- Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.
During my summer of 2019 internship, I worked as a lab technician for RAP Management, an asphalt manufacturer, while living on my own in Columbus, OH. Because of its nature as a start-up company, the company had me perform a variety of roles, including establishing a lab setting on site and communicating data directly to the CEO.
- What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.
First and foremost, this experience exposed me to real-life industry. Before the project, I had very little knowledge on what a career in civil engineering might look like on a day-to-day basis. Now, I’ve been exposed to not only to the applied science of engineering, but also to the business perspective of a new company, the employee-employer interaction of a professional firm, and the reality of a field where troubleshooting unknown problems can be highly prevalent.
In terms of my world-view coming out of this, this internship has given me a broader perspective into the working class. A large part of my job role included frequent interaction with truck drivers. These men and women came from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and ranged in age from early 20s to mid-70s. Throughout the summer, communicating and working with these drivers reminded me that people are people and deserve to be treated with respect, despite stereotypes that may be associated with them.
- What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.
On a daily basis, I would interact with my boss, the owner of the company. Not only did he have experience in engineering that he shared with me, but he also served as strong role model as a successful young entrepreneur. RAP Management has only existed for two years, and the plant they use is the first of its kind in North America. Seeing my boss manage and operate this system of machinery and people that he created was a strong example of what it takes to lead in this type of industry.
Problems were encountered frequently for the plant because of its newness and uniqueness, including machinery malfunctions, issues with the customers, etc. Dealing with these issues could be incredibly stressful for everyone on the team. However, in seeing the people above me manage these problems and in my own helping to solve them, I gained valuable troubleshooting experience. Overall, this helped me learn how to maintain a level head in whatever situations I may be confronted with in my career.
Interacting with the drivers daily was a huge part of my job. I had to teach them a new system of weighing in recycled asphalt. Some drivers learned quickly, while others took a long time to get become accustomed to it. Because of this, I had to develop my skills as a teacher and also practice patience in a number of situations. This repeated interaction with the drivers also gave me a chance to communicate with these men and women quite often, and not only did this improve my communication skills, but it led me to gain a great amount of respect for what they do.
- Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans
A career in engineering involves working with a lot of unknowns, which in turn can lead to a number of unexpected problems being encountered. Working in this setting will be valuable as I am now better prepared to adapt to the unexpected in my future job. Additionally, until my boss talked to me about his entrepreneurial ventures, I’d never considered creating a company on my own. While it’s not something I plan to do immediately, it’s now on my radar and may come into play the further I grow in my profession.
Personally, I feel like I’ve grown exponentially. Not only do I have a much better idea of how to behave in a professional setting, like how to interact with a boss or how to deliver my services on a strict schedule, but I also know how to interact with a broader range of people. Engineers can be particularly bad at relaying information to non-engineers, and in a field as closely linked to the public as civil engineering is, this can be a huge hinderance. I feel moving forward that I am much more comfortable interacting with a broader range of people, which will be extremely valuable in my career’s future projects.
Sounds like you had a great experience completing this internship. Glad that STEP could be a part of you having this opportunity. I appreciate that you articulate enhancing communication skills, as those will carry you in every industry. Thank you for sharing.