Sunday, August 8, 2021
By:
Well, the summer 2021 SPS internship program has come to a close. The past 10 weeks have felt as if they flew by! This week was full of sentimental reflection and goodbyes as I finished my last few projects and thought about my goals for this opportunity. I met with Lisa, my mentor, for an exit interview, and we had a great conversation about what I learned through working at NIST and what I can do to continue my professional growth.
Thursday was my last day in the office, and it was full of fun meetings and opportunities to reflect on my internship. I am so grateful for the entire Office of Advanced Manufacturing team for their support and mentorship.
On Friday, we held the 2021 SPS Internship Symposium. It was incredible to hear all of my fellow interns talk about their experiences, projects, and takeaways from this internship. You can watch the full symposium here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1eD9dOdhGM
I came into this internship with several goals, including: 1) Learn more about science policy 2) Network and make connections and 3) Make a lasting contribution to OAM. I can say confidently that I succeeded in reaching these goals! I learned so much about how government works, how science policy is implemented, and how valuable advanced manufacturing is to the United States.
Before I sign off for a final time, I have some thank-yous I would like to share.
Thank you to John Mather for funding this internship. A HUGE gratitude to everyone at AIP/SPS, Brad, Kayla, and Mikayla, for all of your support. And a world of appreciation for my mentors at NIST, Lisa Fronczek and Robert Rudnitsky, along with the rest of the OAM team, including but not limited to: Zack Valdez, Don Ufford, Zara Brunner, Christina Jones, Said Jahanmir, Kelley Rogers, Jessica Strickler, Frank Gayle and Mike Molnar.
Thank you, dear reader, for following me on this journey.
Cheers,
Casey Roepke (she/her)