(A stamping press in my plant.)

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 involved going to Wooster to work for Schaeffler, which is a company which designs, tests, and manufactures automotive transmission systems. My specific role was within the Stamping department, and I helped make their metal forming processes more safe, reliable, and efficient.

2. 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.

During my internship, I gained a deeper understanding of life in small towns, which transformed my view of community and pace of life. Since I’ve lived in cities my entire life, I had assumed that smaller towns were limiting in terms of opportunities and experiences. However, living and working in one gave me insight into the close-knit relationships and the sense of belonging that are often lacking in larger cities. I witnessed firsthand how people in these communities work together, support each other, and maintain a deep connection to their environment. This reshaped my perspective on the diverse ways people thrive and lead fulfilling lives beyond the hustle of big cities.

Additionally, the internship gave me a clearer understanding of what I want my lifestyle to look like after college. Experiencing a different pace of life, I realized the importance of balance between work and personal time, something I’ve struggled to maintain during college due to the intensity of classes and extracurriculars. The internship allowed me to envision a future where I can prioritize both a fulfilling career and personal well-being. I gained insight into the kind of work-life balance I hope to achieve, where I have time not only for my career but also for hobbies, relaxation, and spending time with loved ones. This realization has shaped my perspective on the type of lifestyle and career environment I’ll seek after 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? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

Interactions with the operators on the plant floor were pivotal in transforming my understanding of life in a small town. Working closely with them allowed me to see how deeply interconnected their lives were with the community. They shared stories about growing up in the town, their family traditions, and how much their relationships with neighbors and coworkers meant to them. These conversations made me realize that smaller towns foster a sense of belonging and support that I hadn’t fully appreciated before. Their sense of pride in their work and community left a lasting impact on how I now view the balance between career and personal life.

In addition to these conversations, my decision to explore the town beyond the typical tourist spots also contributed to this shift in perspective. By visiting local markets, small businesses, and lesser-known parts of the area, I gained a deeper appreciation for the slower pace and simplicity of life there. I saw how people connected with one another in more personal ways, from local events to everyday interactions. It wasn’t just about what the town offered, but how the people there created a strong sense of community and supported each other, which made me rethink my assumptions about where fulfillment can come from.

Another key aspect of the internship was the guaranteed free time I had after work, which gave me a chance to reconnect with personal interests that often get sidelined during busy college semesters. I spent time playing board games and watching sci-fi shows with other interns, which not only helped me unwind but also reminded me of the importance of balancing work with leisure activities. These experiences highlighted that pursuing hobbies and connecting with others over shared interests is something I want to make a priority in my life after college. It made me realize that the lifestyle I envision for myself involves both professional growth and personal fulfillment.

4. 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 transformation is significant because it has given me a clearer perspective on how to evaluate job offers based on location and lifestyle. Before, I mostly considered job offers based on the role itself, but now I can factor in the quality of life that different locations might offer. Having experienced both small-town and urban life, I now better understand how each environment might impact my personal happiness, sense of community, and work-life balance. This understanding will allow me to make more informed decisions about where to live and work after college, aligning my career path with the kind of lifestyle I want to maintain.

The experience of interacting with others during my internship gave me valuable insight into maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Observing how my colleagues managed their time between professional responsibilities and personal lives helped me see the importance of setting boundaries and making time for personal interests. Unlike the fast pace of college, where balancing work and relaxation is often difficult, this experience showed me that a fulfilling career doesn’t have to come at the cost of personal well-being. This lesson has become a key consideration as I think about my future, as I want to ensure I find a career that allows me to prioritize both work and life outside of it.

For my STEP project, I participated in an internship with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). I got to shadow both background investigators, industrial security representatives, and an investigative assistant. I also built and analyzed a survey that gauged gaps in background investigator training. 

I realized how important our national security is and why good analysis is so important. I got hands-on experience with professionals who are protecting the country from insider threats daily. I saw all of the different procedures and preventative measures for insider threats and spoke with counterintelligence analysts about how important analysis of insider threat reports is. I also learned more information on how the private sector helps support our national defense mission. While shadowing the industrial security representative I got to visit many defense contractors and learn how they operate and collaborate with the U.S. government. 

I already touched on it some, but shadowing professionals in the national defense arena really opened my eyes to how important our national defense is. I spoke with background investigators and heard different stories of how they are often the first to see signs that somebody could be attempting to gain a clearance for nefarious purposes. 

