Sydney Bate is an intern for the Land Planning team at FOCUS. Her work with us caps off her studies at BYU majoring in Plant and Landscape Systems.

Why FOCUS?

The growth opportunities we provide caught her eye first. Once we accepted her application as intern, she realized the extent of the opportunities we provide. “They made it clear from the get-go that they were excited and willing to teach me everything I needed to know to be successful,” she says. “Not only have I been patiently mentored regarding technical skills, but so much time has been put into helping me grow as an individual.”

We model ideal practices with our clientele and project work, setting our interns up for future success. “I’ve noticed that my team is extremely talented at listening to and understanding what a client wants and translating that into their designs,” she says, and we’re glad to hear it. Our core values all revolve around client satisfaction. “They bend over backwards, step out of their comfort zone, and go the extra mile with every client to provide them with exactly what they need.”

On top of that, “I have observed that the Land Planning team is really good at collaborating with others and working as a team to be creative and effective.” This is key for achieving client success. It additionally helps our interns learn the collaborative skills for their own careers in this industry. “They all excel at customer service with internal and external clients because they are genuinely passionate about others’ success.”

The Work

Sydney works on landscape and irrigation design for a variety of projects. This gives her as much experience as we can provide. From car washes and RV parks to residential communities and restaurants, we provide a diverse range of learning opportunities.

“I love that there is a combination of structure and creativity while designing landscapes and irrigation plans,” she says of her work. “There are hard and fast principles to ensure success as well as flexibility to use your imagination and make something beautiful.” When it comes to teamwork with our Land Planning team, she also enjoys the collaborative process. “I love to see everyone’s ideas come together to make something awesome!”

One of her more recent projects was Torchy’s Tacos/Shake Shack. “We recently were asked to replace the turf grass areas with planting bed areas,” she describes. “There was quite a bit of space to work with, which made it challenging,” but they were able to put together a beautiful plant pallet that she is confident the client will enjoy.

At FOCUS, we also give our interns the opportunity to use the industry’s cutting-edge technologies. Land F/X and CAD are two Sydney has found particularly helpful. The programs “take care of a lot of the finer details so we can focus on efficiently making the best designs possible,” she says. Photoshop is another must-have software, where she has been able to bring projects to life with realistic renderings.

The Heart of It

No matter an intern’s experience coming in, at FOCUS we ensure that everyone leaves (or stays!) set up for success. We provide opportunities for a variety of experience and skills to ensure it. We build Utah, and Utah is built by everyone around us. Our passion begins and ends with the success of our clients and each other.

For Sydney, her passion started simply. “I have always loved plants, doodling, being outside, and admiring beautiful landscapes, so I knew that this would be the right field for me!” We hope to make sure she can enjoy this field of work for as long as she likes.