Internships

sharpen ISE
students’ skills
Four prospective professionals share their stories

34 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine

W
While the basics of an industrial and systems
engineering degree can effectively prepare
young professionals for their careers, there is
no substitute for hands-on experience. To gain
this, prospective ISEs seek summer internships
that can provide valuable on-the-job seasoning
and often lead to a full-time position after graduation.
To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day June
23 (inwed.org.uk), we offer four female ISE students who began
their career resumes with internships that provided insight and
problem-solving opportunities in a variety of industries.

Taking flight with problem-solving

for United Airlines
By Aleksina Jovic
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Have you wondered what goes on behind
the scenes at an airport? If you are like
me, you’ve probably also questioned how
many people and processes it takes for it
to happen.
Last summer, I had the opportunity to be a digital technol-
ogy intern at United Airlines on their analytics and innovation
team based in Chicago. I was able to meet and work with people
and engage in processes that make this industry so impactful.
I’ve always been fascinated by airplanes and their unique
power. My earliest memory of flying is at age 5 on a journey
with my dad, mom and brother moving from Serbia to the
United States. I was scared of a whole new life in America; I had
moved across the planet, away from most of my family and the
culture I grew up knowing. What reassured me was knowing
I was just a flight away. As I’ve gone back and visited over the
years, I’ve come to realize the power an airline holds is in its
reassurance that no place is truly out of reach. Family is often
just a flight away.
Having such a close connection to this industry inspired me
to apply to this internship after my sophomore year. I am a ju-
nior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study-
ing systems engineering and design and minoring in the Hoeft
Technology and Management Program. At United, I constant-
ly found myself applying the skills I learned in my classes to the
work with my team.
I worked on a variety of projects that spanned several differ-
ent segments of the company. What I found most fascinating
was how crucial each part of the process was. I found that an
airline functions like we do; a body of many systems where fail-
ure in one could mean failure in all.
One task I took on was net promoter scores. These metrics
evaluate customers’ satisfaction with the services received. I
found correlations and trends from season to season and drew
conclusions on how to improve the process. We were able to
pinpoint where and when satisfaction was low, then specifically

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Internships sharpen ISE students’ skills

a dashboard in a software called Splunk. This outlined the pro-

cess of receiving a new plane from the manufacturer, and by
loading the proper United software onto it, enabled it to per-
form essential tasks such as processing data, safety reports and
security-related information.
Being on the analytics and innovation team was filled with
constant learning and improving. Aside from the projects,
there were unbeatable flight benefits. Interns could travel on
standby for free, a great way to hop on a quick weekend trip
and recharge from a long week of work. Through my travels, I
had the opportunity to see various airports; some were United
hubs and others were smaller, but each gave a different perspec-
tive and showed me the various operations that ensued based
on airport size and location.

I’ve come to realize the power an

airline holds is in its reassurance that
no place is truly out of reach. Family
is often just a flight away.

The intern class got the chance to experience a detailed, be-

Aleksina Jovic is a systems engineering and design student at the hind-the-scenes tour of O’Hare International Airport in Chi-
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an IISE student member. cago, where I saw some of the projects I was working on being
target those areas for improvement. This work magnified both executed. To wrap it all up, my team traveled to Houston for a
United’s impact on its consumers and the critical role under- work trip to visit our project sponsor.
standing the user plays in the company’s success. My time at United was extremely impactful. I learned to
My challenges were not limited to the technology of data work with people from different backgrounds and see how our
analysis software, as I found the functionality of a business just various skills can complement each other. Most of all, I was
as demanding. This drove home the idea that the intersection constantly reminded of the power that airlines like United hold
of technology and business is heavily enriched by the success to bring people together, whether that be to my family in Serbia
of one another. or back home to Chicago where opportunities such as this one
I also worked with a team to evaluate pilot performance await. Until last summer, I didn’t realize how many people and
and the risk of retraining rates. When a pilot joins or transfers processes it takes to make this happen. It takes a body of people
from another commercial airline, many metrics and standards and a magnitude of effort to run an airline as well as United
must be met. This process can be long and tedious for the pi- Airlines. 
lot and also for United. To make this process smoother, data
analysis allowed us to examine different pilot profiles and cat- Coke offers a refreshing opportunity
egorize them to determine their degree of risk for retraining. for Panamericana student
This saved time and money and allowed some pilots to return By Ana Paula Martínez Del Águila
to work quicker. Like everything at United, this also benefited Universidad Panamericana
consumers, allowing for more pilots, reducing delays and wait- Coca-Cola is a company almost everyone
ing times, and making an overall smoother passenger experi- knows due to its strong presence in over
ence. 200 countries for producing its popu-
One of my favorite aspects of the internship was the intern lar soft drink, which is always present in
project. Toward the midpoint of my journey at United, I was traditional Mexican meals and in other
put on a team with six other talented interns to work on a real- countries.
world problem that had not been solved. It was as intimidat- I am studying industrial engineering at Universidad Pana-
ing as it sounds, but nonetheless a rewarding project. With the mericana in Mexico. To graduate, it is required to enter an in-
diverse skills my team possessed, we worked together to create ternship. In 2021, I was looking for a position that fit my skills

