Wacker Chemical Corporation: Summer Internship 2019

For my STEP Project, I completed a lab technician internship at Wacker Chemical Corporation, located in Adrian, MI, in the summer of 2019. My main project was to process nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of important molecules and organize them into a library with ACD/Spectrus, a powerful software package designed by Advanced Chemistry Development (ACD) for analyzing and organizing chemical spectra. Meanwhile, I was also trained in a variety of essential analytical techniques such as 1H and 29Si NMR, ultraviolet-visible and infrared spectroscopies, high-performance liquid chromatography, and rheometry.

 

 

I had many first experiences during my internship. It was my first job. It was my first independent living experience. It was even my first time living outside of Ohio. Coming in on my first day, I had no expectations besides being paid for my work. In the end, I would say that, with all points considered, it was a good experience. There were so many great moments, but there were also many unpleasant issues that balanced the experience as a whole. What makes this good overall was that it has transformed me for the better. Over the summer, I gradually realized that I feel less insecure about several things compared to how I felt in the past. I now feel more confident in my talents, more open to my peers, and more relaxed when talking to those older than me. I doubt that these insecurities will completely disappear, but now, I can look past them to gain the confidence I need to accomplish more.

 

The first insecurity was with myself. In recent years, I realized that I had become a “perfectionist”. “Perfect” and excellent results became my standard, and anything less than that deserved reprehension. Even when I was being recognized for my achievements, I rarely thought about them, and it takes only one significant mistake for me to completely dismiss them. My perfect GPA was something I achieved under this mentality, so I had little motivation to change it. I first began to recognize my achievements when I created my resume. Taking the time to consider all that I had done was the first time I saw myself as a unique individual with achievements and privileges that not many others have. I realized this better during my internship. ACD/Spectrus is a software that has never been used at Wacker before, so I was taking the first steps to this project. I was teaching myself how to create libraries and process NMR spectra, and my best aid was a cumbersome electronic reference manual. I did not think very much about this, but I was creating a foundation for a global library that will be available in all sites of WACKER around the world. Upon reflection, I had accomplished many different things in the past, including more than a decade studying music and academic excellence, several scholarships, and now a successful and foundational internship project. I will always strive for excellence, maybe even perfection, but reflecting on all my experiences, I can be proud of myself for the achievements I have earned.

 

The second insecurity was with my friends. I had generally been quiet when in a group, sometimes quiet enough so that nobody heard me when I tried to comment. As a result, I felt it was always easier to stay in my room, and staying in a group without much involvement would only be awkward. Many of my extracurricular involvements do not last longer than a year, and most friends I had in the past are no longer associated with me. However, the other interns at this program were unexpectedly open and inviting. After a few missed opportunities (some involving making my own excuses, like not wanting to pay for ice cream), I joined them. I began participating in movie nights and card games with the other interns. These were some of the most fun moments of my stay. It was also reassuring that in such a group, we all casually swore and made provocative jokes at some point. This indicated that I did not have to be so polite and careful about what I say, which had become instinctive for me. In all my time with the other interns, despite still being generally quiet, not once did I feel awkward being there. I felt like I belonged in a group for once, even though it was only for a short time. What I did realize is that I can be brave in joining a group of friends and being with them can give me much better experiences.

 

The third insecurity was with people for whom I work. This included my teachers, advisors, and this summer specifically, my boss and mentor. Initially, I had expected that I would only be doing what my boss assigns me. I would seek as little help as possible, for my boss would be busy and I would not want to be seen as dependent. This mentality came as a student, where I would only be recognized by my teachers for my grade and class participation. I was perfectly satisfied with this, however, as my professors would usually reward me with an “A” on my transcript. What I never expected was to develop a professional, yet friendly relationship with my mentor. He is kind, funny, insightful, caring, and he worked hard for me to learn as much as possible from my time with him. While he taught me different techniques working in the lab, I found that simply talking to him in his office was much more satisfying and insightful. We conversed often, sometimes for more than an hour, about a large variety of topics. I learned about how businesses typically function, different ways to pursue my career, and sometimes morbidly humorous things about the world. Amongst all these discussions, I remember one idea. “Your time has value”, he told me without any hesitation. Over several years, I had unconsciously learned to dismiss compliments, perhaps due to my perfectionist nature or otherwise. However, this time with my mentor, I genuinely felt happy and respected. I still respect him as a boss, but I feel confident that I can call him a friend despite that. As the internship continued and I worked with different people, I realized that they were also friendly and empathetic like my mentor. Meanwhile, I dealt with waiting for upper management to purchase a ACD/Spectrus license for me to use, having major intern activities cancelled every few weeks, and paying twice as much in living expenses on my last week to stay in a hotel. My ultimate takeaway from both the highest and lowest points of this internship is that my bosses and the people in the organization I work for are human. They can care for me, and they are sometimes fallible. I should neither be afraid to converse with others or ask for help, nor should I thoughtlessly do what I am told.

