 Hi and welcome to Think Tech Hawaii. My name is Kim Lau and this program is called Hawaii Rising. The point of the show is people helping people to work on the community as well as the economy because that's the only way that we'll be able to create a sustainable future for Hawaii. So there's definitely nothing wrong with organizations who put together a beach cleanup day or a beautification project for their staff to participate in. Those are fantastic ways to promote community involvement and awareness. However, when we're talking about professional staff say like a lawyer whose actual billable rate is maybe 300 or more dollars an hour, what is the most valuable way for that professional to contribute to the community? Perhaps using that professional given professional skills to enrich the community and the lives of people who need those skills would be a more value added way for that professional to share their time. And it's probably why many lawyers do provide their services pro bono to those who cannot otherwise afford it. But there's others in the community that do provide these pro bono services, other industries outside of the legal field and that's who we're going to talk to today. So I'd like to introduce my guest today, Robert Kubota from Douglas Engineering and Nate Wilber who's an intern and his title is electrical designer also with Douglas Engineering. Thank you and welcome to the show today. Hey thanks for having us. It's great to be here. So first of all I'd like to maybe introduce yourselves. We'll start with Robert maybe a little bit of what you, I guess maybe what you do at Douglas Engineering and how you got there. Well that's a that's a really good question. Well today I'm the Vice President of Douglas Engineering. I'm a project manager. The project manager came about because at the time we didn't have project managers and you know there were project managers out there in the industry but I felt like we needed something in-house to kind of control and maintain the integrity of the project. You know and you know for most people engineers aren't that articulate. Right. And so there's a lot of I guess assumptions or errors in the way we they communicate and so the project manager position was was created so that we could kind of bridge the gap between our clients and our and our engineers and then and and so and the Vice President portion you know that's you know that's more the day-to-day operations of the company. You know today you know my role is to figure out you know where we're going to go where what our purpose is in the future you know and how we make ourselves relevant you know moving forward and so and how I got here you know I didn't come from an engineering background you know I started I started well I started at a bank and then I went to I went to a lighting rep you know manufacturers rep that made light fixtures and then and then I ended up in engineering and and the transition you know it's always to me it's always been interesting you know it's definitely not the normal course. Yes the traditional engineering path which is great I mean it goes to show that people don't have to follow the traditional path to get somewhere where they can make an impact or a difference in a company right right and so for me it's been really rewarding you know engineering it's taught me a lot about life it's taught me a lot about the community you know it's taught me a lot about what opportunities we have to help others in a much global scale I guess. Maybe you can can you tell us quickly what exactly does Douglas Engineering do maybe some of the projects that you've worked on. So we've done we do like we do government projects you know whether it's we did the federal building the Prince Cove Hill federal building renovation we do electrical mechanical engineering so that that's mainly you know power lighting fire alarm and we do mechanical where you know it's the air condition the plumbing the fire sprinkler systems we've done schools we've done churches hotels offices retail you know pretty much pretty much pretty much everything you know everything that we could we could do we've we've tried to do you know and so. And Douglas has an internship program yeah the part of one of the just the everyday program that you have. And this is Nate and and and and we yeah we just it's it's a program where we feel that it's necessary for the future of our industry you know it started off where we only had one person or two people you know and today we have we have seven interns this summer yeah for a staff that's only we don't have 13 employees and so seven in terms of additional seven interns yeah okay yeah we've gone from paid internships to non-paid internships we've we've kind of floated between the two ideas you know just to just to figure out what's you know what motivates our our staff you know to make them realize that work what we do is not about the money right you know I think today it's more it's more necessary to teach that and so what do you I guess what do you hope by hiring interns is it more for interns to learn like bringing up future generations or yeah you know it's it's one you know it's one for us to see to find well to meet you know new prospects you know I mean that's that's a big reason why we we we do internships but but more importantly to see how we can influence them you know because a lot of them they come out of school and they tell that the first thing they tell me is my teacher told me this I should get paid this or I'm gonna be doing this you know and and that's not really the reality of yeah it doesn't quite cut it in the real world you know