Interns: What We Learned at Okuma

This summer Okuma America had the pleasure of welcoming several interns to our ranks and we certainly kept them busy! We wanted to collect some feedback about the experience and see what these talented young folks learned about the working world and a career in manufacturing. Below are their insights, and many thanks to the entire intern team! (Pictured above, left to right: Jessica Raniszewski, Madison Hanline, Chris Davis, Kirk Man, Sean Breitkreutz, Devon Kelly, and Ben Greenberg. Not pictured: Gabriel Murphy and Whitney Walker.)

Kirk Man, Shop Floor Control Intern

My role was to assist with procurement, help out in the warehouse and support continuous improvement. This was a great experience because I’ve never worked in an office environment before, and it was great to get an early start, since I graduate in 2018. This has given me a lot of insights about making my career choice.

Gabriel Murphy, Quality Management Systems Intern

I worked on a variety of tasks such as helping with ISO documentation, working on a touchscreen for the Partners in THINC facility, updating the information for our Partners, and even researching the new government regulations for shipping batteries. I really enjoyed the people I worked with. I feel like it’s a family here at Okuma.

Sean Breitkreutz, Training Department Intern

In the training department I worked on a lot of videos and photos, and this allowed me to explore all the different departments at Okuma America, plus it gave me a lot of experience toward my degree in filmmaking. One of the things I learned is that even though the people here are in a high-tech environment they’re all really fun to work with.

Whitney Walker, Inside Sales Intern

I worked on sales support materials for our distributors. My favorite part of the job was working on the sales flipbook, editing and inserting videos and other updates. I liked that because it’s very hands-on and actually a creative process. The whole experience was very interesting, plus I got a chance to see what it’s really like to have an office job.

Madison Hanline, Marketing Intern

We had a really busy summer in Marketing getting ready for this year’s IMTS. I worked on a very large 72-page booklet and also did some visual design, web content, and ad tracking. All of these activities required a lot of organizational skills, but I really enjoy that. My degree is in Communications, Public Relations and Journalism so I also got to put the things I studied in school to good use.

Devon Kelly, Building Maintenance Intern

Being in building maintenance means a lot of cleaning, changing air filters, and fixing stuff. There’s never a dull moment, there’s always something interesting going on, and nothing gets too repetitive. What surprised me the most is how much is involved in building maintenance. We work on, and are involved in, more projects than I think most people realize.

Ben Greenberg, Applications Engineering Intern

I cleaned-up, set up, and operated lathes and mills. I also learned two new software programs that will come in handy later in my career, Mastercam and CoCreate. From start to finish, the process of designing, programing, setting up the machine, and then operating the machine was a lot more intricate than I thought before this internship. Overall I enjoyed my time at Okuma and will remember what I learned here.

MORE: Get more behind-the-scenes perspectives from Okuma employees in our blogs The Manufacturing Lifestyle: A Woman’s Perspective, and Why I Love My Job.