 

On my first day, I had been tasked to pick a picture and explain why it was significant to me. I picked a crystalline snowflake, saying that if we look closely at something, we would see a beautiful structure that we could have easily dismissed as just a speck of dust. Surprisingly, I had closely observed several different things that I initially thought were once “snowflakes”. I critiqued my experience, gaining expectations the next time I find a job. I opened myself to my mentors and coworkers, finding myself in the care and respect of others that I never faced before. Lastly, I faced my insecurities directly, and despite every reason to give up, I became more confident in myself than ever before. By the end of my internship, I had a closer view of many different beautiful things, and I strongly intend to pursue more of them in the future.

 

Shop Supply Service Internship

For my STEP signature project, I interned at Shop Supply Service in Findlay, Ohio. My main responsibilities were lead generation, inside sales, and outside sales. I was also responsible for inventory and clerical work inside the office as well.

During the duration of my time at, Shop Supply Service, I observed many changes of myself that also transformed the way that I think about the world. Before my experiences at my internship took place, I was unaware how much I care about the mission and vision of a company. I was inspired by the companies work ethic and how they truly care about supporting the community that they are in. The small business takes pride in supporting other small businesses and creating a work environment that upholds those standards. I will take that lesson with me as a dive into my own career.

Shop Supply Service was started out of the owner’s bed of his truck. He had a few buckets full of nuts and bolts and traveled around the town in attempt to sell to local farmers. After his first day of defeat he went to a local produce stand to buy himself something for lunch. All that was in his pocket was 27 cents. Owner, Merle Hohman, told himself that day that he would never have so little to his name again. The drive and determination led him to soon own a large operation that is selling to hundreds of factories across Ohio. This story is what the company is reminded of daily.

As each employee goes out to make a sales pitch, they have the understanding that you have to work hard for what you want. They have great client relationships and have been serving the area proudly for many years. With the understanding of this vision, I was eager to work. I enjoyed the excitement that each employee had each day and how they encouraged one another and helped where they were needed. Whether it was making deliveries, meeting with clients, or completing paper work I was amazed by how much time they take to do things with excellence.

The relationship between all of the workers transformed my idea of a structured working environment. They were on a mission and were running a mile a minute, but they maintained such a great and professional attitude with one another. I was really inspired to work in a place where people were so kind each and every day. My perspective changed and I noticed myself being just as positive to be at the internship. The high expectations are something that I believe greatly impacted my experience.

I feel that the change in my perspective is so valuable to my professional goals because it is something that I hope to always keep in mind. I am so thankful that I was able to have the experiences that I did while working alongside some of the most knowledgeable professionals. Learning from others who have been in the work force for so many years was truly encouraging. All of the owners being Ohio State University graduates was also a factor that reminded me of what a great networking opportunity I have coming from such a highly regarded university. I feel as though I have been very fortunate to have learned so much in such a short amount of time. This experience shaped me personally, academically, and molded the expectations I have of myself in my professional life.

Sunrise at Shop Supply Service.

Incompatible Internship

My step project was to intern with The Switch to gain experience working
with marketing and in the housing field of city planning. However, did not get much experience
in the housing field, but I did help them with marketing their merchandise and I assisted with
organizing and shipping subscription boxes with the merchandise as well.

If I am honest, nothing really transformed in me during or after this internship, only
thing is that I have come to realize how non-profits operate. In this case, I was given a grand
opportunity that was not all it was cracked up to be. I have learned my lesson of job hunting
and one thing that I value most is stability, order, communication, and pay. I have learned to
value myself and to not settle for where I want to work, because if I do settle, I will be highly
disappointed. I will say I transformed in a way where I know my worth and I will in the future
choose a different arena for where I devote my time and energy.

