My STEP Signature Project was an internship at Retina Associates of Cleveland (RACI). My main job description as a technician entailed completing the patient “work-up” phase before they saw their physician. This phase included checking the patient in, updating their chart with recent/ new diagnosis and medications, obtaining their chief complaint for the physician, checking their vision and recording it, checking eye pressures, dilating their eyes and ordering specific photography/ eye scans. Besides these tasks, I was also responsible for guiding patients to correct waiting rooms, assisting physician’s when necessary with preparation for eye injections and laser treatments and cleaning machinery and surgical instruments.

With this internship, I was given the opportunity to experience patient care in the field of ophthalmology. Throughout my internship I was able to discover the character necessary to be a part of a successful health care system. I recognized the primary role in health care is to take care of the needs specific to each and every patient before anything else. As a technician, I was the first person many patients would encounter at the beginning and end of their appointment which heavily influenced their overall experience with RACI. I quickly recognized that each of the patient’s individual well-being and comfort during their time in our office was the number one priority of my job. Many patients are apprehensive before and during appointments such as these and demonstrate high levels of stress and anxiety. I was able to be the a source of calmness and comfort for them which allowed me to learn a lot about myself. I was able to understand myself better as an individual as I was able to forget about my personal needs and focus on theirs. These experiences with patients where I was able to be the positive part of their stressful and worrisome day were the experiences that solidified my decisions to want to choose a career path in the health care field.

Interactions with patients throughout my internship led to the transformation of my personal character and realizing how much of a positive impact I am able to have on individuals on a daily basis in the health care field. Many patients that came in and out of the office were in the office for several appointment times throughout my time there and building relationships with them made their overall experience a better one. I was able to learn patient care skills on a hands on basis but also on a communication basis. I learned how important communication is and how I can use the communication skills I acquired in the future.

I also had developed a strong relationship with many of my coworkers including fellow technicians, receptionists and doctors. These relationships I formed demonstrated the importance of teamwork in the workplace. I was able to recognize the impact our team effort had on patients as they appreciated us working together during their time with us. I think learning and recognizing how to be a team player and helping my coworkers wherever possible was a character building aspect that I will always keep in mind when working in a new environment or wherever my career will take me.

Recognizing that I had the ability to put a smile on a patient’s face and influence their day to move forward in a positive direction, I learned how far the values of empathy and compassion can take you in life. If it wasn’t the patient who appreciated the small acts of caring, it was their family member or another coworker. I gained a lot of skills in respecting diversity throughout my internship as well because of the differences in social, cultural or religious backgrounds of the people I encountered on a daily basis. I appreciated the interactions I was able to have with the patients as well as the doctors in the practice who created an enthusiastic learning environment.

This experience overall has influenced my career path in more ways than I expected it to when beginning my journey with RACI. I knew I was interested in the health care field however, I was apprehensive about the specific field of ophthalmology. I now am aspiring to enter into this field in the future. I also was interested in becoming a Physician’s Assistant and was able to interact with many PAs who gave advice and recommendations that will help me with my application process and my decision to choose that career. I was able to observe these specific responsibilities as well which was helpful in deciding my career path. The life skills and personal development I gained throughout my internship will stay with me in my future career. I learned a great amount about what it means to be an active team member in the health care field as well as the extensive responsibilities the career entails. My internship was a learning experience that I will forever cherish and be thankful to those who were a part of the process.

This past summer, I accepted an internship with NetJets. I worked with the tax department to file sales and use tax returns on a monthly basis for not just NetJets, but all five of its subsidiaries as well. These sales and use tax returns were filed in almost every state, with about half being monthly and the other half being filed quarterly. I also had to calculate tax paid on fuel for flights entering and exiting the United States and whether or not the flight was considered exempt based on rules stated in the Internal Revenue Code.

Throughout the summer, I learned a great deal about not just finance and accounting, but also about how to interact in an office environment and how to manage my work/life balance. First and foremost, gaining real world experience in my field that I have a deep-rooted passion for was great, of course. I learned about the process of filing returns to both the IRS and to each individual state, making online payments of over $1 million at times. My experience in Microsoft Excel paid off as well, as this was used as our primary tax calculator. We would be given data each month that needed to be parsed through to see if tax was charged on any invoices. If it was not, then the purchase prices would be added up and taxed separately. This is definitely something I could see myself doing in the future and getting the real-world office experience was a new aspect of the internship that I was starting to learn.

