Some companies — and students — need no introduction. The impact of these companies is seen, felt, and heard around the world, and, likewise, Rose-Hulman students are creating an international image and impact. With summer internships at prominent companies such as NASA, Tesla, and General Electric these students prove that the influence of U.S. and World Report's No. 1 Undergraduate Engineering College transcends global borders.
- Tucker Martin: Tesla
- Aubrey Smith: NASA
- Srishti Kamra: Motorola Solutions
- Audrey Edwards: Reckit/Mead Johnson Nutrition
- Makenna Gill: Marathon Petroleum
- Jenae Mona: Honda Manufacturing of America
- Nathan Hodson: GE Appliances
- Kathryn Jonas: Michelin
- Maddy Alfeldt: Caterpillar
Tucker Martin: Tesla
Tucker Martin, a senior pursuing a mechanical engineering major with a minor in robotics, traded his hometown of Rome City, Indiana, for the desert of Reno, Nevada. He worked as an equipment engineering intern at Tesla. His responsibilities included sustaining and improving the Powerwall 3 production line to supply consumers with more power for their homes. Martin developed PLC logic, programmed Fanuc robots, and created new hardware to increase throughput for the system.
"At Tesla, you are challenged with new unique problems every single day," Martin said. "Rose is the same way; you'll never see the same problem twice."
Martin has built a wealth of experience with challenges at Tesla — he had also interned at the company in the summer of 2024. In his second internship, he also prioritized experiences with his peers, taking an impromptu 20-hour road trip. "We planned the trip Friday night and left Saturday morning at 3 a.m.," he said. "We went to three national parks and two waterfalls and stayed on the coast of Oregon. We returned to Sparks, Nevada, on Sunday at 9 p.m."
Aubrey Smith: NASA
Mechanical engineering junior Aubrey Smith, from Lebanon, Ohio, launched her knowledge to her work at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, working under the operations support officer in the Flight Operations Directorate. Smith authored and updated Intravehicular Activity (IVA) procedures for both new and existing pieces of hardware for astronauts on the International Space Station. She also designed and wrote hardware training modules for International Space Station and Boeing Starliner crews to prepare for their upcoming missions.
"I loved getting to work with the astronauts," Smith said. "They love to give feedback on the procedures my team was writing, so I really got to see their perspective on space operations." She added, "It was so cool to have conversations with people who have worked in space, and I was able to create better training and documentation for them because of it."
This was Smith's second internship with NASA's Johnson Space Center and Flight Operations Directorate. She spent the summer of 2024 as a robotics analyst intern, also working on projects related to the International Space Station. "Rose taught me how to be curious," Smith said. Her goal is to be a leader in the next generation of technology and pushing innovation past the final frontier, including potentially facilitating humankind's return to the moon and first steps on Mars.
Srishti Kamra: Motorola Solutions
Srishti Kamra, a junior from Hoffman Estates, Illinois, is studying electrical engineering with minors in cognitive science, psychology, and robotics and concentrations in semiconductors materials & devices and integrated circuit testing. She interned with Motorola Solutions. "I absolutely enjoyed the collaborative setting and being able to work with both full-time engineers and other team's interns," Kamra said. She added, "During my internship, I quickly found out about the power of automation when it comes to testing radios."
Kamra worked primarily on designing a 7th order lowpass elliptic filter to attenuate harmonics from the frequency bandwidth of 806-941 MHz. She also assisted with creating five Python scripts to automate testing of radios and validated the radios' performances on existing remote speaker mic accessories.
She loved being able to apply what she had learned in class at Rose-Hulman to real projects as she continued to expand her skills at Motorola. "My goal is to find a job that challenges me intellectually but is still enjoyable years down the road," said Kamra. "Rose-Hulman is helping me achieve this goal by exposing me to a little bit of every field in electrical engineering, as well as pushing me to seek experiences both during the year and in the summer that allow me to find what truly keeps me excited." While she was not at work, Kamra and her fellow interns explored the Plantation, Florida, locale by spending time searching for seashells at local beaches and mouthwatering finds at local restaurants.
Audrey Edwards: Reckit/Mead Johnson Nutrition
Audrey Edwards, a junior from Tucson, Arizona, is majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in clean energy. Last summer, she interned for the UK-based company Reckit. More specifically, she worked for Mead Johnson Nutrition in Evansville, Indiana, where Enfamil baby formula products are manufactured.
Edwards worked in a project management role, which gave her the opportunity to see the full scope of everything that goes into making a company run. This included working with teams from maintenance to R&D to line workers, administration, and human resources. Her favorite part of the internship was seeing how the products Mead Johnson Nutrition made impacted people.
