Search - Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

Parks and Rec Intern

Major: Sport Management I prepared all of the athletic fields for the spring/summer events, and I helped plan all of the Covid-19 testing for this year. I also designed and updated the signs for the athletic fields, and I helped facilitate the events as well.

Engineering Co-op

Major: Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering I worked as part of the engineering sustaining team. I worked with an engineer to maintain three manufacturing lines and assist in moving out one of those lines at the end of march. I wrote and worked on a wide variety of documentation for each line as well as performing hands-on maintenance for the lines.

Twisthink Electrical Engineering Co-Op

Major: Electrical Engineering While at Twisthink, I was given the opportunity to work on a program for an embedded system through CCS. I was also able to work on debugging circuits on manufactured circuit boards. I was also able to redesign an existing circuit so that it could be recreated using a new software. These tasks were extremely interesting as they all built on my existing knowledge from classes, but pushed me to learn and do more with that knowledge.

Co-op Rotation II

Major: Electrical Engineering I worked in the notching department of the battery making process. I helped keep machines running at their highest capabilities through various troubleshooting and permanent upgrades. I had a focus on reducing scrap which would positively impact our yield. I helped implement the ability to rework material that would otherwise have been scrap for in the notching process. This is the first time in LG ES Michigan that we were able to rework material in notching.

Interning at LG

Major: Mechanical Engineering At LG I was put in charge of the crating process which sent material to another one of our factories. Also, I worked on safety improvements to some of the roll press machines to get rid of pinch points operators run into. Also I assisted on a project that used Tekscan software to use a pressure sensor to determine the wear of the roll press and the many sub rollers on the machine. Finally, I added adjustable feet to a table. This allowed for the Tesa measurement device to take more accurate measurements by leveling and stabilizing the table.

JR Automation - 2nd Rotation

Major: Electrical Engineering I was assigned to one main project this semester that allowed me more individual responsibility, while still having a mentor to guide me. I was able to help through the debug process of the machine which included updating HMI screens, PLC programs, and teaching points for robots.

Winter Rotation

Major: Computer Engineering Entailed how to understand the process and procedure of a digital design of a cell. Then how to apply the concepts from that to the actual construction and set-up of the cell it self. Modifying and adapting to new constraints and limitations from actual construction of cell. Finally, learning how to debug HMI software, FANUC robots, and PLC software.

Hutchinson Co-op

Major: Mechanical Engineering -Prototyping Lab production --Testing and creation of Rubber parts to have the correct properties of the rubber/plastic -Validation Lab -- Testing of multiple parts for characterization and properties of the fluid in said parts --Multi-directional ultimate testing -GM Team --Fixture Creation --DFMEA creation --Design improvement --Development meetings

Integrated Packaging Machinery Co-op experience

Major: Mechanical Engineering As a Co-op student at IPM, I did a lot of computer aided design in programs like Solidworks and AutoCad. I had the opportunity to work on real projects with sometimes very custom solutions and problems which I had to work through with members of the team. Overall, I felt as if I was a functional member of the engineering team at IPM and not just an intern.

Test Engineering Intern

Major: Computer Engineering I worked a lot testing software and building test software for a lot of airplane equipment.

Magna Co-op

Major: Mechanical Engineering Throughout the course of a semester, I put to use my skills learned in classes to help improve on the design of a robot used for cycling. I was also able to help with determining how parts would fit together for a new mirror as well as complete multiple kinds of testing to determine if the mirrors were meeting required standards.

Axis Automation Second Co-op

Major: Mechanical Engineering This semester I worked on a variety of projects on the back end of the design process. This consisted of detailing prints for parts and assemblies, redesigning and updating existing designs, verifying robot loads, and evaluating robot and fixture interaction.

Individual Community Living Service Mentor

Major: Psychology I worked as an Individual Community Living Service (ICLS) Mentor. In this job, you are paired with individuals with different disabilities and are tasked with helping them meet their goals (which have already been established) within the community. This can range from ensuring they are conducting themselves in a safe manner, to not excessively waving to strangers or using inappropriate boundaries - it is super unique by individual.

Production Assistant Internship

Major: Communications Throughout the semester I helped produce the show the Grand Valley State Sports Report. I wrote the script every Sunday and worked in studio on Monday mornings, usually working behind the camera and occasionally monitoring audio. In studio, Jake Levy hosted the show and interviewed coaches of GV sports. I was also able to help film some of the sports that premiered on the show.