One of the most important points I learned in an office environment is to be good at small talk. Eight-hour days can seem long, so a lot of my colleagues would have casual conversations about their home lives or sports, etc. While this is something that many people can carry out decently well, it was interesting to me to see how often these chats happen and the various topics discussed. This was another way for my boss to get to know me and possibly help me in the future in terms of getting another job and networking. Overall the office experience was a lot more relaxed than I thought it would be, which helped make my work experience a lot less stressful. Along with learning about the office environment, I had to figure out a way to balance and separate my work from my life. After I got home from work, I was able to hang out with friends, go to the gym, and relax and prepare for the next day. I never felt overwhelmed and I enjoyed my work.

Something I really enjoyed about my internship experience was the comradery that was built with the other interns through teambuilding activities and interesting informational sessions. Some of our activities included going to Columbus Clippers game, going bowling, volunteering at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, etc. We were able to get to know one another, and learn about the other departments that everyone worked in. It was interesting to see the many different departments that a private aviation company has. There was a business insights and analytics department, safety, owner experience, operations, marketing, etc. Somehow, despite our differences, we all got together and formed a great bond and grew closer and helped each other solve problems.

Some of the informational sessions I was able to attend included resume review, mock interview, tour of the facility and hangar to name a few. It was nice of them to provide a resume review session even though we were already working for their company. They gave us some dos and don’ts when it comes to writing resumes. Similarly, the mock interview session helped us prepare for future job opportunities even though we were already working at NetJets. They knew that these internships weren’t permanent, so they did everything in their ability to set us up for the future. These were great for our future, but in my opinion the most interesting informational session was taking a tour of the hangar. We were able to see 10 of NetJets’ airplanes and even tour one. It was amazing to see the differences between a commercial airplane and a private jet. It was so much more spacious and luxurious.

Of course, the extracurriculars were nice, but learning more about the finance field and real world uses of what I am learning in school was very insightful. For example, we were given nice round numbers in accounting and finance classes, but at work all of the numbers were exact, sometimes to the nearest millionth of a dollar. Getting this experience at a young age can help land a job in the future and get a head start into a very competitive field.

Overall, my summer interning with NetJets has been a life changing experience. I was able to learn about how finances and tax are handled at the corporation level, proper etiquette in the workplace, all while enjoying my time networking with other interns and taking part in teambuilding activities. All of my experiences from this summer will keep me prepared for my professional career after graduation. I learned from many of my colleagues about post-graduation education plans, such as getting my MBA and then my CPA (Certified Public Accountant). They advised that I should work a few years after graduation to gain experience, then go to graduate school to earn my MBA. Many companies help pay for graduate school so that would be another helpful motivator to earn my graduate degree. After earning my MBA and a few more years of experience, start taking classes towards my CPA. The CPA exam is one of the toughest exams that anyone has to take to receive a higher “status”. In the end, it will be worth it though because it opens up opportunities from working at one of the Big 4 accounting firms to even starting my own accounting and finance firm that helps individuals and small businesses keep their finances in order. This all starts with getting a head start with my professional career in college.

My STEP Signature Project was a co-op at Moog Inc. located in Buffalo, NY. For my co-op I was working as an electronics process engineer in Moog’s Space and Defense Group. As an electronics process engineer my duties included: Designing and implementing toolings and fixtures to increase manufacturing speed, quality and safety of electronics for thrust vector control systems, orbital maneuvering vehicles, turreted weapons systems etc. Assuring compatibility of engineering drawing and specifications with manufacturing and fabrication capabilities. Developing and conducting studies for more efficient manufacturing of parts, including recommendation for changes in equipment, processes, methods, materials and designs.
Optimizing design and use of manufacturing facilities and processes by coordinating with departments and team members. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take any pictures at Moog as they are a defense contractor. However here is a picture of the outside of the plant I was working in at Moog Space and Defense.