36 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine

and my interests but mainly to learn and gain experience. I
found an internship program from The Coca-Cola Co. called
“Fresh Minds,” so I decided to apply. It was a long selection pro-
cess but I was selected.
I started the internship in September 2021 in the Dairy
Business Development area. I worked on a project focused on
Santa Clara, a Mexican brand that sells artisanal ice cream and
premium dairy products. The internship helped me learn or-
ganization skills and better numerical analysis, and think in a
more structured and strategic way. I liked learning about the
dairy business as it provides foods we consume frequently and
different innovations the market has presented in recent years.

The internship helped me learn

organization skills and better
numerical analysis, and think in a
more structured and strategic way.

I was transferred to another area as a strategy intern. For me,

this was an opportunity to learn about Coca-Cola from a new
perspective. This area is completely different from the previous
one; in this position, I would have a better understanding of Ana Paula Martínez Del Águila is an industrial engineering student at
the different brands and industries in learning how the system Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City.
works. It would allow me to develop analytical skills from an-
other perspective, the ability to optimize processes and be in analytical decisions and know how to optimize processes,
constant use of the technology. skills useful in daily life. On the other hand, I realize this major
When I was selected for the internship, I never imagined the gives me the opportunity to participate in different areas and
amazing company Coca-Cola is and how much it is interested projects. It has provided me with a lot of knowledge, and I have
in people. The company has always been at the forefront of been able to confirm that I chose my career correctly and my
innovation. I am impressed by the adaptability and focus on love for it.
interaction with people, being part of a community by imple- I am happy I was selected for this program and have the op-
menting many social programs, and having the commitment portunity to learn from many people and to be able to make
to be more sustainable. It is an iconic and cultural brand that is meaningful contributions to the teams I have been part of. I
part of daily lives and the creation of memories. recommend this internship to everyone who wants to be sur-
I have received a lot of mentorship and support from my prised and have their knowledge challenged and enjoy an in-
managers who took the time to help me grow and develop my credible experience. 
skills. They shared their knowledge and experiences with me
and were a fundamental part of my enjoyment of working at Getting front-line know-how
Coca-Cola and the personal and professional growth I have with DHL Supply Chain
had since the internship began. It is amazing how much differ- By Ryan Secrest
ence there is in the theoretical knowledge taught in the class- University of Dayton
rooms than the one applied in businesses. “Aspire to Fly Higher!” is one of the slo-
Yet a strong mark the university and IISE chapter have left gans for the University of Dayton’s En-
on me is that all processes can be improved. Sometimes com- gineering Program, and I was certainly
panies with established and traditional methodologies lose the on cloud nine when offered a summer
perspective of optimization and continuous improvement. internship opportunity with DHL Supply
The internship positions have made me think about what Chain.
fields I want to pursue in the long term and what I like about DHL assigned me to its Cisco account in Lockbourne, Ohio.
industrial engineering. First, I love to be capable of making The job description definitely fit the problem-solving and tech-

June 2023 | ISE Magazine 37

Internships sharpen ISE students’ skills

Ryan Secrest is an industrial engineering student at the University of Dayton. Here, she poses (third from right) with her fellow interns after completing
their Capstone project with DHL Supply Chain.

