Date Posted: 02.05.2026
Student interns are an important part of the culture at Mithun. Many of our team members started as interns at the firm, and our 10-week program is crafted to create a meaningful experience for both our student guests and our design team. It’s a highlight of the year!
With our 2026 Summer Internships application portal now open through February 20th, we wanted to offer additional perspective into the experience including reflections from our amazing cohort last year.
Summer 2025 internships brought more variety than ever. Interns worked in all three of our Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles offices. The group came to us from three countries, six schools, and with interest and experience in more than five disciplines and specialties.
Together, they gained broad exposure to our practice, projects and people across offices and disciplines to gain an elevated ability to create positive change in the world.
PRACTICE: INSIGHTS SPANNING DISCIPLINES, MARKETS AND OPERATIONS
When choosing firms, prospective interns value a wide variety of qualities. Some are hoping to expand their knowledge in a particular field and home in on a specialty, whereas others are drawn to our firm’s interdisciplinary practice as an opportunity to try new things. At Mithun, interns might join a K-12 school project team for a few weeks and then shift to a workplace interior design to gain exposure to materials, programs and priorities in another market area.
As a dual major, Jackie Chen (Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design) was interested in exploring the intersections and looking beyond boundaries. “Because I’m doing the double major, I wanted to find an experience where I could do a little bit of both and see what that would look like professionally. It was great to be at a firm where I could meet people who have been doing both and see that it’s possible.”
The summer program features a series of practice shares highlighting different aspects of the profession and firm operations. Interns have a chance to talk with members representing quality assurance (QA), sustainability, the materials lab and digital design, as well as to hear about the business and operations side of the practice from accounting, marketing and human resources. This aspect of the program highlights the critical, but sometimes hidden, systems that provide a sound foundation for the success of projects, individuals and the greater practice.
Yuki Huang (Sustainable Design, Carnegie Mellon University) got the chance to put some of her recent specialty classwork into practice. “I just took a course in LEED certification, so it was very interesting to get to work on the LEED scorecards for a University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources facility. The Mithun team is very knowledgeable, and it was nice to get experience with the real certification process.”
Kristian Elizes (Architecture, City College of San Francisco) returned to Mithun for a second summer and expressed gratitude for this broader exposure. “The wide range of experiences over the two summers reminded me that there’s many ways to engage with design, not just being an architect. There’s a lot of things that bring projects to life, like marketing and support teams. I’m looking forward to exploring all the different avenues… especially with affordable housing.”
PROJECTS: FROM EARLY CONCEPTS THROUGH CONSTRUCTION
Interns at Mithun are exposed to diverse projects spanning typologies, offices, disciplines and phases of work. Projects can include everything from multifamily housing and academic buildings to urban planning and public park redesigns. Interns are encouraged to make their interests known early, and efforts are made to align project assignments with those interests.
Due to her background in urban planning, Tessie Sung, (Architecture, University of Washington) joined a coastal resilience project that included urban design and planning together with landscape architecture and significant engineering. Working with a 100-year timeline and then crafting strategies for climate adaptation and community resilience built upon her strengths while exposing her to new vocabularies. “It’s interesting seeing how disciplines interact… You have to know a little bit of each one so that you can push a project forward.”
Getting out of the office is also important. Project site visits play a key role in the internship experience, allowing students to see how design decisions impact constructability and buildings in operation. Last summer, visits included renovation projects at the Seattle Aquarium and new buildings under construction, such as UCLA Gayley Towers affordable student housing. The tours sparked new discoveries, like one intern’s newfound interest in complex renovation efforts: to assess what an existing structure needs and thoughtfully combine contemporary design with more historical features.
Yafei Li (Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design) appreciated the visit to a pair of elementary schools under construction in Northshore School District with designers who’d worked on the project. “Feeling their passion and their pride in the project was really inspiring. They were able to point out very small details and tell the story behind all of them. It made me feel passionate about really getting into the whole process of architecture; in the future I want to also be someone who can create a building from my ideas and share those stories with other people.”
PEOPLE: COMMUNITY, MENTORSHIP AND BUILDING A NETWORK
One of the most valued resources at Mithun is the people. Each student is paired with mentors and scheduled for “coffee chats” with designers who share common interests. Over the summer, interns are connected with at least three colleagues (including emerging professional, mid-career and leadership team members) for diverse perspectives and community building.
Ryan Connolly (Architecture, Montana State University) was our only undergraduate intern. She emphasized, “It was helpful connecting with different architects. There’s tons of people here that I can still reach out to if I need to… I have someone who might become my [long-term] mentor, and I got to talk to people about their grad school experiences.”
At Mithun, we value collaboration with other design firms on projects, through Mithun R+D studies and as part of professional associations. Summer interns are similarly provided with opportunities to engage with firms nationwide — such as Lake Flato, Waggonner & Ball, CO-OP, Payette and Shepley Bulfinch — to gain exposure to a broad set of ideas and strengthen connections across the larger design community. Program participants and their mentors met via Zoom several times over the summer, sharing details of their respective programs and projects, and learning more about each firm’s approach to design. Interns returned to school with an expanded network of peers and company contacts with the potential to provide career-long benefits.
Summer interns are also encouraged to get to know each other while exploring their cities. Some met up on weekends to try new restaurants and go hiking. Combining education and entertainment, the Seattle internship cohort and their mentors went on a group kayak outing to see the University of Washington’s ASUW Shell House (of The Boys in the Boat fame) from a new angle before touring inside. Kristian and Yuki joined the San Francisco and Los Angeles office teams for group lunches, baseball games and bowling nights.
MOVING BEYOND THE INTERNSHIP
As the summer wrapped up, we asked the interns what were top insights they would take away from their time with Mithun. As a group, they valued getting to work on active projects and gaining real-world exposure.
For Leean Li (Architecture, University of Pennsylvania), this hands-on experience will drive her to “carry over the idea of constructability when I design something. To ask myself is this actually buildable?”
One of Ryan’s biggest takeaways was “getting more comfortable with software, because that takes a lot of time and slows down working processes. I knew what I needed to do but wasn’t exactly sure how to do it. Now I’m a lot quicker at it and excited to use it going back into school.” Most of the intern cohort shared her appreciation for improving their design software skills.
And of course, the office experience and the relationships interns built with Mithunees were at the top of everyone’s minds.
“I didn’t come from a culture of communicating a lot,” said Yuki. “I was a bit shy to reach out for help before, but it’s good to do. The connections will be a great portion of what I take from Mithun.”
JOIN US
If you’re an interior design, landscape architecture, urban design and planning, or architecture student who thrives in an interdisciplinary environment, join us for a 10-week internship to design for positive change! We hope to hear from you.
Applications for internships beginning late spring/early summer 2026 are welcome through February 20. Visit our Careers page for more information and submission instructions.
