It's time for that song again: I'm shipping up to Boston!
As I write this, I'm sitting on the floor of my empty apartment in Shelton, Connecticut. My internship at Sikorsky ended a couple weeks ago and (after a nice long trip home to Oregon) I'm all packed up and ready to head back to Boston tomorrow.
One big question has been running through my mind over the last month: how do I know when my internship is done? Obviously there's a hard stop defined by the calendar, but what I was wondering was: how do I know when I've contributed enough to make my internship "complete" and how do I know that I've collected enough information to write and acceptable thesis? From talking to several of my classmates, it sounds like the internship projects span the whole spectrum from "loosely-defined with a more strategic focus" to "very detailed with specific deliverables." My project fell somewhere in the middle; I had a clear focus, but it was part of a larger effort that will continue for at least the next two years. Therefore I found it a little hard to figure out how to define "done."
Through meetings with my managers (yes, I had more than one!) and my advisors, we concluded that the best way to conclude the internship would be for me to make a final presentation to leadership and to deliver a supplemental white paper that captured all of my observations and recommendations. So that's how I found myself standing in front of the SVP of Operations and his entire senior staff on the last day of my internship, making a 15-minute pitch and answering questions. It actually went quite well (it helps that the SVP is on the LGO Operating Committee!) and I would definitely recommend it to anyone else when they wrap up their internships. And it turns out that writing the white paper was a good way to get a head start on the thesis writing (I fell much better about it now that I've gotten something down on paper).
The next day I handed back my company laptop, said my goodbyes, and was escorted out to the gate to hand in my badge. My time at Sikorsky has come to an end, but I've met some great people over the last seven months and will definitely stay in touch.
As I head back to Cambridge, I'm looking forward to diving head-first into the Fall semester. Through an odd alignment of circumstances, all of the engineering classes that I had considered taking were cancelled so I ended up with a full line-up of Sloan electives:
The credit count is a lot lower than previous semesters, so I'm hoping that this will give me some time to work on my thesis. The G-Lab class includes a 3-week trip in IAP next year, so I won't have that time to spend writing; even more reason to work on it now!
But enough about school and internships. Time to catch up on the other part of this blog: adventures! The last few months have brought plenty of those, mostly in the Midwest and around NYC. Here are the highlights:
Upper Peninsula Road Trip
Way back at the end of June I flew out to Detroit to meet up with Cynthia and drive to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, through Wisconsin, and back through Illinois and Indiana to complete the loop. It was a great way to see a part of the country that I had never been to, but the combination of unimpressive scenery (at least compared to the Pacific Northwest) and an infestation of mosquitoes (no joke!) means that I probably won't be back anytime soon. Nevertheless, we had a great adventure and took lots of pictures:
Hiking in Connecticut
Based on the recommendation of one of my coworkers, I headed out for a hike a few weeks ago to Sleeping Giant State Park. The hike to the top of the peak was short, but the terrain and steep trails were impressive!
Back to Detroit
Took a quick weekend trip out to Detroit to visit Cynthia. Highlights included running a 10k race on Belle Isle, exploring the city, eating great BBQ, and visiting the Henry Ford Museum.
Trip to New Jersey
We finally had a chance to head down to the Jersey Shore and cash in on my winnings from last year's Sloan charity auction. I picked up Cynthia at Newark and we headed down the coast for a great (albeit a little damp) weekend. Her parents came up from Maryland for a couple of days and we had fun showing them around the area (which we explored for the first time only a day before!).
End of Summer in NYC
Used up my last pass on the Metro North and headed down to NYC to meetup with the Sloanies who were all finishing up their internships. We had a great afternoon of hanging out by the river, then ended up in Brooklyn for a party at the MoMA followed by fantastic Brazilian food. The next day I ended up at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum (go figure) and then walked the entire length of Central Park (45th - 125th).
Trip to Oregon
Once my internship was done, Cynthia and I met up out in Oregon for a busy week: my 10-year high school reunion, adventures in Central Oregon, and running the Hood-to-Coast Relay. It was so great to get home and catch up with friends and family, and have a chance to show off more of the West Coast to Cynthia!
As I write this, I'm sitting on the floor of my empty apartment in Shelton, Connecticut. My internship at Sikorsky ended a couple weeks ago and (after a nice long trip home to Oregon) I'm all packed up and ready to head back to Boston tomorrow.
One big question has been running through my mind over the last month: how do I know when my internship is done? Obviously there's a hard stop defined by the calendar, but what I was wondering was: how do I know when I've contributed enough to make my internship "complete" and how do I know that I've collected enough information to write and acceptable thesis? From talking to several of my classmates, it sounds like the internship projects span the whole spectrum from "loosely-defined with a more strategic focus" to "very detailed with specific deliverables." My project fell somewhere in the middle; I had a clear focus, but it was part of a larger effort that will continue for at least the next two years. Therefore I found it a little hard to figure out how to define "done."
Through meetings with my managers (yes, I had more than one!) and my advisors, we concluded that the best way to conclude the internship would be for me to make a final presentation to leadership and to deliver a supplemental white paper that captured all of my observations and recommendations. So that's how I found myself standing in front of the SVP of Operations and his entire senior staff on the last day of my internship, making a 15-minute pitch and answering questions. It actually went quite well (it helps that the SVP is on the LGO Operating Committee!) and I would definitely recommend it to anyone else when they wrap up their internships. And it turns out that writing the white paper was a good way to get a head start on the thesis writing (I fell much better about it now that I've gotten something down on paper).
