This experience has shown me a lot about the world of work and what I might want to learn before going into it. This internship taught me about Job opportunities I was completely unaware of. I have heard of reverse osmosis but I never knew how much of an impact it had. It is used in so many different industries for such varied purposes. Learning how to work with reverse osmosis membranes will offer a large variety of jobs to apply for which is incredible. This makes me wonder how many other jobs I don’t know about. I will most likely try and find these jobs in the future. I also learned that your major in college can be used for many different industries. An example of this is how Avista’s CEO, Dave Walker co-founded Avista. He majored in business in college and had an interest in science. He co-founded Avista so he can utilize his business degree while also being able to enjoy the related science. With this knowledge, when I start looking for a job I can look for positions that my major could help with even if the company isn’t completely relevant to my major. This internship has also pushed me to consider different majors. I want to major in mechanical engineering but this internship showed me what I could do with a chemistry or chemical engineering degree. I may choose to major in one of those instead of mechanical engineering. With this new information I will be able to find jobs that are potentially obscure and find ways to apply my major to those niche jobs.
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Photo EssayPart 2
Part 1
2. How was your work as an intern meaningful to your education? This internship has been very meaningful to my education because it taught me things that are not usually taught in school. It taught me how to engage with other coworkers. Before this internship I didn’t feel comfortable holding a conversation with someone I knew little about. This internship has given me a lot of opportunities to practice this skill. This is important because there will be times where you have to work with someone that you may not know, so being able to get to know them is a great skill to have. It has also given me insight into a potential career path that was unknown to me before this internship. 3. How was your work significant or meaningful to the world beyond school and your specific internship site? My work will be very meaningful to Avista. The information that I have been processing will be used by Avista to help them figure out what to look out for and what to expect from different industries. This will also help the industries that work with Avista. Avista will get more information about what is going right or wrong with each of the industries’ membranes. Then, they can use this information to help them with any problems that may occur. This will allow the industries to use their reverse osmosis systems for longer periods of time. Part 2
2. How might internship influence the direction of your life? This internship might influence my choice of major when going into college. I am currently deciding whether I should major in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, or chemistry. This internship has shown me some of the things I can do with chemistry and chemical engineering. It also showed me how difficult it can be to find a job. After contacting many companies, I felt like I might not find an internship. After finding Avista, I realized it might take more work to find the best internship or job. During my search, I realized many factors I didn’t realize would be important. Something like distance from my house was not considered much until I actually started looking for an internship. This could influence the jobs I will look for in the future. 3. How did interpersonal relationships and/or collaboration at work influence your understanding of life outside of high school? I think that the friendly relationships I have made with many of the people at Avista is something that I will benefit from in the future. It has built confidence in my communication skills, and will allow me to be less nervous when speaking to a person I don’t know much about. |