This summer I did an internship at GE aviation in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was working in the digital league, where I worked with big data. Most of the summer I worked on projects that involved trying to save the company money. I worked in cross functional group, where I was able to work with full time employees of many different majors.
The main thing this project helped me to understand about myself is what I want to do after I graduate college. I realized that even though I am an engineer, I enjoy working on projects that are more focused on business aspects. I enjoyed the social aspect and it felt good to know that the work I was doing was having a direct impact on the company. I also realized that even though I am an electrical and computer engineer I enjoy coding more than a lot of the hardware. I want to continue to explore what jobs I can be successful in and enjoy with my major.
I got to meet a lot of people this summer and develop both my network and my business acumen. There were 280 engineering interns in the Cincinnati office, so I was able to meet and form relationships with many of them. The interns where from all over the country and from many different backgrounds which made it a diverse experience. I played in a sand volleyball league and also hung out with interns living around me almost every day I was there. This was my first time living on my own and after living with 4 siblings my entire life, it was a very freeing experience.
As for professional development, GE had networking events called “lunch and learns” throughout the year. At these events, Executives at GE would talk a little bit about who they are and how they got to be in there position right now. I worked with an executive who went to Ohio State and I get to network with her and other Ohio State Alum. I was able to meet many young professionals who were in the Edison engineering program, and now I want to apply for that program after I graduate. Overall, I was very happy with my experience at GE and cannot wait to go back in the Spring.
As for personal relationships, I was able to live 4 minutes away from my high school friend Ian. We decided we were going to work out every morning at 5:15am and we stuck to it the entire summer. We also explored many different parts of Cincinnati. I would recommend Gomez, a small Mexican restaurant, to anyone visiting the city of Cincinnati. On of the most fun things I was able to do was go to Bunbury Music Festival with my roommate from Ohio State. I got to see some of my favorite bands and might even go next year if I am in Cincinnati again.
This was transformational because it taught me a lot about myself, and who I want to be when I grow up. The work that I did was impactful and the people I met while working I am very comfortable reaching out to in the future if I ever needed a favor in my professional career. This allowed me to know what technical electives I want to take for my major and what jobs I want to apply for when I graduate. These two things are very important to my future career.