you're gonna work this many hours right I mean that's that's that's not that's not really the the norm I guess you know and so we wanted to we wanted to have a way where we could influence their expectations you know now you know before they get into the real world and then somehow they're disappointed you know right that's true that's a good point yeah managing expectations and you are a senior this year yeah I'm about to start my senior year at UH Manoa and what is your degree it's going to be electrical engineering and you've been an intern for how long get Douglas uh about three years now I think yeah I think it's about three and is that a special situation that you have uh well I'm very fortunate to have landed an internship here I am actually started off by um I met Doug Burr who's our president and I didn't even take a single engineering class at the time I was I just started college and um so I didn't even know what engineering was he just he just kind of overheard me talking about you know I wanted to be uh I was thinking about getting into engineering so you know when I started off I really didn't know I didn't have much direction and working at the company gave me a lot of guidance and kind of showed me the world of engineering and I realized that you know it's something that I want to get into that's awesome that you can do that for young minds young people you know help guide them instead of you know show them what you can do where you can go and bring out that passion as to what you really want to do because a lot of students kind of just go through college and they wait for the end and they're like oh what do I do now yeah that I mean that's really what happens right for all of for well not for not for maybe you but for but definitely for most for a lot of us you know it's it's you know even though when you pick something it's not necessarily what you what you're gonna end up in you know right and to have that chance to try it out before actually entering the workforce and to know that you actually like that subject and it's something that you want to keep pursuing that's an amazing chance that you have and one of the points that I heard early on from other people in this industry was that you know we don't want to invest into our internships right because they're just gonna leave and they're gonna take the information that goes somewhere else right you know but I kind of feel like it's it's our it's our purpose to to even if they leave you know it's our purpose to give them that perspective so that they can when they go out and they compete against us or they work for us or wherever they are you know it to me it's that value that they're adding to whatever company they're going to and they're boosting the industry as a whole right and so that I mean that's our real that's our real goal you know to to to see these guys successful in life you know not at Douglas engineering right but outside the office in life in your profession and in the community yeah yeah yeah so yeah that's yeah and and with the amount that the the company's invested in me you know I feel like you know I've I've kind of found a like a family something that I would want to stick to after college and so can you expand on that so they're providing you trading guidance and they're also helping you monetarily with school oh yeah they're they're helping me pay for my schooling and stuff like that it's it's and they're they're you know teaching me about what they do and how to you know like engineers and engineering students where we're kind of them or a lot of them including myself can be kind of nervous and more introverted right and then the company's really been helping me to to kind of reach out and kind of get to meet people more and see more of the the business side of it and what you actually do on the day-to-day job and which is what Robert was saying about program management is that in order to be the interface between the client and the engineer you have to get them speak in the same language yeah not everybody understands the languages that engineers speak yeah yeah yeah that's been that's been the that's been the biggest challenge you know um you know even even today when we're looking at new hires and people to hire it although people say that there's there's a lot of potential good people out there to hire you know we want to pick we're trying to find people that fit into our system of business you know and so um for me that's finding someone who communicates well with others you know if you're an engineer if you're a great engineer but you can't communicate with others you're not even that's not even on my radar you know right and understanding what companies need from you as a new hire is very important into entering the job market and so we're going to take a quick break right now but when we come back we're going to talk about the other um pro bono and other services that you provide in addition to the work that you do and the intern program that you have so thank you this is Kim Lau with Hawaii Rising you're watching think tech Hawaii aloha i'm kawi lucas host of Hawaii is my mainland every friday here on think tech Hawaii i also have a blog of the same name at kawi lucas.com where you can see all of my past shows join me this friday and every friday at three p.m aloha aloha my name is john why hey and i used to be a part of all the things that you might be angry at i served in government here and may have made decisions that affects you so i want to invite you in i want to invite you in to talk story with me and some very special guests every other monday here at talk story with john