What school do you go to/class level you’re in?
Sean: I attend Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. I have family here in Frederick so I’m staying with them for the summer. I’m going to be a junior this fall.
Wade: I attend Grove City College and I’m going to be a senior this fall.
What is your major in college?
Sean: I’m a Double major in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Wade: I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Minoring in Math.
What interests you about Phoenix Mecano?
Sean: I’m really into Aerospace Engineering and there are a lot of similarities between that and the engineering that Phoenix Mecano does. I also wanted hands-on experience, and I knew PM could give that to me.
Wade: I worked in manufacturing at my internship last summer, and I wanted to continue in that path. It seemed to me that Phoenix made really cool products. I, too, wanted to get hands-on experience of being on the floor and directly interacting with products.
What have you been doing, while at Phoenix Mecano?
Sean: I’ve been on the assembly side of the floor, seeing how things are assembled and packaged. I’m also learning how the machines work. Wade and I are actually working on a SolidWorks project together.
Wade: I’m working on an organizational wall in SolidWorks. I’m also building a table with rails for one of the machines and working on job instructions.
What are your hobbies and interests?
Sean: I’m a big sports guy. I like basketball, tennis and football. I also play guitar and I love hiking.
Wade: I play on my school’s soccer team so I’m constantly doing that, as well as working out and training for it. I’m also into snowboarding and riding four wheelers. I just like being outside.
So, if you’ve ever wondered what a day in the life of a Phoenix Mecano intern really looks like, we went a step further and asked these two men to share some of their thoughts about their experiences here at Phoenix Mecano.
What is one project you worked on here that you found really interesting?
Wade: I worked on a table that is going to help out in the cutting room. It has a slide on it that you can clamp parts to, to make the process more consistent and efficient.
Sean: I’m building a cart to transport the plates that are used for the SL4000. The plates use to stack on top of each other, which resulted in scratches. We’ve incorporated these vertical frames so the plates can rest on them instead of each other.
Marc (Production Manager at Phoenix Mecano): Both of these projects were something we wanted to do for a while! They were the perfect tasks to give these two.
What is something you can take away from this internship? i.e. advice, a different way of solving a problem, information about this field you didn’t know before, etc.
Wade: I’ve designed things before but never got the chance to build them. That, by itself, has been eye opening. I’ve learned a lot from being able to sit behind a computer and design, and then go and build it in real life.
Sean: I took a mechanical manufacturing class in school, and we machined things, but it was always with the help of professors. We never really did anything on our own. With this internship, it was all about figuring it out on your own and learning how to do it yourself.
How was it working with the staff at Phoenix Mecano?
Wade: It was really good. All the guys here were really helpful. One thing that stuck out is that everyone in Production is already so used to helping anyone on the floor, so I think it’s set up well for interns because if I had a question, they were ready to answer it.
Sean: I think the best part of the company is how tight-knit everyone is. It’s not a massive company so everyone knows each other on a first name basis – almost makes it like one big family. I think because of that, it enhances the efficiency of the work. Everyone is approachable and works well together.
What did you enjoy most about interning at Phoenix Mecano?
Wade: With past jobs, I didn’t always have a lot of work to do. But with this internship, I always had a whole list of projects I could work on. I liked having that steady work flow to keep me busy.
Sean: This internship was a much more hands on experience for me. The last internship I had, I learned a lot but I wasn’t really allowed to meddle with anything. It was the total opposite this time!
What would be your ultimate dream job after graduating?
Wade: My dream would be to work for a company in the manufacturing field. I’d really enjoy a job that includes some computer and design time, and time on the floor getting hands on experience.
Sean: I’m extremely interested in the Aviation and Aerospace field. Getting the chance to work for any Aerospace company would be my dream job.
We love having the incredible fortune of a talented set of interns this summer at Phoenix Mecano, such as Wade and Sean! We invite you to check back regularly for open internship positions!