Honestly this internship was a little disappointing. I was hired and told I would receive
great experience doing grand projects with human trafficking, housing, and traveling to D.C.,
but it turned out to be quite unorganized and more work at home than anything. They rarely
met up to meet during the month and everyone was always confused or uncertain about who
to contact or what to do. I understand this is acceptable sometimes, but every time we met
there was something major, we did not know that hindered us from moving forward in a
project.
Furthermore, the CEO that hired me was always busy and never around. She traveled so
much that it was difficult to even be her intern. Being that I was also unpaid during this
internship my few hours working at Panera Bread would clash with times to meet with them
and kept me from traveling and being more hands on.
In addition, there was a subscription box that we were supposed to put together and
that alone took forever to kickstart, and when I would try to help out the communication was
so terrible, I was left for days not knowing what I should do. Overall, I do not want to come
down on the organization itself or the people there. These are amazing people, but I just
believe that their roles for interns are still in the works. It is not much for their interns to do
because they do everything themselves and there is an extreme me lack of communication and
meeting with one another for follow up. I personally did not favor this work style and I wish I
had learned more.
For this reason, I now know what type of work environment I prefer. I recognize that I
do not do well with spontaneous work settings and that I need a structured workplace. Also,
not being paid was not the best because many experience opportunities would clash with my
work schedule at Panera Bread. In addition, I learned how difficult it is to run anon-profit.
Though they impact so many lives and bring awareness to many, at this stage in The Switch’s
non-profit life they are in a phase where a few people are doing literally everything, and they
are too busy for interns.

This change relates to my professional goals because though it was an incompatible
internship, I had inside view on how hard it was to run a business. It honestly had me rethinking
if I truly wanted to take on pursuing social entrepreneurship. Lastly, it relates to future plans
because as I stated before I will know what type of career I can be functional in or be more at
peace with, such as working in an office setting and not from home, or not working for nonprofit companies, but only searching for public or more established firms. I will never regret the
experience I had here or the people I got to know, but I believe that it was just a lesson learned.

Implementation Intern

  1. I was an implementation intern at Strategic Insurance Software in Columbus, Ohio. I developed an application that scraped data from one database and then populated another one.
  2. The largest transformation that took place in the completion of my STEP project was my understanding of what it means to be a professional leader. I have always pursued  leadership in my involvements, formal or otherwise, finding roles in which I better the team I’m a part of. However, I have never found myself as a part of a team dedicated to software development, the field I intend to pursue. It is there that I found the different components of leadership, from hard skills to soft skills, and the various styles of leadership come into play. Because of my STEP Signature Project, I have a more detailed and complex understanding of what it means to lead in a professional environment which I will carry for the rest of my life.
  3. Through relationships with my three supervisors, Luke, Adam, and Richard, I was mentored on what it means to be a leader in software development, something I truly hope to become.

Luke was my department supervisor. Our relationship led to my current understanding of what professional leaders look like. The first time I met him, he told me that he only has two priorities: get employees paid and get them promoted. That was quite jarring. Up until that point, I had understood organizations from a goal-oriented structure. In that view, one’s priority should ensure that employees “deliver the best product/service.” Luke, however, delegates those tasks to those below him. From his perspective, near the top of the organization, his priority is those he leads. It is under this philosophy that he believes team members will aspire to be paid and promoted under his leadership, with the most expedient path being “delivering the best product/service.”

Adam was my area supervisor. His leadership taught me the importance of relationships in the workplace. Despite our age and experience difference, he always valued what I had to say. Much of my technical conversations were with Richard. With Adam, our discussions covered broader ground, from the personal to the professional and everything in between. By having a personal relationship with senior developers, I felt more integrated within the professional environment than I ever imagined. By promoting conversation and kindness, Adam enabled the area to become a community, not just a workplace.

Richard was my project supervisor. With him, I learned the most “hard” skills. The nitty-gritty technical know how that is necessary to be useful in the tech field. Although his knowledge base was as deep as it was wide, it was not that which stuck out to me. The most valuable component of Richard’s mentorship was his patience. He knew that he came into each of our conversations with the burdens of knowledge and experience. Although I work hard to learn as much as I can, it does not always immediately “click.” This is something he knew and expected. As such, he never hesitated to work with me through the problems I faced, despite the fact that to him, solutions were often quite apparent. His calm demeanor enabled me to learn in a relaxed environment that was likely most conducive for educational success.

