Hometown: Farmington Hills, MI
Major and class standing: Experience Architecture major, Graphic Design minor, Senior
Where you interned: General Motors
What was your internship title and role/responsibilities?
I was a Product Design Intern working in the Customer Experience Design Studio my sophomore year. I had two projects through my internship: GM confidential and developing a concept and a user interface for a project GM designed with Lockheed Martin for the NASA Artemis three Mission. The second project, though related to GM, was not going to be a released product. I had full creative freedom on this project and was able to talk with the actual designers and engineers of the rover. My junior year I was a Product Design Intern working within Enterprise Customer Experience on the In Vehicle Team. The project I worked on for this internship is completely confidential.
How did you obtain your internship? What resources did you utilize to secure your internship?
I applied before the end of fall semester in my sophomore year but got rejected by GM. Fortunately a candidate fell through for the internships and GM ended up reaching out to me for a Zoom interview in February. I got my offer very close to the date the internship started. I originally applied for “Digital Business Team intern” which is a very generalized application title. I applied directly through GM and sought out the internship on my own. My dad works for GM, and my brother also had an internship there that he enjoyed, which encouraged me to apply.
What did your daily routine include?
The internship my sophomore year was completely remote, I only had a few in person days throughout my entire internship. There was a set schedule just like a 9-to-5 job and time to do projects in between meetings. My junior year internship I was able to work in person full time, three days a week, and remote on two days. I was able to make a lot of connections throughout the company and my team leveraged their connections to help me expand my network in design. There were four other interns with whom I had weekly check-ins, but I didn’t collaborate with them directly.
Your favorite experience from the internship?
Overall having the professional experience and connections was the best part. It was able to give me experiences that school never could get me, although my projects are great, being in a professional environment helped me grow. My sophomore year internship was very overwhelming and empowering at the same time because of my ability to have full creative freedom on the NASA project but with little direction.
What was your least favorite part of the internship?
Getting used to a 9-to-5, especially remotely in my childhood bedroom, was an interesting dynamic. The structure was different compared to college, where I was used to moving from class to class and doing homework in between.
What skills did you learn and/or build upon during your internship?
I learned and put into practice the design thinking process: research, prototyping, design, ideation. I also developed my professionalism and networking skills.
What did you learn about the industry or your career path as a result of the internship?
This internship definitely made me realize that I would love to be in the auto industry because of the flexibility within it. Especially with UX design you can work on a wide variety of online resources that benefit both consumers and workers, in addition to the entire car interface itself. While I’m excited about this possibility, I’m still open to exploring other industries within UX design.
What are your future plans?
I am really open to anything in the UX design industry so I’m considering different locations rather than focusing on a specific job title.
What advice do you have for other students seeking out internship opportunities?
Apply, apply, apply. Don’t stop applying, because you never know what you’re going to end up with. Make sure your portfolio is up to date, and try to do work outside of school. It is all about your portfolio, mindset, and how many places you apply. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to people on LinkedIn.
