Interning at General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) last summer earned Eddie Chavez an opportunity to work with electronic security systems for the government and travel coast to coast.
“The internship was a brand-new program and I was able to play a big part in defining my role,” Chavez said. “GDMS allowed me to explore various areas that fall under the company’s umbrella.”
Chavez, a mechanical engineering junior at Texas A&M University, believes it was through his involvement with the Society of Automotive Engineers and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and help from the Career Center that helped him stand apart from other applicants. Based in Georgia and away from his hometown Kilgore, Texas, his internship with GDMS allowed him to find personal growth.
During the internship, Chavez was involved with supporting and analyzing the maintenance of security systems, as well as the systems’ installations and vulnerability testing. This gave him the chance to learn how to write procedures at a technical level and learn about team and project management.
“Of my favorite things working there, I got to board two Trident SSBN submarines and learn about fire guidance protocol,” Chavez said.
While there are many perks to interning out of state, Chavez found his in exploring Seattle and hiking at Mount Rainier. He was also able to visit other places to get a feel of all the things engineering can lead to.
“In my time there, I also got to spend two weeks in our sister site based out of Bangor, Washington, and spend some time in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” Chavez said.
Chavez’s internship meant fulfilling a few of his lifetime dreams of traveling.
“Getting to travel through work was a fantastic experience,” Chavez said. “Most of my time on travel was spent working, but I never expected to have an opportunity of visiting Seattle.”
Although moving to another state can be challenging emotionally because students are away from family, Chavez was able to find emotional support in his manager.
“Overall, I had a lot of talks about leadership with my manager and grew a lot from my experience while having fun,” Chavez said.
Next summer, Chavez said that he hopes to find a dream position where he can get involved in designs and work with structural analysis, using Finite Element Analysis. Ultimately, he found that seeking an internship far from Texas allowed him to experience new adventures and forced him to mature even more.
"I highly encourage other students to pursue internships out of their comfort zones because that is the best way to learn," Chavez said.
Learn about what the Career Center can do for you.