nical skills I was attaining through UD’s industrial engineering to determine if this area was sufficient for the units coming
technology classes. I was excited about the amount of responsi- in or if the racking needed to be expanded. I analyzed a vast
bility and specialized projects DHL Supply Chain entrusted to amount of existing data on SKUs and shelf sizes and confirmed
me from the start. I was also amazed by how much information that the space provided was sufficient for the expected number
I learned through my coursework at Dayton and through being
a member of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers
that could be transferred and applied toward the projects with I valued the chance to collaborate
which I was tasked. with front-line operators working
My first task: Flowcharts. Since I needed to have a strong
understanding of Cisco’s workflow operation, I created a flow- on the floor and apply that
chart identifying every main element involved with its inbound information to my projects. Through
receiving, put away, picking and outbound packing processes.
After grasping a strong understanding of Cisco’s supply chain
speaking with them, I was able
functions through this flowchart, I conducted multiple time to understand more about their
studies relevant to each procedure and applied the collected
results to develop a standard time per task.
day-to-day processes and consider
Through this analysis, I identified inefficiencies and areas their suggestions for improving the
of nonvalue-added time. One area of inefficiency involved the
efficiency of the operations.
receiving of a stock keeping unit. For each unit, there were
multiple barcodes to be scanned before the unit could be put
away. However, between scanning barcodes, the operator was of units.
required to go to the computer and hit “enter,” decreasing time Final task: Capstone project, the largest and most essential
efficiency. I created a scannable barcode that automatically project that I worked on during my internship. This project al-
produced the screen needed, eliminating the “enter” key task lowed for collaboration, communication, creativity and critical
between scans. This increased the productivity and quality of thinking to problem-solve a distribution center issue.
the operation. Recently, the distribution center implemented locus robot-
Next task: Capacity analysis project. DHL Supply Chain ics, also known as locus bots, which provide the technology of
was receiving a number of units from Cisco but was not given robotic picking assistants to increase automation efficiency in
any information regarding their dimensions. There were a few the picking process. At Carhartt Distribution Center 3.0, a lo-
aisles of racking reserved for this arriving product. My task was cus bot is assigned a task with a list of items to retrieve for a

38 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine

specific order, along with its location. The bot proceeds to the wide range of people, learned many different aspects about the
location, waits for an associate to arrive and places the item industry and enjoyed the variety of work an industrial engineer
on the bot, then moves to its next location. However, there is performs. I am grateful for everything I have learned through
a limit of five bots allowed down an aisle at one time. This led my internship and through my coursework at the University of
to considerable congestion among the robots within just a few Dayton. Both organizations have truly inspired me to fly high-
of the active pick aisles, while the remaining aisles were open er as I begin my journey as an industrial engineer! 
and uncrowded.
Through root cause analysis, my team was able to determine Tackling issues on the warehouse floor
the reason behind the congestion. The replenishment logic in leads to full-time role at Radial
place would search for an available location starting at a certain By Caroline Veitch
aisle, work its way down the aisle, then continue to the follow- Pennsylvania State University
ing aisle. Because of this, the SKUs that ran out faster would be I will never forget the day I accepted an
replenished in the prioritized aisle. Over time, this aisle would offer to work for Radial Inc. as an indus-
populate with the fastest moving SKUs. The more frequently trial engineering intern in Easton, Penn-
picked a SKU is, the more it needs to be replenished, causing sylvania. I was sitting in an engineering
obstruction in the aisle. analytics class taking notes on my iPad
My team considered many factors to arrive at our solution, in- when I saw an email notification pop up
cluding the scope and limitations; static and dynamic slotting; on my screen. I was interviewing and applying to multiple
other accounts that have implemented locus; a shared ware- companies, so I immediately checked my inbox. The ’subject
house management system; ergonomic and associate safety; an line read, “Congratulations | Offer Letter for Caroline Veitch
increased number of bots; and minimizing the associate replen- – Radial Inc.”
ishment path. The solution we created was a dynamic replenish- I’m unsure how I managed to contain my excitement. It only
ment sequence that evenly distributes the cases throughout all took me about five minutes to read through the offer letter and
the available aisles. The sequence also prioritizes the middle lev- return it indicating I was accepting the offer to intern with Ra-
els of each bay – known as the golden zone – to prevent back in- dial during summer 2022.
juries from bending and reaching. The sequence aims to increase Before accepting this offer in spring 2022, I spent the previous
the locus bots’ productivity, decreasing wait time and downtime. fall semester researching and applying to different internships.
We had the opportunity to present our Capstone Project and re- One day, I received an email with information about a mentor-
ceived many accolades, which I appreciated. ing program for undergraduates sponsored by the Penn State
During my time at DHL Supply Chain, I valued the chance Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Society (PSIMES).
to collaborate with front-line operators working on the floor Shortly after applying, I was paired with Sunny Ghai, a Penn
and apply that information to my projects. Through speaking State industrial engineering alumnus. We met virtually through-
with them, I was able to understand more about their day-to- out the semester, and he gave me advice and recommendations
day processes and consider their suggestions for improving the for my academic and professional development.
efficiency of the operations. Additional skills I learned to ap-
ply as an industrial engineer were the importance of question-
ing and analyzing the different processes and procedures for As I got more practice, I was able
continuous improvement. Processes often are done a certain to provide input on how clients
way because of an established practice, even if it is not the most
efficient way. Change can be uncomfortable, but sometimes
could improve their efficiencies and
necessary for improvement. It is also important to learn and increase the amount of throughput
understand why a process is performed a certain way and use
critical thinking skills to improve it.
for each workstation.
Overall, DHL Supply Chain offered me a challenging hands-
on learning experience. It provided me real opportunities to During one meeting, Sunny expressed the importance of
problem-solve, to apply technical skills learned through both networking and the effectiveness of LinkedIn. Afterward, he
my UD coursework and IISE membership, and to collaborate created a post introducing me to his professional network.
with other interns, associates and engineers. I significantly I soon was connected to industrial engineers in all different
grew personally and professionally from this experiential industries. A few weeks after the post, I received a LinkedIn
learning opportunity. message from Scott DeMoss, director of optimization engi-
The DHL Supply Chain employees with whom I interacted neering at Radial Inc., regarding summer internship opportu-
were approachable and eager to help me. I collaborated with a nities. Soon after connecting with Scott, I interviewed for the