  1. I have the full intention to pursue software development as my field of study upon graduating from OSU. I also have the full intention to lead in software development. Whether that is industry wide or closely among peers, I wish to do so successfully. By working under exceptional supervisors, I have been given both new tools and a road map to find success as a leader in software. Although my employment does not command my whole focus in my life beyond Ohio State, it certainly will take up much of it. I am tremendously grateful that my STEP Signature Project enabled me with the opportunity to enhance my professional prospects as a leader.

Image result for strategic insurance software

Summer with Assisting Hands

This summer I worked for Assisting Hands Home Care in Columbus. My primary activities included working with their sales team to update their CRM system, craft social media posts, create regular newsletters, and work with clients to ensure their care needs were being met. I also spent much time working with employees to make sure their HR paperwork was properly completed.

The biggest change that took place in my point of view of the world while working for Assisting Hands was with the people I interacted with. There is an interesting dynamic in the Home Care industry where most workers are African American women and most clients are wealthy white people. It’s interesting to see the dynamics between the two groups and to see the differences in culture. Coming from a middle-class white family, I had never interacted really interacted with many African Americans. I saw the issues that members of this group face daily.

Many of the women working for Assisting Hands were single mothers. This combined with their lack of financial resources meant they had trouble getting to work. Firstly, they often had car troubles. Their cars were often not very quality, so they would break down occasionally. When their car broke down they couldn’t go to work which meant they couldn’t pay to get their car fixed since they often didn’t have any savings. Some workers didn’t even have cars, so they had to rely on friends to drive them to work every day. There was also the issue that they couldn’t pay for childcare.

For a specific example, my co-worker’s (who worked in the office but was still an underpaid single mom) car broke down halfway through the summer. She was unable to afford to get it repaired, but fortunately she had a neighbor who was a mechanic that fixed it for free. She was later able to get connected to a service that lends cars to single moms who need transportation for work while their car is getting repaired. My other co worker whose husband is a car salesman was eventually able to get her a good deal on a reliable car. For anyone in my family a car breaking down is an annoyance, but this showed me how there are many things that are annoyances for me that can seriously disrupt other peoples lives.

These issues related more directly to my job because I oversaw making sure the employees got a TB test. If you don’t already know, you need to get a TB test done one day and have it read within two to three days. This is required by the state for all home care workers, but is a burdensome regulation to many. Since few places offer this test out of regular business hours many must take off work to get it. It’s also difficult because the cost of the test is also burdensome since many of these women make not much above minimum wage.

While I received some professional development in my internship, I was surprised to realize that my biggest takeaway from the role was the social issues I learned about. After graduation I’ll be going into the peace corps helping women and minorities start small businesses, and hopefully working in government or politics after that. The lesson that there are many people I not only don’t understand but don’t know I don’t understand is one that I will be able to take with me in my future career. I now know I need to work harder to understand the struggle of those around me. This is something I got a taste of at Assisting Hands, and will have many more opportunities to develop in future.

My Experience at the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center

My STEP signature project allowed me to work at a lab on campus this summer. I worked for the Ohio State Center for Applied Plant Sciences in the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center as a Student Research Assistant. I was able to stay at the apartment I rent year-round just off campus.

I was able to see the behind-the-scenes mechanisms that drive research this summer. Before this experience, I had never thought about what goes into increasing our understanding of the world around us through biological research. None of our knowledge would be reliable without the processes and people that work together all around the world to make research possible and valid. I now know that we as scientists are capable of great things only by working as one big team with the common goal to advance our collective understandings.

This summer, I worked for the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC). Arabidopsis thaliana is a weed that is related to many food crops. It is used as a model plant for research, as it was the first plant genome to be completely sequenced and is small and easy to grow. Our job at ABRC is to provide seeds and education kits of Arabidopsis and a few other species to researchers and educators all around the world and even on the International Space Station. We distribute around 150,000 samples of seeds for different Arabidopsis mutants per year to 9,000 labs in 80 countries. In order to keep up with the demand, we store and continuously grow and test the different mutants in our lab.