When learning about industrial security, I saw how important it is tha companies that have a contract with the government follow the rules and regulations set in place by DCSA. The industrial security representative told me stories of companies that were so lax with their classified information they ended up losing their clearance and their contract with the government. He explained to me why it was important that companies follow these rules.

Getting to experience first hand how these professionals support the national defense mission impacted me deeply. I was able to envision myself performing these jobs and it expanded my knowledge of what kind of jobs there are in the security and intelligence job field. I realized I really enjoy industrial security and am currently considering returning as an industrial security intern. 

Learning about the different career fields in the security and intelligence industry opened my eyes to a whole new career path I wouldn’t have considered previously. I learned how flexible DCSA is with changing careers and I am now more open to different career options such as industrial security. 

I will use this information when applying for more internships and future jobs. I will not close myself off to opportunities and I will say yes to anything that comes my way. This internship has given me a foot in the door for government work so I have way more options now for a career than I did previously. 

This summer I interned for a Mechanical Contracting company based out of Columbus called Sauer Group. The overall job was to create a data center for Facebook and our task was to do the mechanical portions of the buildings. I was on the office side. This included reading drawings, looking at 3D models, collecting counts of materials, and purchasing materials for the field guys to install. 

After completing the internship, I gained new experiences and knowledge to apply to my outlook on life. When I first started college, I thought that becoming a Mechanical Engineer would be a long tough journey. After completing my internship, I realized that I am closer than I may have thought. I learned more about myself and what I want to do. While on the job, I faced many adversities. I was able to develop and enhance my critical thinking skills which allowed me to overcome and resolve any of the problems that arose. My outlook on the world has changed after this experience. I know now how important the classes I am taking contribute to my future field of work, and though school is hard, I have a newfound respect for it. 

Throughout my internship, I worked with a multitude of people. Getting to hear all of their stories and experiences was very inspiring. Just knowing that potentially one day I might be in their shoes helped motivate me. Everyone around me was extremely supportive and I couldn’t have asked for better co-workers. I was tasked with many challenges to solve. Through these challenges, I could look to my co-workers for help and guidance. With a little bit of that help, I was able to solve and figure out anything thrown my way. I truly learned how important relationships within the workplace are. With these new-found relationships, I was able to really understand myself as a worker. It gave me confidence that I previously didn’t know that I had. Without any of these relationships, I don’t know how I would have ever finished anything assigned to me. These relationships truly changed me for the better in discovering who I am. 

Another big thing I learned about was how important my classes are. Throughout college, it can be very difficult to truly focus on classes because they seem boring or pointless. Until this internship, I was questioning why I was taking the classes that I was. After gaining this opportunity to do this internship, I truly realized how important college as well as specific classes are. One example I can think of is a Thermal Analysis that we had to do. Within piping, there is expansion when you shoot steam through it due to the heat of the steam. We were tasked to figure out how much these pipes were going to expand to make sure they were safe enough to use. Thermodynamics played a really big role in this. In thermodynamics, there is a multitude of equations that can be used to determine heat expansion. When figuring this out, we used those equations and after a while came up with an answer to tell our higher-ups. Without this knowledge of thermodynamics, I would have never been able to solve that. I am really glad that I took this class in college. That was a prime example of how college can and will relate to the real world and how useful college actually is. 

The last big thing that led to my transformation was my future career. Throughout college so far, I haven’t had an idea of exactly what I want to do in my future. After this internship, I realized that I really like construction and the mechanical side of it. This was because of a few reasons. One of the reasons, as I mentioned before, was due to the people around me. The people that work in construction are really nice and really cool and made me feel so welcome. Another thing was the type of work. During my time, I got to read blueprints and figure out how the heating ventilation, and cooling works within a building. I also really enjoyed getting to work and correspond with sales representatives. One big part of the job is talking to these sales representatives and buying materials. This really helped me work on my social skills, something I wasn’t very good at coming into this. All in all, I think that this internship really helped me get an idea of what I want to do for my future and I am excited to see where it takes me in life!