The next day I handed back my company laptop, said my goodbyes, and was escorted out to the gate to hand in my badge. My time at Sikorsky has come to an end, but I've met some great people over the last seven months and will definitely stay in touch.
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| Sunset on my time at Sikorsky (Photo Credit: http://www.opsec.com.au) |
As I head back to Cambridge, I'm looking forward to diving head-first into the Fall semester. Through an odd alignment of circumstances, all of the engineering classes that I had considered taking were cancelled so I ended up with a full line-up of Sloan electives:
| 15.034 | Metrics for Managers |
| 15.401 | Finance Theory I |
| 15.615 | Business Law for Managers |
| 15.665 | Power and Negotiation |
| 15.389 | Global Entrepreneurship Lab (H2) |
| 15.395 | Global Entrepreneurship Lab (H1) |
| 15.769 | Operations Strategy |
The credit count is a lot lower than previous semesters, so I'm hoping that this will give me some time to work on my thesis. The G-Lab class includes a 3-week trip in IAP next year, so I won't have that time to spend writing; even more reason to work on it now!
But enough about school and internships. Time to catch up on the other part of this blog: adventures! The last few months have brought plenty of those, mostly in the Midwest and around NYC. Here are the highlights:
Upper Peninsula Road Trip
Way back at the end of June I flew out to Detroit to meet up with Cynthia and drive to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, through Wisconsin, and back through Illinois and Indiana to complete the loop. It was a great way to see a part of the country that I had never been to, but the combination of unimpressive scenery (at least compared to the Pacific Northwest) and an infestation of mosquitoes (no joke!) means that I probably won't be back anytime soon. Nevertheless, we had a great adventure and took lots of pictures:
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| Getting ready to cross the Mackinac Bridge to the UP |
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| Sunset over St. Ignace. Notice the bugs! |
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| Day-trip to Mackinaw Island. No cars allowed; only horses and bicycles! |
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| Quick trip into Canada (for about an hour) in Sault Ste. Marie |
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| The nicest campsite of the whole trip, on the banks of Lake Superior. |
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| Tahquamenon Falls |
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| Glass-bottomed boat tour of shipwrecks on Lake Superior |
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| Visit to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI |
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| View from our fantastic B&B outside Green Bay. Such great hosts! |
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| Finally made it to Madison, WI. Here, running around Lake Monona |
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| The view from the new UW-Madison Medical Research Building, where Cynthia's sister is studying |
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| Circling back through Indiana, here at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore |
Hiking in Connecticut
Based on the recommendation of one of my coworkers, I headed out for a hike a few weeks ago to Sleeping Giant State Park. The hike to the top of the peak was short, but the terrain and steep trails were impressive!
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| Follow the red dots |
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| Now follow the blue dots (this is the way down!) |
Took a quick weekend trip out to Detroit to visit Cynthia. Highlights included running a 10k race on Belle Isle, exploring the city, eating great BBQ, and visiting the Henry Ford Museum.
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| Finish of the Escape from Belle Isle 10k |
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| Cynthia showing off the new 'Vette at GM HQ |
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| Great idea for a festival! |
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| Met up with Pete for some great BBQ & Whiskey |
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| At the Henry Ford Museum. Here's Teddy Roosevelt's carriage! |
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| Thomas Edison's signature! |
We finally had a chance to head down to the Jersey Shore and cash in on my winnings from last year's Sloan charity auction. I picked up Cynthia at Newark and we headed down the coast for a great (albeit a little damp) weekend. Her parents came up from Maryland for a couple of days and we had fun showing them around the area (which we explored for the first time only a day before!).
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| View of the beach down the hill from where we were staying |
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| The oldest continuously operated lighthouse in the country, on Sandy Hook |
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| Heading out to fish for Fluke with Cynthia's parents |
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| We all caught lots of these, but no keepers |
End of Summer in NYC
Used up my last pass on the Metro North and headed down to NYC to meetup with the Sloanies who were all finishing up their internships. We had a great afternoon of hanging out by the river, then ended up in Brooklyn for a party at the MoMA followed by fantastic Brazilian food. The next day I ended up at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum (go figure) and then walked the entire length of Central Park (45th - 125th).
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| Not a bad place to spend the afternoon |
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| Looking back at Manhattan from Brooklyn at Sunset |
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| Delicious Brazilian Feast |
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| View from the con tower of the USS Intrepid |
Once my internship was done, Cynthia and I met up out in Oregon for a busy week: my 10-year high school reunion, adventures in Central Oregon, and running the Hood-to-Coast Relay. It was so great to get home and catch up with friends and family, and have a chance to show off more of the West Coast to Cynthia!
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| Westview HS 10-Year Reunion: A whirlwind of memories and catching up! |
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| Quick stop at Timberline (start of HTC) on our way to Central Oregon |
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| Looking into the Crooked River Gorge in Central Oregon |
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| Hiking a Smith Rock. No climbing this time, but lots of scouting for next time! |
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| Kayaking at Hosmer Lake; Broken Top in background |
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| Met up with the Nike LGOs / Sloanies and (you guessed it) ate tons of food! |
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| Quick trip to Multnomah Falls before starting Hood to Coast |
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| Our chariot for the relay |
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| 197 miles and 30 hours later, we arrived in Seaside! |
