
"Duke basically helped me set my path to where I am today," she said, "It gave me a great job experience and hopefully a great career."
Although the construction of the U.S.S. Intrepid's pier is almost finished, Skanska is still completing minor changes. Lavon said she has started meeting with New York office executives for job transition. Her plans for the future are still uncertain, but she mentioned that she may be assigned to the $1.9 billion renovations project to redesign the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
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