These transformations are really valuable to me in my life. I think first off, like I mentioned before, this helped me figure out my future plans and goals in my professional career. I think after this internship, I can say that construction could be in my future. Due to the people as well as the type of work, I can see myself working for Sauer or even just another mechanical contracting company after college. While on the job, I also got to talk with a professional engineer and pick his brain. This made me realize that I may want to get my PE in the future. There were a few professional engineers on site. One engineer just talked to all the contractors working on the building and made sure everything that they were doing and installing would mathematically work, this is something I can see myself doing. The other engineers created the drawings. These guys took the parameters and the specifications of the job and created drawings to help aid the contractors in buying and installing, something I could also see myself doing. So, I think these transformations that I saw during my time working on this internship really helped shape what I want to do in the future. I am really grateful and excited to see what my future holds.

Step Reflection

1. My STEP Signature Project consisted of an internship at Vaughn Industries over the summer of 2024. I spent time working primarily with Autodesk Inventor to model electrical substations as well as other side projects.

2. As a result of this project, I learned more about what aligns with my career interests and what doesn’t. Firstly, I learned that construction and civil engineering fields don’t align with my goals and interests very well. While I enjoyed my time at Vaughn, as it stands, I don’t plan on developing a career in the construction industry. I also gained a deeper understanding of just how constructions and other industries have communication gaps within different departments. During my internship, I spent time learning about how to do engineering design while keeping in mind the practical implications of design choices. I learned about the manufacturing process’s capabilities and limitations. This informed me on some crucial aspects of how to think about the engineering design process. Overall, during my time interning for Vaughn Industries, I developed a more wholistic view of how the limitations and capabilities can affect the front end of a product’s lifecycle.

3. During my time interning at Vaughn Industries, I had many events that gradually transformed my mindset and or goals mentioned in question two. Firstly, I learned that I one weak point in my work life is my relationships. Secondly, the biggest realization I had was that the construction industry isn’t where I see myself making a career in the future. Lastly, I would like to get more time working under a supervisor to get more experience with the collaborative and approval process.

To begin, I’ll cover my main weakness that I discovered during my time at my internship. When arriving at Vaughn, I had already gone through an in-person interview process, during which, I met much of the team that I would end up working with. Although I spent much of my time working with just one supervisor, I found myself being the odd one out, not really knowing or talking with the rest of the people in the office. When my time at the company was coming to an end, I started trying to improve on this aspect of my work life and started building bridges with the other people in the office. Overall, this internship exposed some vulnerable areas of my skills, and I gained some insight into what I should actively work toward improving in my work life.

The next transformation that I had during my time at my internship was a realization in my career goals and plans. Going into this internship, I had no previous work experience related in any way to my future career. This internship was in the construction and engineering field. While I learned a lot, the main thing I learned about myself was that I’m not interested in a career in construction. This became apparent to me because of the side projects that I completed while there. I was given the opportunity to do projects on engineering and mechanical design and enjoyed these tasks much more. Overall, I learned what I wouldn’t like to continue my career in and something that I would like to continue in.

The last transforming experience I had during my internship was I learned a lot working for a supervisor rather than alone. While interning at Vaughn, I worked under a supervisor to learn the ropes of what my work was going to consist of. The main thing I learned about was getting feedback and receiving approval before submission. Throughout my school career, I’ve yet to have experience getting meaningful feedback and approval before a final submission. During my internship, I worked on projects, got feedback, revised and got a final approval before submitting the project to higher ups. This was an insightful experience into workplace practices that I’ve never really experienced in school.

4. Throughout my signature project over the summer, I learned many developmental things about myself and what I want my future career to look like. All these new insights will enable me to better prepare for my future work career. Most of the events and realizations I had over the duration of my signature project were insights into where I need or would like to work towards professional development. Having not known these weaknesses in my work life I would be none the wiser to my need to act. Second, gaining more insight into what my career interests are will better prepare me to pursue an interesting career for myself.

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 summer, I worked as a product management intern at Olo. During my time, I was able to work alongside some of the greatest tech talent in the nation. My responsibilities were centered around building product pipelines in the B2C space and prioritizing roadmaps. 

2. 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.

• During my time at Olo, my mind was opened up to all the possibilities in the tech industry. I have often been siloed into very niche fields in tech, like product management and product design, but working at Olo showed me the diversity of roles and how interconnected they are in creating impactful solutions. Olo emphasizes team collaboration across the organization. I learned about new positions like quality assurance and their role in ensuring the whole team quality structure. This exposure broadened my understanding of how essential it is for each department to work together toward a high level common goal. I used to think that success in tech was defined by individual contributors, but it truly is the team that makes the difference. I also have had a transformational impact on how the tech industry can work to make an immediate positive impact. At Olo, they would devote developer and team time to tech for good projects, this showed how you can truly make a profound impact at scale, especially in the non-profit space. 

