Some companies - and students - need no introduction. The impact of these companies is seen, felt, and sometimes tasted around the world, and, likewise, Rose-Hulman students are creating an international image and impact. With summer internships at prominent companies such as Caterpillar, Team Penske, and General Motors, these students prove that the influence of one of the Wall Street Journal's Top 20 Best Colleges in America transcends global borders.
Kaylee McGill
Kaylee McGill, a senior from Niskayuna, New York, is majoring in mechanical engineering.
This summer, McGill interned as a mechanical engineer at Caterpillar.
She was responsible for improving manufacturing processes in different ways, including updating standard work and visual aids, creating 3D printed guide tools, and ensuring assemblers have the proper tooling required.
She also got to ride on large wheel loaders and is currently working toward obtaining a license to drive the machines.
McGill credits her coursework at Rose and internship experiences for helping her realize that manufacturing is what she wants to work on as a career.
“Even though manufacturing can be a stressful and demanding field, I feel very well prepared from my time at Rose,” she said.
“While the classes I’ve taken at Rose have given me the technical knowledge to succeed, the problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills I’ve developed here have been vital to me in this fast-paced field.”
At Rose, McGill is an active member of her sorority, Chi Omega, serving as the community service director.
Additionally, she is the professional development chair for American Society of Engineers (ASME) and the Secretary for Mechanical Engineering Student Advisory Board (MESAB).
She also works at Rose’s Sports and Recreation Center and will continue working for Caterpillar part time throughout the school year.
Logan Schuld
Logan Schuld is a junior chemical engineering major from Terre Haute, Indiana, who spent the summer working at Marathon Petroleum Company in Detroit, Michigan.
During his internship, Schuld supervised the night shift of a chloride guard bed changeout. The guard bed removes chlorides from the net gas stream of the Continuous Catalyst Reformer to prevent fouling downstream.
Schuld and his fellow interns took tours of several of Marathon's units, and he loved being able to see his office work in the field.
His internship helped him drill into and refine his overall career goals of climbing the management ladder in the oil and gas industry.
At Rose, he is involved in InterVarsity, Alpha Tau Omega, and the men's golf team.
Josh Wilmerding
Josh Wilmerding, a senior from Fairfield, California, is a mechanical engineering major with a minor in data science.
His projects included machine learning, data and computer science, some at-track assistance, telemetry report design, and miscellaneous engineering help and learning. He credits his data science minor and experience in coding as key to obtaining the internship.
Wilmerding’s dream goal is to work for Team Penske after graduation.
Rose is helping him achieve this goal by connecting him with alumnus and Team Penske President Tim Cindric when he was on campus during commencement in 2021.
“It’s incredible to see and interact with some of the heroes from my childhood — Will Power won the first race I ever went to a few days after my ninth birthday — and I got to witness him tie the all-time pole record last year as a team member,” said Wilmerding.
“I’ve had a philosophy ever since I met Tim Cindric that I wanted to be seen as a colleague to everyone at Penske instead of the fan I’d been all my life, which was an interesting, but necessary transition. And I think it’s worked out so far.”
Natalie Green
This summer, she worked as a process engineering intern in the technical service department of Marathon Petroleum at their Salt Lake City refinery.
This was her second internship with Marathon, having spent last summer at their Detroit refinery.
Green’s internship project centered around optimizing different process units in the refinery, which required her to develop test runs and work with other refinery personnel to execute them.
“Interning at Marathon, you are treated just like a full-time engineer; you have the opportunity to become a meaningful member of the team, which is rare to find as an intern,” said Green.
“Some days, I worked on models, test runs, or troubleshooting equipment at my desk. On other days, I found myself 100 feet up on a heater stack taking emission readings or climbing through a tower for an inspection.”
At Rose, Green works as a photographer for the athletic department taking photos at home sporting events. She is also a member of the Chem-E-Car team.
“Rose-Hulman has allowed me to make connections with alumni in various industries that I can talk to about and understand what I want to do,” said Green.
