My time at:
Concept Development Internship: (May 2019 - August 2019)
My first internship was with a company called Applied Research Associates, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Having just spent a winter in Indiana, I was eager to feel some heat and see some mountains. In both regards, Albuquerque did not disappoint.
Don't get it twisted - my dad worked for the company at the time. I was a nepo hire. Oftentimes industry is more about who you know than what you know; a lesson best learned early. That said, I still nailed the interviews and I remember it as the first time I registered that interviewing is a two-way street, rather than just pageantry and a desperate window in which to show off as much of my engineering prowess as possible. This particular lesson took much longer to cement itself.
My first internship was with a company called Applied Research Associates, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Having just spent a winter in Indiana, I was eager to feel some heat and see some mountains. In both regards, Albuquerque did not disappoint.
Don't get it twisted - my dad worked for the company at the time. I was a nepo hire. Oftentimes industry is more about who you know than what you know; a lesson best learned early. That said, I still nailed the interviews and I remember it as the first time I registered that interviewing is a two-way street, rather than just pageantry and a desperate window in which to show off as much of my engineering prowess as possible. This particular lesson took much longer to cement itself.
As a member of the concept development group, my role revolved around the mechanical design and test of the Guided Bomb Unit GBU-72/B.
I spent many hours cross-indexing legacy drawings and their corresponding Solidworks models, ensuring they were consistent and that every dimension was defined.
I also spent many hours in the lab, putting together subcomponent prototypes and proof tests, like a PVC pressure vessel to test the limits of our rubber gaskets. Making silicone molds for our ordnance transfer devices was how I first learned to use a vacuum chamber, a skill that would prove very handy in future.
I also spent many hours in the lab, putting together subcomponent prototypes and proof tests, like a PVC pressure vessel to test the limits of our rubber gaskets. Making silicone molds for our ordnance transfer devices was how I first learned to use a vacuum chamber, a skill that would prove very handy in future.
My most memorable day in the lab was spent alone, organizing the whole space from top to bottom.
Anyone who knows me knows that my bliss is blasting good tunes with a label maker in hand.
Travelling to McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in Oklahoma stands out as another vivid memory. The Sergeant on duty showed myself and a coworker around the colossal Betty Crocker-esque mixers that synthesized the ordnance which would eventually fill the warheads. No matter how hard we scrubbed, no amount of abrasion would completely erase two days of working with explosive material, so naturally we were strip searched by TSA. Not an experience I would recommend to others.
At the conclusion of my internship, I was given a challenge coin to celebrate my contributions. A common ritual in the U.S. Military, the medallion was a super thoughtful gesture! A reminder of the importance of our work and a summer well-spent - until one flips it over.
The front, perfectly innocuous, inscribed with the American flag, the company's cardioid logo, and some details about the group I worked in. On the back, an insignia of the GBU-72/B weapon adorned with angel wings, descending into a raging inferno. The inscription below reads:
Travelling to McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in Oklahoma stands out as another vivid memory. The Sergeant on duty showed myself and a coworker around the colossal Betty Crocker-esque mixers that synthesized the ordnance which would eventually fill the warheads. No matter how hard we scrubbed, no amount of abrasion would completely erase two days of working with explosive material, so naturally we were strip searched by TSA. Not an experience I would recommend to others.
At the conclusion of my internship, I was given a challenge coin to celebrate my contributions. A common ritual in the U.S. Military, the medallion was a super thoughtful gesture! A reminder of the importance of our work and a summer well-spent - until one flips it over.
The front, perfectly innocuous, inscribed with the American flag, the company's cardioid logo, and some details about the group I worked in. On the back, an insignia of the GBU-72/B weapon adorned with angel wings, descending into a raging inferno. The inscription below reads:
"THAT WHICH IS MADE, CAN BE UNMADE"
I was 19 years old when I received this coin.
In the time since, it has become one of my most important possessions. I keep it displayed on my desk at home as a cautionary tale - a reminder of what not to become.
Like anyone, my opinions on the military-industrial complex are fractal and ever-evolving. It would be unprofessional to publish them here. Though the mechanism needs some major corrections, we can't just stop developing defense technology in the interim.
Somebody's gotta do it, but it can't be me. I'm just not cut out for it - a very limiting admission for a person whose industry is 99% defense applications. While I recognize it as a necessary evil, this internship marked the beginning of my ambition to work on projects divorced from the interests of the U.S. Military; an objective I would achieve 5 years later.
In the time since, it has become one of my most important possessions. I keep it displayed on my desk at home as a cautionary tale - a reminder of what not to become.
Like anyone, my opinions on the military-industrial complex are fractal and ever-evolving. It would be unprofessional to publish them here. Though the mechanism needs some major corrections, we can't just stop developing defense technology in the interim.
Somebody's gotta do it, but it can't be me. I'm just not cut out for it - a very limiting admission for a person whose industry is 99% defense applications. While I recognize it as a necessary evil, this internship marked the beginning of my ambition to work on projects divorced from the interests of the U.S. Military; an objective I would achieve 5 years later.
Organizations:
