1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project.
My STEP project was a summer internship with Swagelok’s advanced manufacturing & quality department. I had the opportunity to complete projects, connect with engineering managers, and tour Swagelok’s manufacturing facilities.
2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?
My view of what a career in engineering entails was broadened through my internship at Swagelok. Before my internship this summer, my understanding of what careers I could pursue with a degree in mechanical engineering was very narrow minded. Now, I better understand the breadth of career paths out there that I can pursue with my degree. With this knowledge, I feel better equipped to find a career path that aligns with my interests post-graduation.
3. 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?
I was able to achieve a better understanding of mechanical engineering careers in the industry through various means throughout my internship. For example, for one of my projects I went to all of Swagelok’s facilities and documented their best practices. To do this, at each facility I met with one of Swagelok’s lean leaders and was able to learn a lot about their experiences and essentially shadow them and get to see a little bit about their day to day. This expanded my awareness of career opportunities within lean. Not only that but I had the opportunity to attend a point kaizen training which further broadened my understanding of lean.
Another example was the opportunity to schedule one-on-ones with people around the company. This allowed me to meet with engineering managers, such as those in charge of new product development, which is an interest of mine. During these one-on-ones I was able to learn more about this person’s career path to get into their role as well as ask questions related to the role they were in. The information I gained from these one-on-ones was extremely impactful to formulating a decision on what I want to pursue a career path in.
Finally, during my internship I had a supervisor for the summer, who served as a mentor. Every week we would set aside time to have a conversation regarding my personal and professional development. I was able to share my perspective and ideas on what I envisioned my early career to look like. Sharing these ideas and getting feedback from a mentor was crucial to my broader understanding of engineering in the industry. Overall, I’m thankful for the opportunity to intern with Swagelok as the various mechanisms throughout the summer for getting exposure to a variety of career paths that are obtainable with a mechanical engineering degree is invaluable.
4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?
My professional goal is to be the manager of a new product development team at a reputable company. For my early career, my goal is to have a role based in design and CAD work. Through my internship this summer with Swagelok and the STEP program I was able to fully realize these goals. Identifying these professional goals is valuable to my life as it gives me clarity for my post graduation aspirations and gives me purpose in completing my undergraduate degree as I can pursue opportunities related to these goals on campus through student organizations, research, etc.
