Maryland Technology Internship Program Intern of the Month

Thu, 25 Oct 2018 10:42:08 -0400
experientiallearning, internships, mtip, studentsuccess, umbc-intern

Name: Michael Gorham – May ’19

Internship Site: Min Engineering

Position Title: Engineering Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s):Mechanical Engineering

Work Term: Fall 2018

What is your career goal:

After graduation, I would like to be a mechanical designer at a mechanical, electrical, plumbing firm; learn all I can about the field and gain skills and manage projects there; then eventually become part of the leadership team at that firm.

Can you tell us about your internship site? What is the company culture like at your internship?

Min Engineering is a smaller consulting firm. The size of the firm allows me to interact with and gain experience from the owner and seasoned project managers daily. We dress business casual since we meet with clients professionally. The pace tends to be deadline dependent. When we have plenty of time to work on a project, we can get into the gritty details of the building, but for shorter time horizons, we have to pick up the pace.

What type of projects are you working on currently?

Min does mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection for a range of sectors including (but not limited to) residential, commercial, K-12, higher-ed (we are currently doing work at UMBC!), and state and federal government.

What is a typical day like at your internship?

I get to gather information on the structure and location of buildings, the people in them, and what the people will be doing. I use this to determine how much heating and cooling we need to provide them. I’ve done this for hundreds of rooms in apartment buildings and town-homes, and for military training facilities.

How did you find your internship? Any tips of landing your internship for other students?

I researched on the company. What do they do there? How can I relate my experiences to the type of work I will be doing there? Check their website to see who are some people you might run into when you go to the interview. I sent in my resume and followed up the next day with a phone call.

I went in excited about the opportunity! At the interview, they told me they liked my enthusiasm, and they took me on, in part, because of it. I was honest on my resume and in the interview. The internship was a perfect match for both me and Min Engineering. With a 5 month old and twins on the way, I needed to find a job this semester! I scoured the web for part-time internships, but found none to be a good match for my skills and career goals.

I went to UMBCWorks and found the position in under one minute! Last year, the folks at the career center helped me touch up my resume and showed me different ways to look for internships. I highly recommend stopping by their office to any student who wants a job!