STEP Internship Reflection

Type of Project: Internship

 

  1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

This STEP project allowed me to serve as an intern at an automotive parts manufacturing facility at the Columbus Hirschvogel Inc. facility, with a primary responsibility of a lab technician within the quality management lab. This role primarily consisted of me doing metallography, lab reports, data management, and general assistance for the ultimate goal of quality control.

 

  1. 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.

Going into this STEP project, it was all too easy to lose personal focus on my studies and how they could realistically be applied into a profession. “Being a metallurgical engineer” seemed to be such an abstract and almost unobtainable goal, no matter how many years spent in university. This summer has allowed me to understand that this is not the case, and in fact, I already know quite a lot of relevant information and techniques that can prove helpful in a metallurgical lab. This was an extremely heartening discovery, as it directly validated many years of studying and proved I could make a living outside of brewing coffee or making sandwiches. This process involved a level of independence and maturity I previously have not been forced to demonstrate, and proved as a great learning experience.

 

  1. 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.

The most useful component of my internship was easily the interactions with my supervisors and the lab technicians. Going into the internship it became clear to me that my direct supervisors were experienced metallurgists who not only enjoyed their craft, but also derived a great amount of excitement from talking with others who shared this passion. As a student with still much to learn, I had what I felt must have been an obnoxious amount of questions, but my supervisors never hesitated in setting aside what they were working on to talk about the science behind every question. In my scholastic career, I have had a number of great mentors, and how I was mentored through this internship was analogous to the best of these teachers.

The company I interned with began their busiest time of the year right as a joined the team, but despite this on my first day my boss walked me around the facility. He taught me all about the parts being manufactured, the processes being used, and the metallurgical principles being utilized. I shook countless hands and was handed a number of business cards. It was an amazing way to join an organization and to begin a summer internship. I was also invited to tag along for lunch with my supervisors a number of times, where they would graciously pay for my meal, all the while making me feel a part of the team even further. My supervisors also showed a great amount of patience and understanding, even in key moments of personal failure, like when I broke an $800 grinding wheel. This level of kindness was upheld the entire internship. My last week working with the organization myself and a fellow intern were driven out to a steel distributer overnight for a tour and demonstration. I was not only given invaluable lessons and information on the trade, but I also realized the importance of helping the new guy and the value of mentorship.

The guidance experienced within this intern opportunity was not exclusive to my supervisors, but was a general attitude that was seemed to be shared by all employees. My best friends within the company quickly became the two lab technicians who, not only appreciated the extra hands around the lab, but also appeared to enjoy giving a kid like me tips they had picked up over their years carrying out metallography. Jokes and updates on personal lives soon became exchanged, and I even found my coworkers giving me tips on how to improve my cooking after I would mention the trials of independent living I never truly experienced. I am confident that through this internship I built lasting relationships with my coworkers, but not only as mentors, but as friends.

 

  1. 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.

Through this project I was able to acquire extremely relevant and exciting exposure to my desired industry, of manufacturing. Up until this project, I had a fairly loose understanding of what the manufacturing industry even was, and being able to spend a summer as a part of an active automotive part manufacturer, shed incredible insight. Through such experience, I learned a great amount of technical and practical knowledge that can be directly applied to my studies and scholastic pursuits. I have a newfound sense of clarity and personal conviction for my career path, as I now know how relevant my studies actually are. I also now have the peace of mind knowing that I not only enjoy my classes, but will derive a great amount of personal satisfaction as I apply such knowledge. I also feel as if I have overcome a personal landmark of finally infiltrating the professional world, and was not completely inept through the process. The intimidation of such a step is lessoned knowing the possible patience and empathy of the individuals in my field of study. This STEP project has allowed me to obtain invaluable peace of mind, along with motivation to continue pushing forward into a profession of manufacturing.

 

Some equipment I had the opportunity to become familiar with:

Saw used to obtain cross sections of parts.

Grinding wheel used to observe microstructure of parts. 

Grinding and polisher used for metallography.

Automated hardness tester used in lab.