Structural Concepts - Engineering Co-op Rotation #1

Major: Interdisciplinary Engineering Over the course of my first rotation, I brought several engineering designs to life in our facilities to address issues on our manufacturing floor. My first designed part was a mobile stainless steel cover for hydraulic pumps that power lift tables on our assembly lines. This design was adopted by several lines in our facilities. From there, I practiced many different skillsets to assist our continuous improvement team with different areas of our manufacturing facilities. I collected and analyzed data of the different types of tools being used on our assembly lines. This was in an attempt to create a collective tool bag which each worker would get for use on the line due to tools often being misplaced, causing unnecessary downtime looking for the proper tool. I made an excel spreadsheet to help rethink how we organize our fastener storage area. As it was, fasteners were hard to find because they were all in boxes and out of order. I made an excel spreadsheet which served as a way to enter in descriptors of a fastener (size, color, name, description, etc..) and would then point you to the specific location of the fastener to save workers time. I designed a storage unit for rubber bumper that is used on sharp edges of our cases. This storage unit is used in multiple locations within our warehouses. I helped create a customizable workbench that served a dual purpose by also functioning as a computer stand with retractable keyboard holders and a pegboard backing. This design is currently being adopted by all areas of our warehouses and will likely be built 50-100 times. There were many more small creative design projects similar to the ones described previously. Often times, I worked on open-ended problems with no clear solution and was given creative freedom to develop a solution as I saw fit. My final and largest project was the implementation of machine data collection software in our sheet metal department. I built up all of the user-interface required to implement data collection of the causes of downtime within the department as classified by our operators. I also built up the backend of the software to ensure that the hardware collecting data within the machines was functioning and reporting properly. I worked with area leaders within sheet metal to implement this software and build a routine for using it and logging data on a daily basis. I also set up several styles of reports to use for data analysis which will then be used to tackle large issues of downtime. The software even provides us with clear cost justifications for our machines and will allow us to make better decisions in the future regarding the area.

Co-op Student at RDI - Semester 1

Major: Mechanical Engineering The first half of each day began by cleaning, inspecting, and organizing the pattern plates that were recently ran. During this time, various other tasks could come up including shipping out or receiving patterns, stamping unmarked patterns, and watching a sample run for a modified or new pattern. The second half of each day usually consisted of various jobs on the CAD program Creo. I reverse engineered patterns on transfer tools and created new tools from scratch. Molten iron flowing through the created patterns was simulated in a program called Magma. These simulations were then used to make modifications to potential new patterns as well as improvements to existing tools.

Creating a Seat at the Table

Major: Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering I participated in many projects in my experience at Genesis Seating. Shelving units and manufacturing fixtures were created to improve ergonomics and efficiency within the cell of a main chair line of Herman Miller, as well as cell layouts, which were redesigned to increase efficiency. A proposal was created for the re-design of an assembly station for the Eames Plastic and Wire chair line from Herman Miller. Torque specifications were gathered for battery, pneumatic, and electric drills from each cell in the factory. Finally, I re-designed a leather buck to expand and contract to improve ergonomics for the leather cutters.

Magna Mirrors Co-op Experience

Major: Mechanical Engineering I did a variety of tasks. Much of my time was spent in preparation for engineering builds for prototypes, studies, etc. This required me to gather mirror components and arrange for time to be spent on the line. I also performed studies/gathered measurements. This usually came in the form of dimensional measurements, reflectivity measurements, angle measurements, and Instron measurements (pull-out strength, for example). I also had several longer term assignments, such as designing a portable "suitcase" tester for a new video mirror, and a role in producing, testing, and statistical analysis of mirrors built with experimental aluminum tubes (replacing steel).

Searching for Diversity in Film

Major: Writing At the beginning of the internship I was tasked with writing a few short reviews and a full length article per week. Later in the internship I was asked to also edit articles so my writing load was lightened in order to give me time to edit three or four articles a week.

Second Rotation

Major: Computer Engineering My responsibilities with JR Automation had two categories; environmental documentation and machinery commissioning. Environmental documentation included researching devices to be integrated into a project, and ensuring the device met the environmental and fire retardancy per the client's specification. On the other hand, machine commissioning included certifying that all the integrated parts and devices, perform their intended functions well and efficiently.

Herman Miller Co Op - Design For The Good Of Humankind

Major: Electrical Engineering The majority of my responsibilities were split into two categories: The Database Project and Work Orders. The Database Project was an 8-month project where I was responsible for programming, designing, testing, and implementing an asset management system. This system would be used by the entire Controls Department at Herman Miller. The specifications included vigorous querying needs, functionality to interact with the data, and an intuitive user experience. The goal was to manufacture an asset management system where the entire Controls Department could manage its internal assets and its various details and information such as IP information. On the other hand, Work Orders were work requests from other areas of the company to support production. The one I enjoyed most was implementing a sensor to detect the edge of a panel to eliminate a design error. This work order was on the back burner for around a year before it came to me. It was a 3-month project where I had to research sensors, calibrate them precisely and implement them into the existing PLC program. This specific was project was a success and the steps I laid out were administered to 7 other machines. This was an example of a typical work order.

Third Co-op Rotation

Major: Mechanical Engineering I analyzed customer verbatim and complaints, benchmarked competitors, and made possible recommendations to improve customer satisfaction

Third co-op rotation at Autocam Medical

Major: Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering For my third rotation I took on a full manufacturing engineer's role. I focused mainly on new product launches and production support for our bone screw division. I also completed many continuous improvement projects for secondary operations such as bead blasting and electropolishing.

DeWys Manufacturing Co-op

Major: Mechanical Engineering In my final co-op rotation, I worked mainly on a project which sought to add a collaborative robot to the powder coating line on-site to help with quality issues of the powder application. I did lots of CAD design and planning, and the build and testing will be happening shortly. It was overall a great semester and I learned a lot from the experience.

IPM Mechanical Engineering Co-op #3

Major: Mechanical Engineering I was tasked with various degrees of project work, where I designed, modeled, and assembled hundreds of parts to form a specified conveyor for the application at hand. I also worked on standard library components to help improve efficiency for designing in future similar projects.