why hey come on in join us express your opinion learn more about your state and then do something about it aloha hi this is kim lau with think tech Hawaii this program is called Hawaii Rising and today we have Robert Kubota and Nate Wilbur from Douglas Engineering hi welcome back guys hey thanks we've been talking about um your internship program and um you also have some other pro bono projects that you've been working on in addition to your regular work can you talk about um maybe some of those projects yeah so the the main one is um we're doing the coca-cola shed project for homeless housing for the state and uh that's a really great project for us can you explain the project kind of a little bit so it's a shed it's a five thousand square foot shed that's located behind the uh well the cancer research center okay in coca-cola it's on the waterfront side oh fancy yeah it's very fancy um uh and it's just a it's a steel structure you know that was I guess it was used for storage fire and some bathrooms and but they're converting it to a shelter like a 24-hour day shelter so it's going to have uh it's going to have bathrooms there you know and it's going to have beds and basically it's it's you know as far as I understand it's for it's for families because right now homeless shelters they separate men and women right correct yeah so the one like the one I've been to uh then coca-cola the other one I've been out to you know that's a much larger facility um and so yeah they do separate the but so this one's a little bit more thought through you know uh I'm expecting you know the it's just a really great project you know to allow at first you know we were thinking oh it's just going to be a shit you know how nice can it be and then you know working with group 70 and their team in group 70 is that architect yeah architect firm you know uh they're the the project's trained into something that for all of us they're participating it's going to be something pretty great you know are there so it's just um Douglas engineering and group 70 or there's some other partners participating as well um uh I think tawney moran associates is helping out with the structural for the offices and that's pretty much that's pretty much it yeah and so exactly what are you doing with this shed that makes it so unique and different from the other shelters other than it's for um family housing well well this one the we're actually designing it the last one was kind of just thrown together you know on an emergency situation so so this one we've gone through we've looked at the different layout configurations we've we've assessed the needs of not only the the families are going to go in there but also the the company that's going to come in and take over the role the management yeah and manage the shed you know and so so you know there was a there was a bunch of things that that we could take from the last project you know like like the sewer lines you know we could take those into account we could we could adequately uh provide the necessary you know waste waste piping for the project you know infrastructure infrastructure yeah you know it was definitely more you know we were allowed to to think it through it and so just stopped coming together you know the last minute so so yeah I feel pretty good I mean I think it's necessary that we you know we do something to help homelessness you know because it's becoming a big issue here in Hawaii yeah a very visible issue extremely and you guys are doing this all pro bono yeah so so you know the that's how it started I don't know if that's how it's going to end you know but but that's definitely how it's it started you know we one day we were asked do you want to help out with a homeless shed and we said absolutely you know and and that was you know it wasn't really uh it wasn't really a it wasn't something we had to think about um you know for years the company's done a lot of work for uh churches that we've been you know members of you know so if we're if if for instance like Doug is is a member at New Hope you know we would do a lot of work for New Hope you know and and that would be you know that would be our thing but at the end of last year it got me thinking about how we what we're doing to really affect the community as a whole and and I kind of felt like we weren't doing our job you know and and so when the shed opportunity came along you know it was the perfect opportunity for us to help you know because because it allowed us to to do something that is not normal yeah completely unique yeah that's for sure completely and and there's such a need for it right that it just I mean it makes sense it just makes sense right and so you know we're open to a lot of different ideas today you know and and and I think it's just because we're open to to just we just want to help people and so you know not everything's going to be for free you know but but where we can do it we will you know and I think we'll make a we'll make a greater conscious effort to get more involved right you know moving forward so and another thing that um Douglas engineering has put on or yourself in particular is another program that helps interns can you talk about your seminar series that you started this year yeah so we we you know we started this program that that would meet with well would basically bring all the interns from the the industry into one room so not just your company's no not just engineering interns you know architecture interns you know not just electrical mechanical interns but civil and structural interns pretty much anyone who is willing to send to send their staff to us for an