Ben Felix, ’16,
Ben Felix, ‘16, interned at Electro Scan, a leak-detection company. He began interning shortly after senior seminars. He worked full-time for 40 hours per week until he left for Purdue University on Aug. 12, where he now is preparing to major in economics in the business school.
According to CEO Chuck Hansen, Felix “worked on a variety of Electro Scan projects, including (doing) work in the field and support of Electro Scan’s integration with Innovyze InfoMaster product, including various project assignments and system documentation.”
Q: What is Electro Scan?
A: It’s a sewer-and-water pipe leak-detection company using new technology – first ones to make it. It’s a probe that you put up the pipe, and it will follow the track to find the leakage.
Q: What did you do?
A: I helped out with two softwares: InfoMaster (data analysis department) and a multi-physics software called Console.
Q: What jobs did you do?
A: Part of the job was inputting PIS data. We’d be able to put our scans and data into it. (We’d) test different scenarios with the technology, to simulate different scenarios (water viscosity and temperature) so we could improve the product and create new technology.
Q: What steps did you have to take before you started your internship?
A: For one of the softwares, I self-taught via tutorials and videos and sitting down with their representatives on their InfoMaster. For the Console multi-physics, I got sent to Houston for a training program.
Q: What did you do in Houston?
A: I flew down for three nights and three days, and I took a two-day class.
It was just me; I was the only one from our company. There were other people who worked for various aerospace companies there as well – one from NASA.
It was pretty shocking at first that I was representing a company and everything, but I got used to it after the first day.
Q: What were some of the challenges?
A: The time. It was a little shocking at first to do a full workday. Eight hours per day with only one hour of a break for lunch. That’s a lot different from Country Day’s flexible schedule.
Q: What were the challenges of interning during high school?
A: Adjusting to all of the business protocol and rules. It was like learning things for a class, and you had to know what you were doing.
You were handling real people’s business. You had to actually meet deadlines; you couldn’t be late for anything. It was a great learning experience.
(The other workers at Electroscan) never really thought I was an intern because I had a deep voice.
Q: How do you think your internship will benefit you?
A: I made a bunch of connections, learned business techniques, conducted myself in business situations, (and) traveled by myself while representing a company.
I met a lot of good people who will always be just a phone call away if I ever need anything.
Q: Any suggestions for high schoolers who might want to intern in the future?
A: Apply early. Be ready for working long hours and working hard. But it’s totally worth it. It’s really worth it, but just know that you’ll be working hard every day, so be prepared for that.
—By Chardonnay Needler