This summer was my first time living an extended distance from family or friends. It was also be the first time I was be completely independent, meaning I had to grocery shop, pay bills, etc. This responsibility forced me outside my comfort zone and required me to develop new cooking and budgeting skills. This was challenging and rewarding. I now look forward to coming home from school or work and cooking. Additionally budgeting made me more conscious of my spending and I now take my financial security more seriously. These are skills that have already helped me living off campus and will continue to be used throughout my life. Having developed these responsibilities will allow me to more effectively reach my goals.

After taking on these new responsibilities, I developed a new appreciation for many things in life. I realized pretty early on that I take my parents for granted. I cannot imaging caring for a child, let alone 4. My parents work extremely hard and somehow still find the time to shop, cook, care for my siblings and myself. Not only do they work tirelessly to accomplish all this, they also pay for it. Money burns up extremely quickly. After taking care of my own finances, I realized the sacrifices that my parents had to make to give me the childhood I had. After having been fully independent, I have a greater appreciation for what my parents have done for me and will focus on these skills so I may do the same for my kids.

When I was in Buffalo, I was separated from friends and family as well as was in a completely new town. Although I consider myself social, this also push me out of my comfort zone and forced me to build new relationships. Early on I got to know many of the other co-ops. This gave me an initial support group and eventually led to me meeting their friends. Many of these new friends were from Buffalo and through them I got to know Buffalo. Having friends and knowing your city is very important for work life balance. This is not something I really consider at school as there is much more overlap between the two. We participated in a wide range of activities. This included, going to concerts, going out for dinner, playing ultimate frisbee and taking a weekend camping trip. Below is a picture taken at the shelter we camped in at Letchworth State Park after a 10 mi hike. As I continue in life it is important that I do not stop participating in activities like these.

My co-op was also a wonderful opportunity to network. The connections I made were extremely valuable as I continue my intern/co-op/job search. During my co-op I had the pleasure of interviewing 5 executives. It was experiences like these, in addition to the work I was doing that taught me things you cannot learn inside the classroom. These skills include, workplace behavior, how to approach problems in the real world and how to treat business relationships. These opportunities to sit down with established leaders make me rethink my motivation to be a leader and allowed me to critique my own leadership style. These connections will also be invaluable in the coming years when looking for future co-ops and jobs. My summer co-op challenged me to expand socially and develop intellectually in ways I cannot in the classroom.

Following my co-op, I now have a new set of skills and a better understanding of how the material I learn in the classroom applies in the real world. As I continue through my degree, having hands on experience will allow me to see new value in topics I might have otherwise seen as irrelevant or uninteresting. I am also looking forward to using knowledge gained from major courses work during my future co-op. The skills I developed working in the space industry are also applicable to the extracurricular I am involved in. In Buckeye Space Launch Initiative, I will be able to use the technical skills I gained to help the team develop a more successful rocket. As a part of TEDxOhioStateUniversity I can utilize the professional skills I learned during my STEP project when coaching speakers and communicating with donors. Returning to campus as a Junior from my co-op at Moog Inc. with a new set of skills has enabled me to hit the ground running.

It has been a long path to deciding I want to be a mechanical engineer. My co-op over the summer was my first real world experience as a mechanical engineer. It has helped me realize it is truly what I want to do as a career. Not only that, but I know that as a mechanical engineer I want to work in the space industry. Knowing this, it will be easier to focus on opportunities and jobs when I know more about what to do. Additionally this made me realize somethings I don’t want to do. First, I don’t want to working electronics processing. While this was interesting and I was doing mechanical engineering, I want to work on something that all together is more mechanically oriented. Another thing that I learned is that I do not want to work on components. There is something more rewarding about getting to see the finally assembly of what you are working on. The Co-Curriculars and Professional Development that I currently attend, especially STEP, are good indicators of what I want to do in addition to why I am looking forward to my co-op. As part of Buckeye Space Launch Initiative, we push the engineering boundaries of undergraduate students, sending rockets to ten thousand, thirty thousand, and one hundred thousand feet of elevation. In my career I strive to push the limits of humanity and explore space. At Moog Inc. I did just this. As a part of TEDxOhioStateUniversity we strive to spread challenging and innovative ideas. During my co-op I developed technology that will advance the knowledge and capabilities of humanity. I want a career that I can also say this about. I look forward to getting more experience in my intended field of work. The experience will give me an opportunity to apply my current experience as well as insight to my future career and academic choices.

