1. My STEP project consisted of an internship experience at Nexceris LLC located in Columbus. Throughout this past summer, I got a lot of materials science experience and was exposed to what a possible career focused on materials science could be. I also was responsible for living on my own, paying rent and utilities, and preparing my meals.

2. This experience had a huge impact on my idea on what kind of full-time job I get after I graduate. My internship consisted of a wide variety of work, ranging from computer business-oriented work to mixing chemicals in the lab. I had very limited experience with the lab work prior to this internship. I ended up finding out that I did not enjoy it. I realized I would rather be doing more business-oriented work than materials science research in the lab. So now as I begin applying for full time jobs, I am going to stay away from lab research type jobs. I do not see myself enjoying that work.

Throughout the summer I also greatly improve my cooking abilities and confidence I have cooking things. I had done very little cooking before this experience, and I did not enjoy it at all. Throughout the summer I was forced to cook for most of my meals and began to enjoy it. My confidence slowly grew, and I am now not afraid to try and cook complicated dishes. The internship in Columbus made this growth possible, and I can continue to build upon my cooking skills for the rest of my life.

3. My new understanding of what career I would like to go into was a result of my wide variety of work and observing what my coworkers work was like. Instead of just directly working for one supervisor, I was assigned work from several different people. This gave me a wide variety of tasks I took on throughout the summer. I had lab-oriented work where I mixed chemicals, packed pellets of powder, and measured properties of suspensions. I also did market research, which consisted of online research and talks with outside sources. On another project, I looked into intellectual property and Nexceris’s position relative to other companies. These projects along with several others gave me experience working in many different areas, and I was able to see what I like to do and what I did not.

Throughout the summer I was able to observe what people around Nexceris were doing in their day to day work. Since it is a small company, I was able to work closely with lots of different areas within the business. I saw how much some people traveled, how many meetings they had to go to, and how much they worked in the lab. By observing my coworkers, I was able to imagine myself in their positions and reflect how happy I would be with their jobs.

Through the work I did and the work I saw my co-workers doing, I was able to narrow down what I would like to pursue in my career. I did not enjoy the lab work. I found it very boring it did not line up to my skill set and knowledge base. I liked the work where I could use the business strategy knowledge I have gained through my business classes. I also did not enjoy the projects that were long term R&D projects. I thought it was very boring to work on a technology that even if successful will not in consumers’ hands for many years. I liked the projects that had an immediate effect on the business and its customers.

4. My experience this summer was key to my future professional goals. Before this summer, I had only interned at one company. I did not know what I would think of materials science research work. After this summer, I gained a much better understanding of what I would like in a career. This allows me to narrow down what types of jobs I want to apply for. I will be applying for jobs in an office environment working on products that are closer to the consumer. I believe with the knowledge I gained this summer I will be able to begin a career I will find more enjoyable. This will allow me to perform better and have greater success. I am very thankful I learned these things this past summer. It would have been more damaging to my career if I would have taken a full-time job and then realized I did not enjoy it.