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? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences

completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

• An assumption I had going into the internship program was that I would be doing busy work, especially since the company is going through rapid growth. I felt that I would not be a priority for the company and that they would have me focused on less-important work. This was a wrong assumption as I had the opportunity to take part in live projects alongside actual teams. My manager was proactive in ensuring I was able to get access to everything I needed so I can start contributing to projects. 
•  Olo’s professional development programming allowed me to learn from leaders across the organization. We would have the opportunity to join weekly meetings with someone every week where they would talk about career topics. One week that stood out to me was when a higher-up person in the technology suite talked to us about the scale at which Olo operates. I never knew how many transactions and orders they process, and it was hard to understand at first. This executive explained in depth how this scale pushes them to prioritize projects, allowing me to reflect in my own life. As I start to balance more tasks, I need to learn how to be more efficient with my time, similar to how Olo works to prioritize their backlog.  
• One other pivotal experiences during my STEP Signature Project was having coffee chats with interns and employees from different teams. This allowed me to learn about a diverse set of backgrounds. I had the opportunity to meet students from across the nation from some of the best schools like MIT and UIUC. This allowed me to express my ideas and learn about their experiences at their respective schools. These interactions taught me that there is much more to interactions outside of the professional environment.

4. 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.

• As a student that is passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation, I was truly inspired by corporate innovation. I never thought a larger company would be able to operate as lean as a startup, but Olo truly blew me away. I never saw myself working for a big company because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to make a direct impact, but Olo showed me that it is possible to operate at scale while building lean. Olo moves very quick, but ensures that the work being produced is high quality. I want to take this lesson and apply it to my academic career as I seek to join and expand my network in more students organizations. 
• This internship also opened my eyes to what it is like working on cross-functional teams. Being able to effectively communicate is such a crucial skill and is one that I was able to polish during my time at Olo. This experience has not only strengthened my communication skills but also deepened my understanding of how different parts of an organization work together to achieve common goals. These insights will be invaluable as I go through my professional aspirations, particularly in leadership and project management roles.

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to work as the Digital Health Intern at Alcon. Throughout my internship, I worked on the reconstruction of their e-commerce site and writing user stories for their digital product, MARLO, which connects eye care providers with their patients.

My internship significantly helped me grow as an individual, especially regarding the future of my career path and my interests in the field, as well as adopting an open mindset to opportunities I can participate in. Before this summer, I did not know what I wanted to do after college, in which I now have more clarity on career options. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in the corporate environment. Alcon encompasses all aspects of my Health Information Management and Systems (HIMS) major including, healthcare, business, and technology, as we connect with eye care providers about our products and feedback they may have about MARLO. I always assumed I wanted to work in a hospital setting, but this opened many new possibilities for me to explore.

Additionally, I gained confidence in myself both professionally and personally. In the workplace, I networked with individuals across the company by getting outside of my comfort zone and meeting people with greater experience and knowledge. I developed my confidence in my communication skills with team members and other coworkers. My self-assurance increased throughout the summer by living in a new city far from home. I became comfortable with the area and the people I met along the way.

Alcon’s work environment introduced me to the idea of exploring further corporate options in the healthcare field. I had the opportunity to work on innovative projects on the MARLO team. MARLO gives providers the ability to send patients order and reorder options for contacts, exam reminders, and a questionnaire, and offers direct shipping. I learned about the feature development process in the digital space and acted as a product manager, in which I wrote user stories that were passed to designers, engineers, and QA, to then go live in the product. Throughout the summer, I worked on three main user stories, mainly focusing on feature enhancements to improve the user experience. I also worked on Alcon’s e-commerce website, MeetMARLO.com, which is designed for the eye care provider to sign up for MARLO, in which I worked with a third-party vendor to redesign the website. I appreciated being part of such an innovative space that worked to advance the product to its greatest potential. This experience broadened my perspective on the possible jobs I may like in the future.

Furthermore, my confidence in relationships in the workplace and networking increased immensely. I was apprehensive at the start of my internship, as I had never been in this type of environment, and I did not have a great amount of experience with the work I was doing. My colleagues welcomed me onto the team and allowed me the space to discover my role. For example, I took the lead on a feature enhancement by writing the user story and having the design made, followed by presenting the project to a cross-functional collaboration meeting. There were reservations from the engineers regarding previous coding and how this update would have an impact. I then organized and hosted a brainstorming session with the stakeholders to try to find another solution for the enhancement. We were able to discover a way to accomplish the goal while minimizing the workload for all parties. This event displays my confidence and communication skills developing in the workplace. I also built relationships with my mentor, manager, team members, interns, and individuals cross-functionally, which I continue to keep in touch.

I was located in Fort Worth, Texas for my internship and had twelve weeks to immerse myself in the Texas culture. While in Fort Worth, I went to cattle drives, three rodeos, and a Texas Rangers game. I also got involved in the community by joining a church, playing pickleball and volleyball weekly, attending trivia, and going line dancing. Becoming comfortable with the area, I explored downtown Dallas and Fort Worth multiple times throughout the summer. The experience of living in a new city by myself proved that I would be able to do this after I graduate college.

I can transfer the professional skills I have gained from this summer to the classes and clubs I am actively involved in. This semester, I can relate topics I have learned in the real world to lessons in class. I am currently taking a project management class, in which I was able to apply the agile management style to my internship. A large discussion in the HIMS major is Electronic Health Records (EHR). Over the summer, my team held a hack-a-thon workshop where our engineers worked for three days to find a solution on how to integrate EHR with our product. I am also looking into obtaining a Usability and User Experience Certificate offered by the HRS school.

My internship opportunity focused on my career goals and highlighted a sector that I am interested in. As my major has a wide variety of career paths to choose from, it becomes overwhelming when I am not quite sure about one choice. I am excited to continue working with Alcon as a contractor this semester and feel confident that a product manager could be a possible career option. Lastly, I feel more prepared for post-graduation. I have experience in a professional setting and living on my own. I am excited to explore and possibly move to new cities that I know I can smoothly transition into. Overall, my internship experience has allowed me to further my academic, professional, and personal development.

This summer, I participated in a Research and Development Internship with Elanco Animal Health in Indianapolis, Indiana. Through this program, I did discovery and development research for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. 

My assumptions about the world changed through this program, as I always assumed that having a doctorate degree was optional for those who wanted to lead high-level biomedical research. This, however, is not the case, and this summer opened my eyes to the fact that I absolutely want to pursue graduate school. I also realized how important things outside of research are to me, most notably the place where I live. This realization will direct where I apply to graduate schools and where I choose to end up after my education is complete.

I finished my summer at Elanco with a 25-minute research presentation to the company at large with over 150 attendees, and this experience was very impactful for me because I ended up really enjoying the process and presentation. Having a deep understanding of the research I was doing (and more importantly why I was doing it) allowed me to create a presentation I was genuinely proud of, and I realized that that is a feeling I want to chase in graduate school. Elanco’s community of mentorship and collaboration was so welcoming and made the research process streamlined.

Another important interaction for me this summer came during an intern meeting with Elanco’s EVP of Research and Development, who is the top executive in R&D at the company. She gave great insight into working with large corporations, how to advocate for yourself and your research, and how to bring new ideas to fruition in large group settings. This interaction solidified my desire to lead biomedical research in the future.

The most important relationship that I made this summer at Elanco, however, was with my mentor, who was a DVM-PhD. He practiced as a veterinarian for many years before pursuing a PhD in virology, making him one of the most educated people at Elanco’s headquarters. After his doctorate degrees, he conducted an extensive postdoctoral fellowship with one of the world’s top biomedical laboratories. His educational experience and advice were so valuable to me, as he encouraged me to learn as much as possible while I am young and to build up a solid foundational understanding of biochemistry and molecular biology before moving forward in research or practice. His hard work and work ethic are what I will remember most about him, and his influence on my career path has been very important.

The changes I saw in myself this summer are nothing short of pivotal for my career path and education. I held one-on-one meetings with over thirty employees at Elanco who held doctorate degrees, and I vetted them with questions about their highest ambitions, regrets, tips, and what no one else would tell me before entering graduate school. I feel more prepared than ever to enter into the next phase of my life, and I am so grateful to have had such an important experience so early in this journey!

This summer, I was given the opportunity to work with the country’s largest non-profit research organization, Battelle. During this internship, I performed a variety of activities such as attending and reporting on Congressional hearings, completing biographies and other research projects, and supporting the Government Relations team broadly, in their day-to-day tasks. This required me to build my knowledge of many STEM related subjects such as Physics, Computing, and Artificial Intelligence. 

