- Major: Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
- Company: Bayer AG/ Dow Chemical/PepsiCo/Microsoft
- Graduation Year: May 2022
- E-mail: tjonga@vols.utk.edu
Profile
Brentwood, Tennessee
I did my year-long co-op with Bayer AG. I worked in the engineering and process technology department, with my primary role in process technology. My main tasks were executing and supporting validation work, designing processes, troubleshooting manufacturing problems and conducting continuous improvement research for Bayer’s wide range of products. The product line mainly consisted of Coppertone sunscreen, Claritin, Afrin, Tinactin, MiraLAX and more.
Over the Summer of 2020 I also interned with Dow. I was part of the TES Productivity and Analytics team. My role was global and the projects I worked on impacted over 40 sites worldwide across Dow’s businesses ranging from plastics, polyurethanes to silicones. The experience was virtual but nevertheless fruitful because of the work and people. To highlight some of the work I did, I led a pilot program to migrate data visualization tools from Tableau to PowerBI and built a maintenance cost dashboard in PowerBI to provide spending insight to site directors and leadership across Dow’s businesses. I later developed an implementation plan to standardize this transition across all sites globally. I also led a project to create a visual tool to track KPI and goal implementation globally across all sites. Lastly I conducted a maintenance cost flow research and provided insight for the consolidation of two cost reports.
Bayer being a global company, I had the opportunity to work with integrated teams consisting of R&D, supply chain, finance and leadership from different parts of the world to introduce new products and develop better processes, for the site. The projects I spearheaded and was a part of ranged from designing new processes that save money and reduce environmental impact, and helping troubleshoot existing API problems, to developing and building new chemical analytical methods, and performing design verifications on medical devices. I also got the chance to wear the hat of an environmental engineer by taking on a couple EPA-driven projects.
I decided to co-op mainly because of the people who interviewed me and later became my bosses, and also because of an info session I attended hosted by the Engineering Professional Practice office.
One of the biggest lessons I took away from my co-op was the ability to learn and adapt in an ever-changing environment. Most of my days were different and at least half the times I was faced with challenges I hadn't heard of or seen in a class, having taken the co-op as a freshman. I soon learned to take everything with a beginner's mindset and learn from every single person, no matter their rank.
Doing a co-op allowed me to understand what it means to be an actual engineer, the diverse skillset required to succeed as one, and the problem-solving mindset that engineer should have. Also, the co-op opened my eyes to a new way learning, in which I reckon the different tasks I did as a co-op and relate them to the classes I'm taking. I often found myself learning problems in class that I've already solved in real applications; it helps me understand the concepts more, and makes the classes a lot easier.
To someone considering participating in our program, I would say, “do it.” It is the best decision I've made during my college career. Also, do not be intimidated by your year in school, I got my co-op as a freshman and succeeded during my co-op by constantly learning and being adaptable, even though I hadn't taken any core chemical engineering classes.
I enjoy being outdoors and spending time with loved ones. I participate in triathlons and ultimate races. I'm also into filmmaking and was a finalist in the GoPro Million Dollar Challenge. Big fan of rugby, too- go Springboks!
I am an average stand-up comedian, and am hoping to do TED Talk one day.
