Momenta Tech’s summer intern, Alex Edmondson, joined Travis Ziebro to talk about his internship and work with Punchlist Zero.
PL0: What surprised you the most about this summer’s internship?
To be completely honest, I had absolutely no idea what to expect heading into this internship. It was my first ever job/experience in the engineering field, so I kind of came in blindly. However, I did formulate a picture in my head of my role and expectations. However, my experience this summer completely differed from what I envisioned.
This internship allowed me to venture out into many different areas that I did not expect when thinking about an engineering internship. That is the best part about it. From sales to networking, to article writing, I wore many hats. I left Momenta Tech this summer with an enormous amount of knowledge about not only engineering but business and corporate America.
PL0: Did it change any perspectives you had?
100%. Having only learned about engineering in a classroom the past year, my impression was engineering is simply solving complicated problems. This made me think that technical knowledge is the most important part of being an engineer.
My experience at this internship taught me this is simply not the case. So much more goes into being an engineer, such as communication, leadership, marketing, and more. There is no such thing as a one-trick pony in the engineering world.
PL0: What’s your advice to all the students currently struggling through their first semester of college?
Always believe in yourself and remember why you are there in the first place. If you are a student in college and especially in engineering, take a step back and realize that you are extremely bright and have a great future ahead of you. It’s not always going to be easy or smooth sailing, but continue to push yourself and remind yourself that you are doing this to set yourself up for success.
The biggest thing I learned in my first year of college was that sometimes you have to accept your losses and move on. Being a straight-A student in high school, getting my first college test back with a C on it was a world shocker. I made sure to not let that grade affect me long-term and ended up bouncing back and doing well in the class.
PL0: What article are you most proud of and why?
The ENGR 102 article that I authored. A lot of students go into college with no clue what to expect from their classes, so being able to write this article and hear from many people that it helped was an awesome feeling. It was one of my most popular articles and I have comfort knowing that it will continue to help freshman Aggies that come to college with the question ‘Is ENGR 102 hard?’.
PL0: It’s rumored that Texas A&M is the greatest university in the world. Can you give us your take on this rumor and why it is true?
This is not a rumor, but a confirmed fact. Texas A&M is unlike any place in America in the best way possible. This summer I got to witness first-hand the size and impact of the Aggie Network. I made numerous connections with Aggies that I hope to make use of in the future.
Another unique thing about Texas A&M is the number of outside organizations and opportunities that will help you grow. Funny enough, I learned that I was involved in the same freshman organization this past year that Travis was during his time at Texas A&M.
Connections like these happen often and are one of a million reasons why Texas A&M is the greatest university in the world.