My work over the summer profoundly changed the way I view several aspects of professional life. Coming from a small town of around 40,000 in rural Ohio, Columbus felt like a massive and scary place when I first moved here. That said, moving to Washington D.C. was even more daunting. While it may be smaller in population technically speaking, the eastern seaboard is far more densely populated, and the suburbs of D.C., notably Alexandria and Arlington, would be considered cities by themselves by Midwest standards. The idea of using public transit to commute to work, which took around an hour each day, was a prospect that I was highly uncomfortable with when I started the summer. While some of this may be attributed to my small-town upbringing and my general lack of urban travel, some of it can also be attributed to misconceptions and stereotypes I applied to “city-folk”. Until my STEP experience, I could have never imagined I would live in a big city. I pre-determined that life to be loud, unclean, monotonous, and unfulfilling. These assumptions I made about this lifestyle could not be more wrong, and I realized very quickly during my time in the district this summer that my anxiety about large population centers came from a very privileged and sheltered world view and I worked constantly to change that.  

Additionally, my perspective on my future as a professional was changed throughout this summer. I never had a clear idea of what I wanted to do for my career. When I was a child, I wanted to be a history professor. I started high school and wanted to be a marketing specialist, and I ended high school wanting to go to law school. After my first year at Ohio State, I thought that I would go to graduate school to do research in political science. Then, shortly after that, I settled on law school. While I still believe that I would like to go to law school, I have transitioned my interest from pursuing corporate law to pursuing a career in government relations. My team’s work at Battelle was engaging, exciting, and meaningful. One aspect of the government relations work that I found particularly interesting is the aspect of communication and customer service. Essentially, to quote a government relations professional I connected with from another defense company, honesty and holding a good reputation is the most important part of government relations work. Honesty is a very important value to me, and I believe that I am an honest person. I also believe that I collaborate well with others, which is integral to the success of the organization I would be representing. This change would not have happened without this opportunity.  

There are a few relationships that helped me achieve these changes. The most obvious of those relationships is my relationship with my great aunt and uncle, longtime North Virginia (NOVA) residents. Having lived in the area for over 30 years, they were able to provide me with more than just a roof over my head, which was greatly appreciated given the cost of living in the area, but they also provided me with sincere local knowledge. They were able to get me adjusted to riding the Metro system every day and they provided the comfort of knowing that I had good conversations and a home cooked meal when I got home from work. This truly helped soothe my anxiety about living in such a densely populated and sometimes chaotic city. Their home became a sanctuary for me. Also, my relationship with my direct supervisor, Thomas Phillips, was important to me. On my first day of work, he personally showed me around the Capitol complex. We were hustling around all day, and it gave me a sense of how fast-paced life in government relations work can be. On the second day, he took me to a rooftop party, celebrating the success of Florida International University’s D.C. programs. While this was a totally random occurrence and had little to do with our own work, it showed me how networking in D.C. worked, and it showed me how much fun it can be. Throughout my time with Battelle, my relationship with Thomas developed into a strong mentorship experience, and I realized that the work he does, along with the rest of the team, is awesome. He is a great leader, and I learned so much from him.  

One event that sticks out as a defining moment of my internship was my attendance at an event in the halls of the Senate which celebrated the accomplishments of Exascale supercomputers. I attended this event with only a few weeks’ worth of experience with Battelle work, and I had truly little knowledge about the incredibly complex nature of these supercomputers. During this event, which I attended by myself, I was able to have interesting conversations with several scientists across many different fields about their use of the fastest supercomputers in the world. Many of these scientists do their research at Battelle managed, DOE sponsored, national labs, so they were more than willing to share their research with me. While I had to ask them to keep their explanations of insanely complex experiments at a layman level, I realized how impressive the work that Battelle helps develop truly is. I started doing intense research on our ongoing projects, and I developed a knowledge of STEM subjects that I did not even know existed. This pursuit of knowledge was incredibly rewarding to me, and it helped me realize that government relations is a great career for someone who wants to learn something new every day.  