I had many tasks throughout the summer, including pulling stocks of seeds out of storage for orders, distributing seeds into smaller vials to be sent out, preparing laboratory materials to be used in testing the germination levels of stocks, working with growing plants in the growth chambers, and managing payments for orders and eRequests for our department. When dealing with the seed stocks, working in temperature and humidity controlled rooms was essential to prevent molding and decreases in viability. This meant that most of my time in the lab was spent in the “cold room” which was kept at about 40˚F or the “dry room” which was kept under 30% humidity. Contamination was also a concern: most of the seeds look identical and are extremely small, so it was very important to keep each stock separate and to be aware of which seeds you were working with.

In the office, I was exposed to our finances and our customer service aspects. I received and processed checks that came into the department, and I managed internal orders and purchase requests made by individuals in our department. I worked with the office managers and the education managers, and I learned a lot about how businesses are run from them.

These experiences opened my eyes to the world of research. I gained an appreciation for the work that biological researchers do in order to provide the world with knowledge that can be used for the good of all. I gained a more focused level of attention to detail as well as patience and a higher comfort level when asking for help or clarification. These skills will be invaluable to me as I finish school and move into the industry of conservation. I can understand how scientists learned about our environment, and I have a deeper trust for their processes. When I use biological and ecological information to improve and protect our natural world, I will not take it for granted. I also understand how essential it is to take procedures seriously, and that it is better to take my time and ask for help to get something done correctly than to rush or to proceed with uncertainty. I have increased my confidence in my ability to accomplish new things and work with new people through my STEP signature project, and I am excited to take these skills with me into my future.

Some Arabidopsis plants in one of the greenhouses.

The cold room where I spent most of my time. Each drawer holds 300 vials, and each vial has seeds from a different mutant of Arabidopsis.

STEP Reflection – Personal Training Certification

For my STEP project I chose to obtain my personal training license and work as a personal trainer here at Ohio State. My certification comes from the American Council of Exercise. I attended classes through the spring semester of 2019 and tested for my license in May 2019. I worked as a personal trainer through summer 2019.

While completing my STEP signature project, I had a lot of assumptions of mine change. Going into my class, I assumed that everyone working as a CPT would be the same stereotype; very muscular/fit, and conventionally attractive. However, everyone does not look the same! I also assumed that everyone would be some kind of Physical Education or Human Sciences major. This was also not the case, some of my teachers were Marketing majors, Biochemistry or even Engineering. Sometimes, this led to me feeling like an outsider, as I was trying to fit myself into a nonexistent mold I had created for personal trainers.

Sometimes I would feel down on myself that I was “lesser than” other personal trainers cause I wasn’t in a specific major or had certain fitness goals. My main goals were to just keep healthy and try things I had not done before. I was not super active and fit in high school, and I wanted to change this about myself. It was only when I mingled with other CPTs at Ohio State that I realized that there isn’t a mold we all have to fit. Each person is working towards their best self, and just because my goals didn’t align with theirs, doesn’t mean that I’m less of a personal trainer than they are.

I also assumed that everyone looking into personal training wanted a similar goal; to get an attractive, fit body. However, many of my clients goals were just to get healthier. Many had chronic health conditions that were improved by a regular exercise regimen and weight loss. They might have also wanted to get stronger, but for most of my clients, the primary goal was to get healthier through exercise.

A key relationship I had developed was with a client who had chronic health concerns and wanted to lose weight. She didn’t really enjoy standard cardio options, however she really enjoyed becoming stronger through strength training. I began designing workouts I knew she would enjoy, and eventually she achieved her goals. Challenging clients always pushed me to do my best in my job. I wanted to really help those who had health challenges because fitness is much more than just a physique thing for me.

This transformation allowed me to develop my personal and professional goals. After completing this project, I realized that I was capable of doing something I once said I never could accomplish. I was helping people reach their goals, and I really enjoyed doing it. I want to incorporate this experience into my career in the future, like personal training on the side in addition to a full time job. I think having this balance of interests has really improved who I am as a person.

 

My Experience at A-Brite Plating Company

For my STEP project I worked as a chemical engineering intern for a company called A-Brite Plating that is located in Cleveland, Ohio. The company plates metal onto plastics for numerous customers. A step-by-step process photo is shown below (note each new piece represents one more step in the process and the last three pieces are all different finishes). I created a process 101 presentation for the company while also keeping track of orders and inventory for their Honda 2020 CRV program.