hour you know that that's all we wanted we just wanted an opportunity and and you know I felt you know when I first started doing it you know there was um when I first thought of it I would I would definitely pass it off on other people to find out what they thought and some people were like well you know you're not going to get you're not going to get these people and and don't make speakers well how are you going to get the speakers how are you going to get the speakers for one right and then how are you going to get the interns how are you going to interns and and um so was it how many weeks long so six weeks long um it's actually it just ended this past week uh it's it started two weeks prior to the start of the the very first week you know and and um it was something that I had been talking about for almost a year you know but I just didn't know how to put it together and and so you know the the AIA president Ben you know he was he and I would sit there and talk about it and he was like well we have a you can use the AIA room you know and I was like well that gives me a place so it sounds like I should try to do something right and so uh we made I made some calls a lot of calls and uh I begged a lot of people you know and and you know fortunately for us they were very receptive of it you know and it allows us it allowed it allowed me to share you know all the people that I've met in my life that have helped me get to where I am today you know and and uh you know people people who take the time out in the community to help can you give us some examples of the presenters that spoke to the interns during this one hour week session so we had you know we had my boss Doug you know I mean he's pivotal for me we also had you know we had you you know and we had uh Francis Oda from group 70 we had Rick Blanchiardi from Kachanel and Hawaii News Now we had Scott Inazuka from Inazuka Engineering you know Ken Hayashida you know Russ Wozniak from group 70 Ben Lee you know we had we had we just had a great great amount you know I guess they were so giving up their time right you know and I think and but more importantly I think it's the interns you know like the one thing I'll always try to remember is that it was it's for them right and it's them giving us their time because without them showing up we have really no one to talk to you know we have nothing right so Wilbur what was your take on the the whole seminar? I found it very it was a good learning experience you know I got to I got to hear from a lot of speakers that were from different parts of the industry you know architects and and engineers and you know I got to hear you know what their where their you know struggles through their career was or what um what they found good and and um also what I found really useful was it was it was a good chance to meet other interns great you know I got to see a lot of my classmates and I got to meet meet other people that were in architecture you know as interns and it was it was a good good chance to meet people so Nate what would be your biggest takeaway as to why people would help interns or would do pro bono projects what why do you think that's important what's the purpose behind helping other people in as part of your industry or career? I think it's an important um it's an important idea to you know for pro bono things not to just you know do it for the money or the business you know it's it's more of a community effort you know people need to to kind of you know look beyond just you know business and money and just kind of do what what they can and what you know they have within their resources to to help um situations like the homelessness you know helping helping families find homes and you know it's it's been uh it's very fulfilling to you know do that that type of project and and know that you know what we're working on you know people are gonna you know find find shelter in in these homes and it's gonna be impactful yeah do you feel that um Robert do you feel that other groups in your industry do these do the same kind of giving back to the community? I'm sure they do I mean uh I'm sure they do I I'm not sure where but but I think given the opportunity I think I think people are willing to step up and and definitely help you know um yeah I mean like Nate said it's definitely fulfilling you know so if they have it they should right and does yours your firm the people that you work with your coworkers do they find value in the things that you do? I think I think that in some ways they don't see it yet you know I think it's it's a hard sell you know a lot of times you know we're trying to change the culture and I know a lot of people say culture changes and everything and companies but you know Nate and I were having this conversation today and and you know in order to change a culture you know you have to have a very strong foundation you know and it's not going to be easy you know and so you have to stand firm even when when you don't feel like you want to anymore right you know and so I think that's um a big thing that we should take away and the show is closing but um again what Robert was saying is that it's hard to change culture it's hard to change perception the way that people have been going about their daily business but I think one person at a time by doing the things that you do we can change that and and everything that everyone does is so impactful so thank you so much for doing what you do and being um positive role models for the community and your interns and the future engineers and thank you so much for being on the show today oh thanks for having thanks for having us