While it may not be directly internship related, one of the most important aspects of the STEP program is the ability to experience in a new or unfamiliar location. I might not have been very comfortable in the city, but I absolutely love the outdoors, and I spent many weekends exploring the incredible wildernesses within a two-hour drive from Alexandria, where I lived. I spent three weekends exploring the area in and around Shenandoah National Park, which provided me with some of the best hikes I have ever done. Additionally, the park is free to enter, so it was a very accessible escape from the bustle of NOVA. I was also able to explore the region of Southern Pennsylvania that is famous for fly-fishing, one of my greatest passions in life. I took two weekend trips to the Carlisle area to accomplish this, and I was able to fish some of the most fabled water in American fly-fishing history. Exploring the Carlisle area checked off a bucket list item for me and were two of my favorite parts of the summer. Additionally, I was able to enter a professional bass fishing tournament on the Potomac River, which was very enriching for one of my other fishing-related passions, tournament bass fishing. While I did not finish all that well, I learned so much and I was able to see the beautiful tidal region of the mighty Potomac.  Finally, I rekindled my interest in history this summer, and D.C. provided me with the opportunity to explore this passion. I frequented Civil War battlegrounds such as Gettysburg and Manassas, and I visited Mount Vernon and Monticello. Believe it or not, I only lived two miles from Mount Vernon, and I fished in the same waters as George Washington! Escaping the city actually made me appreciate the city more and D.C.’s proximity to so many beautiful natural spaces and interesting historical sites is one of the reasons I can see myself living there in the future. This aspect of the STEP experience is one that I think is highly underrated and, without it, I would not have had such an enriching summer.  

This summer experience changed my future in many ways. The opportunity to live and work in the city demystified city life and I now have a much broader choice of regions I would like to start my professional career in. Additionally, it taught me that work does not have to be boring or monotonous, rather, it can be exciting and engaging. With this knowledge, I will never settle in a job that is not dynamic, now that I know work can be fluid and meaningful. I also had a fantastic work-life balance this summer. With this, I learned that my passions and interests do not need to be subdued during my professional career, rather, they can be further explored! Finally, I learned that I do not have to put a ceiling on my expectations for my career. I never thought I would have an opportunity to work for such a great company but now, after having seen that I can do excellent work for a respected company, I will not sacrifice my expectations or sell myself short

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Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project

For my STEP project I held an Application Development Internship with Grange Insurance. At this internship I was a part of the infrastructure team where I performed server builds for them and configured an ELK stack on the servers to enhance and improve the logging of their data. Along with this I also had the chance to shadow under multiple other associates to cover different topics such as setting up system monitoring on servers and computers to alert at any needed threshold. 

What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?

During my internship, I was able to locate where my strengths were in the tech industry and what I really wanted to do. I had applied to this internship as a web development role and was instead placed on the infrastructure team. While this was not what I had wanted to do it helped me confirm what type of roles in tech I wanted. I was able to shadow under senior developers in the web development team and see their day-to-day work which allowed me to see what I wanted to do and find out that I would enjoy that type of work and that infrastructure was not my ideal position. I also was able to find out how important for me it is to work in an environment with a strong culture and sense of belonging, having a strong support network at Grange Insurance was invaluable during the internship along with after. 

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?

One of the key aspects that helped me realize what work I wanted to do was my hands-on experience with infrastructure tasks, such as deploying servers and managing DNS configurations. While these tasks were valuable and taught me how critical infrastructure is for ensuring system reliability, they also made me realize that I wasn’t as engaged in this type of work as I had hoped. I found myself looking forward to moments when I could contribute more directly to application development, such as when I worked on scripting tasks.  

Another impactful experience that helped me realize the importance of a strong network being important was my mentor. At Grange all interns were assigned to a mentor that they could meet with at their own discretion about anything. Having my mentor to meet with week to week was such an important experience for me because it allowed me to have someone to give me direction in my career and that I could talk with if I had any problems. 

Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?

This transformation is significant because it has helped me define a clearer career path moving forward. Understanding that I am most passionate about development has allowed me to focus my academic pursuits on improving my software engineering skills and has shaped my approach to choosing future internships and job opportunities. This, along with advice from my mentor, has given me a clearer sense of direction, enabling me to seek out roles where I can work directly on development. 

This clarity is also valuable on a personal level, as it has deepened my sense of purpose and motivation. By focusing on areas that truly excite me, I am more driven to improve my skills and seek out projects that align with my long-term goals. Ultimately, this experience has been pivotal in shaping my future academic and professional plans, providing me with a strong foundation for a career in software development. 

The image above was one of the projects I had to do. It entailed making a piece to one of their machinery parts so it can have easier access to fix over-time.