Theta Tau's Summer Outside of the Classroom
Exploring the diverse professional journeys our members pursued this summer
Written by Leonardo Losch
As August fades into September, long sunny days turn into shorter cloudy days, students across the country are finishing their summer's work and getting ready to head back to school for the fall semester. Whether it's the basic internship, a long co-op, or a research position, these opportunities represent a defining break where students get to take a break from the classroom and transfer their skills into practical application for an extended period of time. Essentially, it's that time of year when LinkedIn feeds are absolutely filled with summer internship recaps, guilty as charged for posting one myself. Regardless, it's remarkable to see the range of accomplishments and the diverse experiences our members have had this summer.
Wanting to learn more about what everyone did, I sent out a survey to all of our members to gather information about their role, company, and all the unique things they accomplished. I received a strong set of responses, and in this article, I compile everything I learned about what our members did this summer.
Understanding the Different Opportunities
First, we should outline what distinguishes a co-op from an internship or a research position. The most typical role is a standard internship; it is a 10-13 week-long job over the summer when a student is able to apply their skills to a professional company. A co-op, very similar, is basically an internship that also lasts a summer, plus a whole semester's worth of time. Students typically take the semester off from classes to take a co-op. Lastly, a research position is a role, most often affiliated with a university, in which a student contributes to a specific lab aimed at researching a specific target.
Industry Diversity
They say engineers can do it all… I don't know who "they" is, or if I've heard anyone ever say that, but it's an intuitive statement that proves sensical. Here at Theta Tau, our members had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a wide variety of fields and all across the country. From quantum optics labs to large-scale manufacturing, software & AI engineering to oil and gas fields, our members took on roles that helped them sharpen technical skills and connect with professionals in their workplaces. Manufacturing was the largest industry our members worked in, followed by Technology & Research. The roles that don't fall in any of these categories, clumped underneath "other", featured those in conservation, construction, and even themed entertainment.
Geographic Reach
Not only was there a wide range of industries, but our members were spread out across the country, and one was even overseas. While Madison and the Midwest were unsurprisingly the biggest hubs, we also had a large number of members in the northeastern sector of the US. Across 2 countries, 14 states, and 29 individual locations, our members got exposure to many new places and faces!
First-Person Insights
Outside of charts and graphs, I really wanted to get a better understanding of what it was that everyone did. To get that first person insight, assembled below are many quotes, separated by response to a specific question, that captures what everyone faced this summer.
What were your main responsibilities?
"I maintained and restored prairie and wetland ecosystems on 1500 acres of land across southwest Wisconsin to native vegetative quality and mitigated effects of non-native species, including plant identification, plant removal, and equipment training and maintenance" - Liam Gaiden, Senior
"I researched and developed processes for mRNA medicine drug delivery, working many hours in the lab doing hands-on experimentation with existing and potential new processes. I collected, analyzed, and presented my research to several departments throughout the organization." - Bryan Heaton, Senior
"Troubleshooting problems on the unit, initiating improvements, and communicating unit health with the business team." - Bennett Kinney, Senior
"I was in charge of conducting experimental studies to increase manufacturing efficiency" - Violet Urdahl, Junior
"Preventative maintenance planning throughout the mill, analyze and optimize power generation between 16 hydro and steam turbines, use PLCs and DCS to automate motors and pumps, install instrumentation to troubleshoot and optimize SOPs" - Garrett Donohue, Junior
"I conducted freedom-to-operate searches and analyzed patent product technologies. I also prepared trademark analysis summaries and documented client workflows and product specifications using Visio software." - Collin Lazzara, Sophomore
"I was tasked with updating an old design for communication to a leadless pacemaker, and then integrating that design into an at-home communicator." - Caden McDaniel, Senior
"I was a project manager, so in a broad sense, I facilitated decision-making and chased down the scope of projects. On a day to day I was meeting with vendors and contractors, holding review meetings with construction and planning, walking projects down with operations, tracking projects, and creating budget book deliverables. The main goal was getting projects pushed through and executed (this summer, I managed around 4 million dollars of scope)." - Lily Anderson, Senior
"Leadership, design, and testing for an Ultra-High Temperature Furnace (2000+°C in air)" - Theo Fowler, Junior
What were some challenges you faced and overcame?
"A big thing I dealt with was a conformance issue that got past operations and engineering, where around 100 corrections needed to happen that were contained and remediated by me. It was tough because I had to learn the documentation language and apply corrections and documentation properly." - Robert Rafferty, Senior
"Jumping in and not knowing the language and terminology used on site was a big challenge. I found it helpful to write down any new language or abbreviations that I came across." - Sydney Magee, Junior
"Learning 4 new software systems and Understanding approval workflows" - Drew Hay, Senior
"Aside from trying to remember the thousands of acronyms, the biggest challenge during my internship was receiving feedback on the projects I worked on. Since everyone was focused on their own responsibilities, I often had to follow up with emails and seek out coworkers directly to get the input I needed. While this was challenging, it taught me persistence and strengthened my communication skills. It also helped me build stronger relationships with colleagues by encouraging more face-to-face interactions, which is something that can be difficult in a large company." - Ella Barsness, Junior
"Because some of the machines I've been designing attachments for are either outsourced or quite old, there are no existing CAD files for them within my company's database. So, I've had to rely on my hand measurements when designing certain parts. While at first gathering hand measurements via a tape measure and calipers seemed tedious and outdated, I now have a better appreciation for the simple measurements and calculations that are at the base of all engineering drawings." - Jessica Rolain, Sophomore
What was your coolest experience?
"Rolled out a feature to beta, so it should be available for all Google Sheets users in the next few weeks" - Masa Abboud, Senior
"I got to help support the launch of two new live shows at Hollywood Studios, and a new nighttime parade at the Magic Kingdom!" - Ike Fritz, Senior
"Got to experience all sides of PepsiCo manufacturing this summer, from Frito-Lay to Quaker Oats to Pepsi beverages!" - Paulina Castaneda, Senior
"Operated and programmed AMADA laser welding machine system for microscopic medical device components" - Liza Robinson, Senior
"I made a website that could control and monitor a test station over wifi" - Ryan Hogan, Senior
"I got to see all the manufacturing areas and equipment, along with where the Industrial Hygiene samples are processed (the uHPLCs). Touring every lab was very cool because I got to learn about all the different processes that contribute to manufacturing." - Julia Hyman, Sophomore
"The coolest thing I did was trapping atoms to use as qubits. The lab has a camera which allows you to see individual ions on a chip." - Walter Van Dyke, Senior
"I got to lead customer demos and presentations. I also got to grind up cow bone." - Jackie Berhing, Senior
"I was able to streamline the truck loading process at the Wausau branch and get their loading times down by an hour" - Elizabeth Risgaard, Junior
"Seeing the software-to-hardware connection was cool as I used curl commands and parametrization methods to access things outside the actual code editor of my Python script." - Neil Deore, Sophomore
Any additional reflections you would like to share?
"I never thought I would like manufacturing engineering, but I loved it. At least at my company, the new product introduction was a lot of hands-on learning, never boring, lots of problem solving, and technical work." - Liza Robinson, Senior
"It's very valuable to work around smart people who want to do good for others. They help to build creativity and find solutions when there is little space for change. Having a positive environment like this really inspires you to do your best." - Drew Polzin, Senior
"Research funding makes the world go around." - Walter Van Dyke, Senior
Beyond the Professional
Although internships are often seen as opportunities for students to gain professional experience in the workplace, some of our members were able to catch a glimpse of the fun side that comes with the camaraderie of their workplace. Caden McDaniel, for instance, was celebrated as the MVP of his company's R&D softball team, while Garrett Donahue shot a 37 in his company's 9-hole golf league.
With that, our members are excited to return to the classroom, now equipped with real industry experience that will strengthen their academic perspective. They should be proud of everything they've accomplished this semester. As we look ahead to fall, we are eager to continue building on this momentum with our professional development pillar as we gear up for the next round of co-ops, internships, and research opportunities.