I feel I have a more in-depth view and appreciation for manufacturing. I never realized how many different companies there are in the world but working at a place that chrome plates plastic put that in perspective. We, among other parts, chromed five parts for the Honda CRV, and knowing that we only do a portion of this car’s chrome nationwide made me think of how much goes into a single car. There are many more man hours that go into creating one vehicle than I knew of beforehand. Between us, steel workers, plastic injection companies, etc. I am surprised car prices are so low.

Working as an engineer for the first time, even at the lowest level, brought new light to my eyes as well. There will never be a shortage of problems to solve, especially in the manufacturing industry. If there is a slow day, you could be working on improving the process, but there are almost never any of those days.

I also realized that manufacturing is a tough business to work in. Working on a project that sent parts to Honda showed me that deadlines are set, and there is no partial credit for your late work. I found myself working longer than 8 hours a day a few times to meet a customers requirement.

I have also gained an appreciation for the people working on the floor at a manufacturing plant. Not all of them want to be where they are, in fact I hadn’t heard one person all summer say they loved their job. It is a tough thing to stomach that people are not doing something that they dreamed of doing. Lots of people are working for their families. It is something that I did not notice a lot growing up in a small farm town, and it is something that you do not normally see while attending school at such a large campus.

My interactions with the floor workers and with our janitor staff brought my second realization to fruition. I have gained a lot of respect for these day in and day out grinders. I learned that two of the men on first shift work a second job on the weekends. Both guys were noted as hard working and reliable by their manager. They were also very nice to me and were always willing to help me with a small project.

All in all, I now know that school is just a steppingstone. What I am going to see and learn once I have a full-time job will not exactly resemble my coursework. There is too much to cover in school to match the expansive manufacturing industry. Also, the personal relationships I develop on the job cannot be taught in school. Knowing this will reshape how I look at each job I apply for. I will be looking beyond what the title and description are because I know the more important aspects are not captured by these things. I will want to look into who I will be working with and attempt to figure out why I would want to spend hours of my time with them trying to fulfill a companies goals.

STEP reflection- Equitas Health

Over this past summer, I was an intern at the Equitas HIV/STI Hotline. This primarily consisted of answer phone calls, emails, and chats with questions about sexual health. However, I also participated in sending out condom packs, at-home HIV testing kits, making buttons, and generally assisting around the office.

Throughout the course of the project, my understanding of myself changed in that I feel more confident in explaining different, sometimes taboo, concepts to others. I had known that I was comfortable discussing intimate topics with my friends, but I didn’t know I was capable of doing it with strangers. This experience had made me more confident with myself in general and I feel able to speak up for different issues now that I’ve done this internship.

My view of the world changed in that I didn’t realize how many people needed accurate sex education. I knew that sex education in schools was majorly lacking, but I didn’t realize to what extent. Many people don’t know the basics in terms of STIs and incurable diseases. The lack of knowledge in the questions I was asked showed me how much work still needs to be done in terms of education.

I got questions ranging from “Can my cat give my chlamydia?” to “Can I get HIV from masturbating?” Questions like these reminded me of how uneducated many people are in terms of sexual education. I was excited throughout the duration of this internship to give people accurate information and to alleviate some of the stress around transmission. Many people were relieved to hear they were not at risk of HIV as they had previously thought based on incorrect information. I went home feeling accomplished every day that I assisted someone in need.

Another aspect of my STEP experience that helped transform me into a more confident person was the relationships I formed with the other interns and volunteers. These interactions helped me to be more confident in what I have to say and voicing my opinions on different topics. Everyone who volunteers there has a different personality, but were all there with the same goal which helps in forming bonds. I learned as much from the people I worked with as I did through different presentations and lectures.

A final aspect of my STEP project that helped in transforming my character and expanding my depth of experience was leading condom packing parties every other week. Every other Tuesday, a volunteer group comes into Equitas to help pack condoms as we send out about 1,000 orders a week. Before I started this internship, I hated leading things as I thought I wasn’t qualified and was too young for anyone to take me seriously. While I did have some complications with my confidence in the beginning, after a few weeks I became comfortable in my position and began to effectively lead. As the weeks went on, I could tell that many of the regulars started to have more respect for me and took what I said more seriously.

