FROM CLASSROOM TO CAREER: THE VALUE OF INTERNSHIPS
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INTERNS: In what ways has your internship helped you connect what you have learned in the classroom to the workplace?
Kyler Nikolai, Intern, IBM
Noah Hiniker, Project Engineer Intern, Knutson Construction
College emphasized that it is important for students to write clean, readable code, and use techniques like object-oriented programming. During my internship I was put into a group with two other interns. We were given a large coding project to complete together. To do this we broke down the scope of the project into small pieces that we assigned to one of the three of us. As we made these incremental changes, we reported our progress in daily scrums where our mentors gave us detailed feedback on our code. This feedback loop combined with observing how my team members interpreted my code helped emphasize these coding practices I was taught in school. I was able to see firsthand why they are important.
In the classroom, learning from professors through conceptual ideas. Most recently I took a class entailing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems. Learning about these systems prepared me for the project I was on this summer. My project, Kellogg Middle School, underwent a mechanical overhaul. Being able to learn about these systems before being on the project helped me understand what was happening each day. This allowed me to have better conversations with the crews on site, as well. As I was exposed to plan sets in this class, it allowed me to have a grasp on the drawings I looked at everyday over the summer too. Safety is another course our degree needs from us. In this class everything has simulated outcomes. But on site everything is real and has actual consequences. Our site superintendent was always concerned with the safety of the crews. This reminded me of the toolbox talks and site-specific safety plans I had created for the class. Though the classroom may become mundane over time, it prepared me for what was in store for the summer.
SMOOTH SKIN , SMOOTH SKIN, YOUR WAY! YOUR WAY !
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10 | ROCHESTER AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVANTAGE MAGAZINE — OCTOBER 2025
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