- Major: Chemical Engineering
- Company: Strongwell/Eastman
- Graduation Year: 2023
- E-mail: jgentr23@vols.utk.edu
Profile
My first internship was with Strongwell in Bristol, VA. They are known for their pultruded fiberglass and fiber reinforced polymer products. I worked in the Research and Development lab and a little bit with their process engineer. I mainly worked on floor testing and developmental testing of new products! My second and third internships have been with Eastman in Kingsport, TN! I worked with their procurement group and their DMT/ Glycol process improvement engineers! A main project for procurement was the purchase card governance and development plan that I developed. For my main projects in process improvement engineering, I worked on the Single point of failure efforts within my group, data mapping in PI Vision, and I also got exposure to process hazard analysis!
I think that getting hands on work experience is so valuable for your engineering education because some things you just need to learn in the field! It really helps bridge the knowledge you gain in the classroom with hands on experience!
I think one big lesson anyone learns on their work assignment is what they enjoy doing and what they don’t! Over my time at Eastman, I learned that I love process improvement engineering! I also learned many valuable things that you don’t get exposed to until you graduate, like how to make and read P&ID’s, how to use PI Vision and PI ProcessBook, how to run lab testing on products, how to write technical reports after testing on projects, and many other valuable things that I would have never gotten the exposure to learn just in the classroom!
I think it has better prepared me academically by knowing what the equipment I am designing and sizing in class is and looks like. It definitely can be overwhelming not knowing what the spiral exchanger looks like and how it works when you are trying to find its calculations in class! I also think my experiences have made me a better engineer because I learned so many soft skills on top of my technical skills! I learned how to communicate with lenders and operators, I learned amazing technical skills and I made great connections to help me in the future!
I encourage anyone and everyone to get a co-op or an internship! I really think it helps accelerate your education and your career!
When I am not busy studying or working, I love to read, go kayaking or do anything outdoors, cook/ bake and I love to find new music!
Don’t be scared to take a different path to your engineering degree! If you get the opportunity to take an internship or co-op, take it! Don’t let the worry that you aren’t doing your educational experience at UT the same as your friends scare you from not taking an assignment, I promise it’s worth it!
