Senior Sam Zeif spent three weeks this summer working as an intern for Christoff: Finio Architecture in New York City.

The owners of the small company were Zeif’s family friends, and he lived with them throughout his stay. “I was excited about doing as much architecture-related stuff there as I could, but I had no experience, apart from my interest in architecture,” Zeif said.

Zeif decided he wanted to go after checking out the Web site, and the company owners agreed to accept him as an intern. “We met them when we lived in New York,” Zeif’s mother Melissa Dougherty said. “They didn’t have a formal application process, but they were looking for some people to help out in the summer, as they needed additional hands.” The company only has eight to 10 employees, according to Zeif.

Christoff: Finio specializes in a modern architectural style. “They work on residences and refurbish apartments,” Dougherty said. The firm works on both residential and commercial projects.

Zeif first became interested in architecture through studying other academic subjects. “I like architecture because I’ve been more into math and science, but I want to do something that’s also creative,” Zeif said. He fostered his inclination for creativity by taking Art Spectrum and also getting involved in graphic design and photography, according to Dougherty.

As an intern, Zeif had the opportunity to use some professional architecture software such as Autocad and Sketchup, which work with 3-D and 2-D models. “By the end of it, I had done a floorplan of my house,” he said.

In addition to running errands and learning architecture, Zeif also sat in on meetings and gave input on decisions. “The biggest part was being in a work environment and getting a feel for what a career in architecture is like,” he said. “I learned basically how the process goes from meeting with clients to making sketches to designing computer models.” He also had the chance to visit a couple of the residence projects that the company was working on.

Zeif worked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, but he had some down time to enjoy the city. “I’d come back and have dinner with the family and go and play pickup basketball or soccer,” he said. According to Zeif, being in the New York City vibe was the most fun part of the internship. “[It’s] one of the best cities for architecture,” he said. “I [also] saw two baseball games in two days. I could hear the conversations of the players and made a lot of awkward eye-contact with A-Rod.”

Interning for Christoff: Finio reinforced Zeif’s interest in architecture and his consideration of it as a career. “I think he learned that it’s not about the glamour of the task that you do, but the overall contribution and the nature of the work,” Dougherty said. “I think that he found that he really enjoyed being part of it.”