“Going to the store and seeing a wall of Enfamil products and hearing reviews about how certain formulas helped families made me very proud of the work we were doing there,” said Edwards. “Through my internship, I realized how much I care about the impact on communities and started focusing more on the food and consumer goods industries.”
Edwards credits Rose-Hulman with helping her find her dream goal. “Taking a variety of classes and talking to my professors about different applications of ME helped me narrow down my interests and find out what side of engineering I want to do,” she said.
Makenna Gill: Marathon Petroleum
Makenna Gill, a senior chemical engineering major from Morton, Illinois, spent the summer in Anacortes, Washington, working as a refining engineer intern on Marathon Petroleum's tech services team. Gill had previously interned at Marathon's Robinson, Illinois, site, so the second summer gave her the chance to refine her skills and expertise.
That project work included tasks related to improving refining operations using temperature optimization, absorber column conditions, and the vapor pressure of tanks. "My dream goal is to be a successful engineer that works to inspire the next generation to pursue STEM," Gill said. "Rose has helped me to achieve this by pushing me to be the best possible engineer I can be, along with providing opportunities to volunteer with youth in Terre Haute both in and out of the classroom."
Jenae Mona: Honda Manufacturing of America
Jenae Mona, a senior from Tucson, Arizona, majoring in chemical engineering, accelerated toward a more sustainable future. In summer 2025, she interned at Honda Manufacturing of America's Greensburg, Indiana, location, having completed an internship the year prior at their Marysville, Ohio, site.
As an environmental engineering intern, Mona supported sustainability at two automotive plants through project management, regulatory compliance, and waste reduction initiatives. She also managed contractor bidding and created a scope of work for a wastewater project, developed decision analyses for waste standardization, and improved stormwater prevention measures.
"My dream is to build a career in sustainability, helping companies minimize their carbon footprint and advance positive environmental initiatives," Mona said. "I am especially interested in pursuing research and development to explore innovative solutions that reduce waste and prevent water contamination."
Mona's internship at Honda also provided some unique opportunities beyond her professional growth. Mona volunteered at the Brown County State Park to clean up debris and polish signs. She also was featured in an internal Honda video advertisement.
Nathan Hodson: GE Appliances
Nathan Hodson, a junior mechanical engineering major from South Pasadena, California, dreams of using his work as an engineer to make a meaningful impact on people's lives, and few technologies have a bigger impact on daily life than refrigerators.
Hodson's work involved conducting detailed quality analyses of refrigerator components using 3D scanning technology, PolyWorks, and metrology. Hodson also designed, executed, and analyzed several experimental studies to determine the root cause of various refrigerator issues, as well as found the optimal installation torque for door studs.
"My favorite part of the experience was meeting and becoming friends with many of the other co-ops," Hodson said. "GE does a great job helping interns connect with one another."
Hodson's co-op experience also held a surprise. When he signed up for a mock interview, Hodson was stunned to find himself in an interview with the CEO of GE Appliances.
Kathryn Jonas: Michelin
"Ever since I was young, it has been my dream to be a robotics engineer," she said. "Through this internship and Rose, I had the opportunity to get my foot in the door and learn about practical robotics applications in industry."
Throughout the summer, Jonas focused on automation engineering projects, in which she implemented Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) ladder logic routines to tire building machines, improving processes and reducing scrapped material. She also worked on a robotics project that allowed her to experience the behind-the-scenes project management aspects of implementing new robots in an existing manufacturing environment.
"I loved how, at my internship, I got the opportunity to explore the many aspects of my major that I am interested in," said Jonas. "Electrical engineering is a very broad field, but during my time at the company, I got the chance to explore everything I wanted to do."
Jonas's experience also drove long-lasting relationships, both with her intern peers and her mentors.
"I was thrilled with how supportive and encouraging the people I worked with were," she said. "They were always eager to answer my questions, and when I wanted to try new things, they were more than happy to add me to projects. I still maintain contact with my mentors from my internship, and I am so grateful to them for helping me learn and grow professionally this summer."
Maddy Alfeldt: Caterpillar
Maddy Alfeldt, a junior mechanical engineering major with a minor in robotics, assembled a wealth of manufacturing knowledge during her summer 2025 internship with Caterpillar, Inc. in Decatur, Illinois.
She led and facilitated an assembly line reset plan that spanned multiple buildings and required collaboration with several stakeholders, including assemblers, construction crews, material specialists, managers, engineers, and other supply chain planners. Alfeldt's redesign successfully streamlined workflow in a limited space while reducing forklift touches by 35%.
Alfeldt also developed a Power BI dashboard integrated with SQL and Oracle databases to monitor quality events across the Decatur facility, giving leadership real-time visibility into performance data.