Everything I learned during my STEP Signature Project as a co-op at Moog Inc. has confirmed many of my goals, while slightly adjusting them. Over the next two years I plan to put more focus on learning things so I can apply them in the real world. In my extracurricular I want to focus on things slightly more technical, specifically in Buckeye Space Launch Initiative. I still have two summers left for internships or co-op. I want a technically challenging internship or co-op in the space industry that will allow me to apply and grow my skills. Finally I want a rewarding job in the space industry that allows me to balance work and life as well as make contributions to the advancement of humanity.

Over the summer I used my STEP funds in order to stay in Columbus and intern for a restaurant called Eden Burger, a vegan burger joint. My internship had two components: recipe development and marketing. As the restaurant underwent a month of renovations to its menu, operations, and physical space, I was responsible for changing our recipes in order to make them cheaper but retaining a certain level of quality as well as all of the marketing efforts; email marketing, social media, and website upkeep.

The three months I spent interning at Eden Burger were incredibly transformative for me in terms of my ideal career path, my understanding of consumer-business relations, my passion for small business and my understanding of operations within a business. I feel as though I have significantly matured in my ability to operate effectively and efficiently within a business environment and know that my experience at Eden Burger will contribute greatly to my success in the future.

My internship gave me real-world, practical experience within my Food Business Management major and confirmed my hopes of being involved in the food industry post-graduation. I now have a steadfast and confident motivation to work in the food marketing or restaurant business in the future – a motivation that will sustain me through my last three semesters at Ohio State. I found myself incredibly passionate about developing recipes for a business that I so greatly care about in order to provide delicious yet sustainable food to customers who are mindful about the food they eat.

Being responsible for all of Eden Burger’s marketing efforts, under supervision of the CEO, was an undertaking that I was quite excited about and one that proved to be harder than I anticipated. I learned a lot about social media marketing as well as effective email marketing strategies, mostly through trial-and-error efforts. However, one of the biggest takeaways from the marketing aspect of my internship was how consumers and businesses interact through social media channels. I have concluded that consumers feel very entitled and think that businesses must cater to their own personal needs and wants in every aspect of the business model. When we got rid of some of our signature burgers to reduce production costs, consumers took it personally and left ridiculous Facebook reviews and Instagram comments that expressed their feelings of personal offense and frustration that they could no longer purchase a food item from us. The constant negative feedback that we received during our renovation was discouraging, but has also made me more mindful about how I treat businesses and how I expect them to operate.

I have always been passionate about small business and entrepreneurship and was even involved in Ohio State’s ICE Scholars Program; Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship. Eden Burger was founded by 3 entrepreneurs; one was an OSU grad and two dropped out to pursue business ideas. My internship was probably the best experience I have had in terms of first-hand learning, as I was involved in the ground floor of a restaurant start-up. I had effective and informative mentors who truly cared about my success in the business and provided my numerous opportunities to take up more responsibility and fulfill my longings to contribute to the business. I also learned a lot about how they make business decisions and how one can make smart decisions in any aspect of life. My relationships with my superiors greatly increased my passion for small business and knowledge of small business operations.

The knowledge and experience that I have taken away from this internship will not only affect my last couple of semesters at Ohio State, but also my career and future after I graduate. The internship helped me confirm my ideas that I will enjoy and be successful in the food industry and that I hope to start my own food-related business in the future. I believe that my experience at Eden Burger has been one of the most transformative three months of my life and an experience that I will cherish forever.  

Augustus Bradley

Internship

9/9/2018

STEP Reflection

This summer, I was an intern for the US Energy Information Administration at the Department of Energy in Washington DC. As an intern with EIA, I analyzed, verified, and created datasets related to energy industry activities, like imports, production, or consumption.

As a result of my internship, I have a newfound appreciation for government work. I realized that the image of do-nothing bureaucrats is far from the truth, and that there are plenty of motivated, capable, and smart people working in our government. I also learned that I enjoyed working in an office, especially one in Washington. I have always assumed office work would not suit me, so it was great to discover that I enjoyed that aspect of my internship. Overall, my STEP project gave me perspective on what my life could be like after I graduate.