June 2023 | ISE Magazine 39

Internships sharpen ISE students’ skills

Caroline Veitch is a recent industrial engineering graduate of Pennsylvania State University who served as an intern in summer 2022 with Radial Inc., an
e-commerce company based in Pennsylvania. She begins a full-time position with the company this June.

summer position. Although the interview was virtual, I could improvements for increasing the safety of the robots.
sense Scott’s pride for not only his daily work, but the company In addition, I was responsible for conducting several time
overall. studies to set standard processing rates and ensure service level
At the conclusion of the interview, I narrowed down my op- agreement needs were met for various clients. The time studies
tions to two companies. A major difference between the offers were a common client request and I performed them often. As
I received was that Radial’s position was on-site and the other I got more practice, I was able to provide input on how clients
one was remote. I had made it my goal to gain true industry could improve their efficiencies and increase the amount of
experience as an undergraduate and decided that accepting the throughput for each workstation.
role with Radial was the best decision. For all these experiences, I had time to learn and practice be-
I reported to the fulfillment center in Easton daily, but I fore completing the task at hand. One day, however, I had the
also had the opportunity to travel to four other sites within the opportunity to solve a problem as it occurred. I remember re-
network and learn about Radial’s innovative solutions for its ceiving a message from an employee mentioning that packages
clients. One exciting part of my travels was the opportunity to were falling off the conveyor belt and onto the floor. The main
help support the expansion of Geek + robots into a client’s in- problem was a shortage of the large cardboard boxes used for
ventory. The robots retrieved inventory from the shelves and storing packages. In this instance, my mentor taught me how to
brought it to the respective picking stations, reducing workers’ use Pyramid, the software responsible for routing the packages
labor fatigue and improving inventory picking accuracy. to their proper destination. After getting a quick tutorial on the
To support this expansion, I recreated a new floor plan in software, I rebalanced the conveyor line and rerouted the pack-
AutoCAD that accounted for the movement of existing racks ages to a location with a box available.
and workstations, as well as the creation of the new space for Ultimately, I had the privilege of expanding my knowledge
the addition of more robots. After finalizing this AutoCAD of optimization and continuous improvement in the logistics
drawing with my mentor, we printed a copy and headed to the industry while working for Radial.
warehouse floor. In the fall of my senior year, I attended Penn State’s Fall Ca-
We retrieved a tape measure and industrial tape to measure reer Days, the largest collegiate career fair, and the Industrial
out the floor and we taped an outline of the exact location for Engineering Career Fair hosted by Penn State’s IISE chapter.
each rack. It was tedious and required great attention to detail, After careful thought and consideration of all options, I de-
and I enjoyed seeing the robots operate successfully between cided Radial Inc. provided the best opportunity to grow and
the new rack locations. develop, both personally and professionally. I am excited to
I also had the opportunity to be a part of a kaizen event to join full time in June 2023 upon completion of my degree. I am
assess the safety of robots working with humans. The kaizen extremely grateful for my time at Penn State University and the
consisted of data collection, brainstorming and implementing opportunities it has provided. 

40 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine

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