Jenna Schroeder
ENG’17 | Biomedical Engineering
Engineering Internship
CCD: Tell us about your internship experience. What were your responsibilities?
Jenna: I worked as an intern in the Operations Management Leadership Program with GE Healthcare, and specifically was in the High Technology and Electronics Sourcing Department. My responsibilities including talking to external electronics companies regarding components that needed to be purchased for use in large medical machinery. My biggest project was to create a strategy over multiple different machines (MRI, CT, PET, X-ray, Ultrasound) to standardize the type of application specific integrated circuits used. If there was standardization over the 4 segments, then order volume could be increased, thus driving down cost.
CCD: What was the best thing about the experience? The worst?
Jenna: The best thing about the experience was getting to have full responsibility of my own projects. I became the most knowledgeable person in the department on the topic of application specific integrated circuits, and it gave me a sense of pride when people much older and more experienced than me would come to me with questions about the project. Through presenting my progress and contributing in meetings, I gained a business sense that cannot be obtained in the classroom alone. The real life experience further reinforced lectures I had been given throughout my time at BU.
The worst aspect of the internship was that I knew I was only guaranteed a spot for the summer. I fell in love with the job and what I was doing, but was constantly being reminded I was only there as an intern and was competing against the many other interns for a small amount of full-time positions.
CCD: How has this experience changed your future plans?
Jenna: This experience solidified my decision to be an engineering major. I took pride in my work and felt as if I was making a difference. Graduating from Boston University is not easy, and this job proved to me that it would all be worth it and pay off in the end.
CCD: What’s next for you?
Jenna: I was offered, and have already accepted, a full-time position with GE Healthcare after I graduate in May 2017. I will be returning to the same office I interned at over the summer, but have the chance to hold different roles in order to further explore the company and its many departments. In addition, during the upcoming school year I will be serving as the GE campus ambassador at Boston University. I am very excited to continue to share my own experiences at GE with other students, and can’t wait to return after graduation.
BU + Beyond 