Gwynneth Menzie
Gwynneth Menzie, a junior from Terre Haute, Indiana, is double majoring in chemical engineering and biochemistry/molecular biology.
This summer, Menzie interned with General Motors, and had the opportunity to work closely with Gallagher-Kaiser and FANUC Robotics.
She worked with the Paint Innovation Team on their automated masking and high transfer efficiency projects.
Because of her chemistry background, Menzie worked on a special side project to help solve a pipe corrosion issue. The factory will implement her recommendations within a few months.
“I loved being able to tour all of the major plants around Michigan, but it has been very cool to see the newest technology and cars that will be shaping the automotive industry in the coming years,” said Menzie.
At Rose, Menzie is treasurer of Rose’s Chem-E Car team, and she is a supervisor at AskRose Homework Help.
Ben Joens
Ben Joens, a junior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is double majoring in computer science and data science, with a minor in Japanese. His internship with Caterpillar led him to the Command for Hauling team, which develops the software for a fully autonomous fleet of mining trucks.
Joens is involved in several campus organizations, including Soccer Club, Chess Club, Blue Key Honor Society, and intramural sports. He also serves as the secretary of the E-sports Club, a campus tour guide, and a teaching assistant.
Inspired by his internship, Joens has also joined the Mars Rover Robotics team. Joens dreams of starting his own business or exploring roles in machine learning or artificial intelligence research.
Vann Wellmon
Vann Wellmon, a sophomore from Berkeley, California via Charlottesville, Virginia, assembled an amazing internship experience at Hitachi-Astemo, formerly Keihin, which manufactures automotive parts for Honda.
He drove progress on an array of projects, including the programming of PLCs and robots and working on a part lift for the end of the assembly line.
"I like how involved I am," he said. "My 'desk' is a folding table set up in the middle of the assembly line. Running a production line is super involved as an engineer, so I'm always walking around, fixing alarms and errors or climbing around machines to make fixes or changes."
He adds, "I'm also given an immense amount of responsibility and autonomy, which is very exciting."
Wellmon is propelled by a goal of working in aerospace. He is very involved with Rose Rocketry and is the project manager for Rose Propulsion Lab, which develops liquid rocket engines and will compete in the Collegiate Propulsive Lander Challenge this year.
"Rose has allowed me to become highly involved in extremely motivated student groups from Day 1," he explained.
"Most other schools that we work with or compete against are actually run by a select number of upperclassmen and have minimal involvement from freshmen and sophomores. This is far from the case at Rose and has allowed me to pursue my dreams."
MacKenzie Sanders
MacKenzie Sanders, a senior from Avon, Indiana, is majoring in chemical engineering. This summer, Sanders interned at the Mars Wrigley plant in Cleveland, Tennessee.
Sanders worked on replacing and elevating different assets around the Mars Wrigley plant, focusing on pre-engineering, installations and budgeting.
Her favorite project was designing a new patio for the plant.
Sanders really enjoyed being mentored by her line manager, whom she credits with helping her find a new appreciation for engineering and made her feel confident and proud of her work.
“A fun fact about Mars Wrigley is that the company is actually private,” said Sanders. “It’s a multi-billion dollar and global company owned by the Mars family.”
At Rose, Sanders is vice president of the SWE chapter. She is involved in the Judicial Council for Student Government Association, works for Student Activities giving volunteer tours, and previously served as a Sophomore Advisor in Percopo Hall.
Audrey Young
Audrey Young, a junior chemical engineering major from Cary, North Carolina, is completing a co-op with Marathon Petroleum Company.
She worked at the Robinson, Illinois, refinery over the summer and transitioned to the Kenai, Alaska, refinery this fall.
At Rose, Young is a Noblitt Scholar and an AskRose tutor. She also serves as the fundraising officer for Society of Women Engineers and is a STEM outreach leader.
"The most fulfilling part of my college experience has been the work we've done to enrich our community," she said.