Bassett Mechanical offers internship opportunities in various aspects of our business. These opportunities allow aspiring young professionals to explore different avenues they might be interested in, get exposure to a variety of roles and departments, and receive hands-on training that facilitates personal and professional growth.
This summer, we welcomed Michael R. to our Bassett Mechanical Family! Michael joined the team as a Refrigeration Engineering intern. We interviewed Michael to understand how his internship prepares him for his engineering career.
Meet Michael:
Q: First things first, tell us about yourself!
A: My name is Michael Rauch. I am a senior at the University of Notre Dame, studying Mechanical Engineering. Outside the classroom, I serve as the Bengal Boy’s boxing club captain, play on the club’s ultimate frisbee team, and work at the Notre Dame climbing wall. I love the outdoors and spend most of my free time playing disc golf. Additionally, I am learning to play the electric guitar. Finally, I am a Catholic, actively exploring and learning about my faith.
Q: How did you get into engineering?
A: I would describe engineering as applying math and science to solve problems. An engineer thinks in terms of solutions to the problem presented. I grew up thinking this way from doing home improvement projects, participating in Lego robotics, and exploring software programs like Scratch. I can’t see myself in any field other than engineering because I think like an engineer.
Q: Why did you want to pursue an Industrial Refrigeration internship at Bassett Mechanical?
A: I am at Bassett mostly by chance. I applied for the IIAR scholarship because I missed a connecting flight, and because I happened to get the scholarship, Bassett reached out to me about an internship. Before all of this, I never would have even considered a job in the field of refrigeration.
Q: What type of projects will you be working on this summer?
A: I still need to speak to my manager about starting a project, but I believe I will be developing some calculations. These calculations will likely be Excel spreadsheets designed for calculating either the level of liquid in a pressure vessel or sizing the defrost cycle for evaporators.
Q: What are you hoping to gain from this experience?
A: I hope to gain professional experience in engineering. I am learning about mechanical contracting and the world of refrigeration. Most importantly, I am learning how to work on an engineering team in the corporate environment.
Q: What is your dream job in engineering?
A: My engineering dream job would be a Lego set designer. I haven’t pursued this career at all, but I think that playing with Legos all day long would be an awesome job.
Q: Do you have any advice for someone going into engineering?
A: My biggest advice is to learn from your failures. No engineer succeeds the first time. Einstein took 1000 tries to invent the lightbulb, and the Wright brothers failed repeatedly when inventing the airplane. However, they learned from their failures and eventually created a working product. As a young engineer, you don’t have the wealth of experience other engineers have. You can only gain this expertise by learning from your failures and asking questions.
Learn more about our other interns:
Anthony M. – Thermatech Engineer Intern
Grace M. – Human Resource Intern
