Today we celebrate National Intern Day at CAES!
Each summer, CAES hosts interns from a variety of colleges, majoring in everything from engineering to human resources. To better understand the CAES intern experience, we asked two of our 2023 summer interns to share their insight.
Read on to learn more about Meron, Continuous Improvement Intern from the CAES Lansdale site and Olivia, Process Engineering Intern from the CAES San Jose site.
Meron, Continuous Improvement Intern - Lansdale
Tell us about your school and major.
I am attending Penn State University, majoring in Industrial Engineering. Penn State University is a wonderful university located in State College, PA that is ranked in the top 10 for Industrial Engineering.
What about this major sparked your interest?
Growing up, I always loved trying to solve mysteries and puzzles. After excelling in science and statistics in school, I wanted to use my critical thinking skills to look at opportunities to optimize processes as a whole and solve real life puzzles in the manufacturing industry.
What led you to apply to this internship at CAES? What about this internship interested you?
CAES was a great opportunity to get a further look at manufacturing products with complex hardware, which was an area I wanted to learn more about. In addition, it was a great opportunity to be surrounded by very talented individuals. I love brainstorming viable ways to improve process so the business can produce at a higher rate. From experience, implementing processes that have huge effects on business is very rewarding and fun!
What goals have you set for yourself during this experience?
My goal is to identify and implement opportunities for improvement within the space. In addition, I would like to learn valuable skills from my wonderful mentors!
What is your favorite aspect of CAES?
For me, it is fascinating learning about the development of the products we make. Observing raw materials going through advanced processes, and then ending up as super sophisticated devices is captivating.
What do you hope to take away from this internship?
By the end of this internship, I hope to get a better understanding of manufacturing products at low volume but high mix and complexity. In addition, how to solve problems in type of environment.
What are your post-graduation plans?
After graduation, I hope to work in a face pace environment that will provide me with lots of experience and skills to tackle situations in manufacturing. Ultimately, I want to become a respectable engineer in my field that does not back down from a challenge.
Olivia, Process Engineering Intern – San Jose
Tell us about your school and major.
I go to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I've completed four years of my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, and I will be returning in the fall to get my master’s degree in Industrial Engineering. I also concentrated in manufacturing during my undergrad.
What about this major sparked your interest?
I started out in Mechanical Engineering because I knew that I liked making and improving things, and it seemed like the most general branch of engineering. I knew that I really enjoy working in manufacturing environments, and when I interned here at CAES last summer I was introduced to many principles of Industrial Engineering. I wanted to learn more about the field and was inspired to apply for the blended master's program at my school.
What led you to apply to this internship at CAES? Why did this position spark your interest?
I am returning to CAES this summer after interning here last year as well. I'd worked at a much smaller company before, but I was interested in seeing how a larger company functioned. I enjoyed my time here last summer and decided to return!
What is your favorite aspect of your internship, so far?
So far, my favorite aspect of my internship is getting to work with and learn from a wide variety of people across the company. It's interesting to see how different groups work together to create one cohesive end product.
What is your favorite aspect of CAES, so far?
I love how fast paced CAES can be and how there's always new projects to work on. I have learned so much from everyone and it's super cool to see concepts from my classes applied in actual practice.