Summer internship gives competitive advantage to UMSL senior.
Jonathan McMiller sees himself as a sponge.
“I want to absorb as much as I can,” McMiller said. “Every opportunity I have to learn something or experience something, just gives me a greater understanding of the world.”
That philosophy helped earn McMiller, a senior finance major at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, a summer internship at Boeing. He began in June working with overhead costs and the costs associated with modifications made to the customers product.
“The experience has been very beneficial, I have been given so many important work assignments within the group,” he said. “They didn’t treat me like an intern. They treated me like I was a real full-time employee. They worked with me on learning the systems that are specific to the company.
“Based on my performance, they extended my internship through December when I graduate,” he said.
His internship at Boeing has been a great experience. Not only has he learned new systems and gained valuable skills, he’s learned about positive corporate cultures.
“I was impressed with the corporate culture that Boeing has,” McMiller said. “You think that you could get lost inside a big company like that. But Boeing is really putting an emphasis on employee development. They are really looking into the emotional intelligence side of things. ‘Not only are you capable of doing the technical side, but we really want you to come to work with a positive attitude and we want you to map out your career plan.’ I think that philosophy is great.”
McMiller, a Florissant, Mo., resident and a student ambassador at UMSL, credits the university with preparing him for his Boeing position.
Reviewed 2013-01-23