These changes are significant in many different aspects of my life. In terms of professional goals, I feel more able to pursue different opportunities as I’m better able to articulate myself. Instead of awkwardly talking to different managers and supervisors, I can now voice what I can bring to the company and how my skills will be useful to their operation. This may open doors that were previously unavailable to me.

Along with helping my professional goals, my STEP experience can help in my academic career as it very directly relates to my major. Being a public health major, the topics of HIV and STIs come up frequently. It’s beneficial to have a strong background knowledge of the subject and be able to contribute to class discussions in a meaningful way. This has already come into play on a few different occasions, but specifically when I was in a class and the topics of HIV and STIs were brought up. One of the students was asking the professor question s that they didn’t know the answer to, such as “Why don’t people get tested for herpes?”. The professor wasn’t sure of the answer, so I was able to say that it’s because of its high prevalence and lack of harm to anyone carrying the virus. Different opportunities such as this have made being a public health major even more meaningful.

 

My Summer In Chicago

Sam Buckley

STEP Reflection

 

  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.

My STEP signature project was an internship with Regions Financial Corporation in Chicago, Illinois.  I was a member of the Income Property Finance division, in which I would financially underwrite developers and investors for our RM’s and Associates to then craft construction and bridge loans.

  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.

This project had arguably the biggest impact on me as both as a person and a professional in my time at Oho State for a multitude of reasons.  First, as a person, I have lived my entire in Columbus, Ohio, and the most amount of consecutive days I’ve spent away from the city was previously 14 days.  All of a sudden, I had to call the 3rdbiggest city in the country home for over 2 months, while also having to excel as a summer analyst with hopes of being hired fulltime after the internship. Although there were certain difficulties associated with moving to a big city, I found myself able to fully immerse myself in the idea of being a Chicagoan and getting to know my way around the city.  Being in a metropolis like Chicago, I also got very comfortable with interacting with people of all different backgrounds.  No matter the income level, race, sexual orientation or what have you, Chicago has it all covered.

  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.

Straight off the plane when I moved to Chicago in May, I was tasked with all of my belongings to the train stop, finding my exit stop, navigating the busy streets, and moving my stuff into a new apartment right across the street from the world famous Grant Park.  To say the least, that was an experience I’ve never come close to being a part of, aside from moving into college as a freshmen. From there, it was an never ending adventure of meeting new people, both in the work setting and outside of the office.

One of the first events that led to a significant transformation was my internship training for a week in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Less than a full week into my move to Chicago, I hopped on another plane and became fully immersed in learning about Regions.  I was thrown in with the other 11 Real Estate Interns from 7 different offices nationwide, and the following day met the 30 others from the rest of the corporate bank.  I was able to meet fellow college students from all walks of life, bonding over this new adventure and experience we were all going through.  It changed my perspective on different parts of the country, and gave me a new appreciation for what an internship program can do for someone. I came out of training with plenty of new connections, as well as friends for the rest of my career.

Another aspect of my STEP project that had a huge impact on me was simply working everyday in the Chicago office. For being a large bank, I was thankful to have a smaller group in Chicago of only 18 people, so I was able to create incredible relationships fairly easy, while also learning from professionals with years (sometimes decades) of experience.  We would have a team lunch every Friday in which we’d cross the river and I’d be able to pick the brains of each and every member of the team, while they got to know me better as well.  Although the technical side of the job was important to learn quickly, I truly believe the relationships I made in the office are something that I’ll treasure forever, and those same relationships come into play when making a decision later in the project.

  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.

This STEP project changed my life in more ways than I could’ve ever imagined.  Originally, I viewed my STEP project as a way to get out of Ohio for a summer and hopefully make some money working at a reputable company.  Now of course that all played out, but two days before I was scheduled to fly back home to Columbus, I received a call from my boss down at our corporate headquarters.  She said I showed a lot traits throughout the summer that they were very excited about, and offered me a full time job in the Strategy vertical of the department I was working in, something very rare for interns.  Due to my love of the city, and the incredible people at Regions, both in Chicago and across the country, it wasn’t a hard decision to accept.

Without STEP, the internship wouldn’t have been possible, and therefore I wouldn’t have been afforded this amazing opportunity.  Columbus will always be home, but thanks to STEP, I’ll be able to call myself a resident of Chicago for the foreseeable future, which has always been a dream of mine.