One important relationship that I formed over the course of the summer was with my supervisor, Mickey Francis. Mickey is also an economist, so we shared some interests and viewpoints. I was grateful to have him as my supervisor because he helped me determine what I wanted to accomplish over the summer and then worked to find ways in which I could achieve those goals. Working with Mickey was a great opportunity for me to see what my coworkers would be like if I decided to pursue government work in the future.

During the course of my internship I was lucky enough to experience the annual EIA conference, held at the Washington Hilton. Here I was able to learn about the energy industry, and specifically energy data, from the leading experts in these fields. It was a great opportunity to network, and I was able to meet an economist from the American Petroleum Institute, with whom I would later meet to discuss her work.

The other important relationships I formed this summer were with my coworkers in our office. These other interns came from a variety of backgrounds and all had interesting experiences they brought with them. Zane, Sarah, and Jason were great friends and helped make each day exciting and fun. I found sharing an office to be very enjoyable, and once again, this experience helped me to realize that I might actually enjoy working in an office.

The things discovered this summer are instrumental in determining my future. Once I graduate, I will need to make a decision: public sector or private sector. My work this summer have provided me with excellent context for one half of that equation, and I hope this upcoming summer will give me perspective into the other. In another sense, this experience may be extremely valuable to my future because it will ensure I have a job. In last few days of working at EIA, I received assurances that if I were interested in coming back in the future, they would find a place for me. This gives me a sense of relief, because I know I have a comfortable and exciting workplace to return to when I leave Columbus.

Today In Energy Article

My STEP project was for my internship this summer working for ArcelorMittal in Cleveland, OH. I was the electrical engineering intern for an industrial powerhouse that supplied power for the steel mill.

Going in to this internship, I had no professional engineering experience to speak of. I wanted to use this summer to really see what it was like work in the engineering field and figure out if being an electrical engineer was something that I would enjoy doing as a career. Before my internship I was very confident that I would love my position and the work I was doing but after working their my career goals have definitely changed.

For most of the summer I worked on several projects where I was the project leader and was responsible for successfully completing each project. I really enjoyed being able to use my leadership and communication skills to lead others but I was not greatly interested in the projects that we were working on. The big transformation that occurred for me over the course of my STEP project was realizing that I did not want to be an electrical engineer in an industrial setting and that I really enjoy working with people.

During my internship I worked very closely with a recent mechanical engineering graduate from Penn State. I constantly looked to him for guidance and advice and in return I was able to gain some insight into his experience as a practicing engineer. He talked a lot about the limited career path within the company for engineers and this is something that I was not expecting. For the most part, the engineers all remained engineers for their tenures at ArcelorMittal, while other positions seemed to have much more fluidity in their progression within the company. This was definitely something that I was not expecting but it has helped me better understand what I want from my career.

Another aspect of my STEP project that has helped transform my career goals were the projects that I worked on of the course of the semester. After a couple weeks on my first project, I realized that I was not all that excited about what I was working on. Industrial air compressors and river intake screens were not something I was necessarily interested in working with but I did really enjoy leading my own project, managing all the necessary parties and communicating between them. This was a huge takeaway from my STEP project that is helping guide me in my career search.

The final aspect of my STEP project that has helped transform my career path has to do with company culture. Before my internship I thought company culture was some HR term that was used all to often to describe a younger company. After my internship this summer I can say that I could not have been more wrong! Working at a steel mill in Cleveland is not an easy job and the supply of people willing to work there is shrinking rapidly. Combine this with a workforce made up of half unionized and half salaried workers and it makes for a very interesting summer! Although it may sound like I am being a bit harsh here, all I am trying to say is that I now value company culture. Finding a company with a culture that I agree with will be one of my top priorities moving forward and I think this alone will greatly improve my success at work.

This transformation is significant to me because it will help determine my career path for the rest of my life. I had a great summer and I learned a ton about what an actual engineer does but most importantly I have a better sense of what I want to do for my career. After my experience at ArcelorMittal I can now say I have transformed my ideal career path and I have a much better idea of what I want to do. I really enjoy working with people, utilizing my soft skills and working for a company who’s culture aligns with mine. I believe my STEP experience has been truly beneficial to my success as it has given me a better idea of what I want to do in my career.