When Jaxson joined Chesapeake Glazing this summer, he was not just here to watch how a drafting department works. We wanted him to have the opportunity to contribute, ask questions, learn new skills, and see how the work he is doing in school connects to real projects.
As an incoming senior at Carroll County Career and Technology Center, Jaxson already had experience with drafting and AutoCAD. His internship gave him the chance to take those skills a step further and apply them within the commercial glazing industry.
Learning the Details Behind the Drawings
One of Jaxson’s main projects this summer was creating sample drawings for Chesapeake Glazing’s drafting standards.
That required more than knowing how to use AutoCAD. He had to study glazing systems closely, break them down into individual components, and begin understanding how those pieces work together.
It also gave him a better understanding of why accuracy matters.
A small detail on a drawing can eventually affect fabrication, coordination, or installation in the field. Learning how to look closely at a system and clearly communicate how it should come together is an important part of becoming a stronger drafter.
Throughout the summer, Jaxson also learned several new AutoCAD commands and techniques that helped him work more efficiently. Those are skills he can take back to the classroom this fall and continue building on during his senior year.
Connecting School to a Real Career
For students, there can be a big difference between learning a skill in the classroom and seeing where that skill can actually take you.
That is one of the biggest reasons opportunities like this matter to us.
Commercial glazing includes far more career paths than many students realize. Drafting, estimating, project management, fabrication, field installation, and other roles all contribute to the finished building, but young people cannot consider careers they have never had the chance to see.
By bringing Jaxson into our drafting department, we were able to show him one of those paths while also giving him meaningful work that connected directly to what he was already learning at CCTC.
That kind of exposure is an important part of developing the next generation of our industry. It gives students the opportunity to test their interests, build confidence, and better understand what a career in construction could actually look like
The Best Sign We Could Ask For
One of the things we are most proud of is that Jaxson has already decided to return to Chesapeake Glazing during his winter break.
For us, that says more than any end-of-summer recap could.
It means he found value in the experience and wants to keep learning. It also gives our team the opportunity to build on what he has already accomplished instead of starting over the next time he walks through the door.
Jaxson still has his senior year ahead of him and plenty of time to decide what direction he wants to take after graduation. We do not expect an internship to answer every question about his future.
What we hope it does is give him more options.
If he leaves Chesapeake Glazing with stronger drafting skills, a better understanding of the construction industry, and a clearer idea of where his abilities could take him, then the experience has done exactly what it was meant to do.
We are proud of what Jaxson accomplished this summer, and we are even more excited that this is not the end of his time with our team, we will see him again this winter!
