Adebowale Oluwapelumi
What is your major: Mechanical Engineering, with a minor in Mathematics.
What is your year in school: Alumnus, just graduated.
Why did you choose your major?
I had a passion for engineering when I was growing up. My father is a Civil Engineer and has some of the construction equipment. During my elementary school holidays, I will go to work with him and I had the opportunity to see how this equipment operates. I was always eager to offer some helping hand even if I had no idea of what was going on. This increased my interest in being a part of something that can make the world a better place for people. I believed studying mechanical engineering can be the way to fulfilling my dream.
Why did you choose Wright State?
Wright State was recommended as one of the top growing school in mechanical engineering in Ohio, while I was applying for admission back home (Nigeria). I looked through the website to check some of the projects the department has worked on and I was convinced it was the perfect school to develop my technical skills.
How did you find your internship?
I am an active member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and they have an annual conference where a lot of companies come to recruit students for internship and full-time positions. So, I got my internship at Cummins, Inc through NSBE, at the national conference at Pittsburg.
Why did you choose that specific company?
Due to my childhood background, I was able to figure out that I would like to work for a company that makes engines, so I started applying to different companies that make engines. What stood out about this company is their diversity and inclusion and the way they have been leading other competitors as the only independent diesel engine manufacturer in the world.
What have you learned or gained from your internship experience?
I have been able to combine my classroom learning to the real world. During my last internship, I was able to apply one of the topics I learned from my capstone design one class to the project I was working on. I had a project where I had to work with other team members to find the solution to an on-going issue with one of the components. Dr. Harok Bae led us through a design failure mode and effect analysis (DFMEA) of a system. It’s the breaking down of a design to its basic elements and its essential features, and understanding its relationship with each other, as well as understanding its failure modes.
I applied this same concept during my internship by introducing what we call a fault tree analysis to determine the problem and implement a long-lasting solution. A fault tree analysis is a deductive analysis used to analyze the failure mode of a system. Once a failure is identified, the failure Is associated with different elements in the object, and their relationship with the failure is been fully analyzed to determine if that element is the cause of the failure.
Any advice for students seeking an internship?
Do not be discouraged by how many rejections you get from applying. Just keep applying to jobs that align with your interests. Despite so many rejections I got, I was still able to secure an internship and a full-time job that aligns with my passion.
