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My Empowering Internship Experience          I was very intimidated to go to Industrial Roundtable freshman year, but it was so worth it to put myself out of my comfort zone for that amazing professional experience.  During IR, I interviewed with ComEd, a utility company in northern Illinois, and I was thankful to receive the opportunity to intern with them last summer. Going into my internship over the summer, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  ComEd started the program with a helpful orientation day where I learned more about the company and talked with other students in the internship program.  Learning about ComEd’s commitment to “powering lives” was truly an inspiring way to kick off the summer.  Throughout the summer, I had so many great experiences, and here’s what I learned from it all: ·         Take Initiative o     There are so many professionals around you that are more than willing to help you understand...

My Disney Experience How Purdue Helped me Achieve my Dream                 I have always been fascinated with Walt Disney World, the most magical place on Earth. What makes it so magical? In high school, I met a family friend who worked in the Industrial Engineering Department at Walt Disney World. At the time, I was not familiar with Industrial Engineering and had yet to decide what I would be studying in college. My family friend explained to me the role that the Industrial Engineering Department plays at Disney: improving the process flow and efficiency of the parks, resorts, transportation, merchandise stores, and everything else that encompasses the large place that is Walt Disney World. She explained to me a common project the IE Department would work on. This project was regarding a ride at one of the parks. What if the wait time had become on average 20 minutes longer over the course of 6 months? What was...

“There are tons of resources at Purdue aimed at helping you succeed, it’s up to you to take advantage of them.” I’m willing to bet that if you have told anyone you want to study engineering you’ve probably heard “Woah, engineering is hard.” or “You must be really smart.” I have heard different variations of that statement countless times. It’s absolutely true, engineering is not easy. It’s also true that if you’re willing to put in the work, pursuing a degree in engineering is absolutely worth it! I graduated from Purdue with a Bachelor’s of Chemical Engineering in May 2014. I began my career at Tate & Lyle as a Production Engineer where I was fortunate enough to be sent to Sweden several times to work as engineering technical support for startup of an oat processing plant. I currently work at Solvay as a Process Engineer making polymer resins for aerospace carbon fiber applications. When I was at Purdue I was president of the Society of Women Engineers and the Professional Practic...

For many engineering students, this past week has been a hectic time. We are in the midst of IR, or Industrial Roundtable, the career fair here at Purdue. IR is aimed at engineering students, although other majors do attend. IR is a great opportunity for students of all ages to attain an internship. I’m going to describe one of my many IR experiences. The week of IR during my sophomore year, I attended the Access Alum event in the Armstrong Nook. Access Alum is an amazing opportunity within WIEP where Purdue Alumni return to campus and want to speak directly with women in engineering. At this specific Access Alum, the woman from Accenture, a technology consulting firm, was collecting resumes (which is extremely common for Access Alum events held during IR week). Ready for IR! I talked with her, asked many questions, and gave her my resume. She told me to come by the booth at the fair later that day. Networking with her at the Access Alum event helped me receive an interview and e...

Myth: “Freshmen don’t get internships” Fact: Although getting an internship your freshmen year may seem daunting or impossible, I am here to tell you that it is 100% possible.  Explore your career options. . . the world is yours! As a freshman, I followed a few simple guidelines and recommendations which ultimately landed me an internship with Procter & Gamble for the summer after my freshmen year! It is never too early to start getting ready for applications and career fairs. The following list will help you check-off the best ways to start preparing for an internship before you even arrive on campus: 1. Research Companies  Start looking into what type of work you want to be doing in the future. Depending on your interests, such as cars, robotics, chemistry, etc. start researching what different companies have to offer and even what companies are known for hiring freshmen. Once you h ave a list of potential companies, dive a little deeper and take notes on what they valu...

In my last post I talked about the many experiences I had during my year away on co-op, and in this post I will share how those experiences have impacted my professional and personal life moving forward.  Because I was on co-op rotation for a year, I will now graduate one year later than I was planning to when I started college. Even though this is not the conventional path, I believe that the experiences I had and knowledge I gained during my co-op far outweigh that.  Before my co-op I didn’t have any other engineering work experience, so I lacked confidence in my abilities. During my co-op I gained a lot of experience in conducting important projects, and working with dynamic teams. Having these foundational experiences has given me the skills and confidence necessary to be successful in future roles. While working I got exposure to many different types of industry roles, which allowed me to figure out what type of role I am interested in pursuing after graduation.  I r...

In the first part of this series I talked about how I acquired my co-op position, and in this post I’ll talk about many of the great experiences I had during my co-op terms. I worked in two different roles during my co-op, each for about 7 months. In my first role I worked as a Product Developer on adult care products, and in my second role I worked as a Process Engineer on paper towels. These two roles were vastly different, which is something I chose purposely in order to get a broad experience and see different areas of the business (research vs manufacturing). In both of my roles I had the opportunity to work on meaningful projects and take initiative to do things I thought needed to be done. I never felt like I was “just a co-op”, and I was never treated that way either. I felt like I was an equally valued employee contributing important work to my team and to the company as a whole. Kimberly-Clark is a global consumer products company that primarily produces paper based products....

During your undergraduate time here at Purdue it can feel impossible to get your hands on some real deal experience with engineering. You may be told by some professors or people in general that you aren’t eligible for such experience, but don’t let this discourage you. There are many opportunities on campus with research that professors and graduate students are looking for undergraduate students to fill. Whether you’re a freshman or senior, there is a place for you to get hands on experience in a lab if you so desire. There are a few tips I can offer to students looking for undergraduate research. I love research as much as I love taking photos with Neil!  Research the research . Look online at the different projects each professor you’re interested in working with is doing and pick out key words or topics that you can elaborate your interest on. Decide on Your Fit Decide whether you would like to do research through a program like SURF or if you would like to do research during...