Electrical engineering major Karaline Scott is getting an early start on her career path. The Wichita State sophomore is spending her summer at Professional Engineering Consultants, where she’s getting paid to work alongside industry professionals and experiencing how engineering concepts translate to real-world impact.

Scott, a sophomore electrical engineering major at Wichita State University, is part of PEC’s Power Engineering Team. Her days are filled with hands-on learning — from assisting in the design and revision of electrical wiring systems to gaining experience in AutoCAD and reading complex schematics.

“Through these projects I learn different company standards, how to utilize and manipulate AutoCAD drawings, how to read construction documents, how to build client relationships, and how to effectively communicate with team members,” said Scott, who is also pursuing a minor in leadership and honors. “Going into this experience, I had very few hard skills in technical electrical engineering work, but PEC provided me with an amazing team of professionals and a personal mentor who are teaching, guiding and trusting me throughout the summer.”

Outside of her technical responsibilities, Scott is also learning what it means to be part of a workplace culture, and she participated in company events ranging from PEC’s Office Olympics to lunch with the CEO.

“PEC has included and invited interns into the company culture and truly feels like a family,” she said.

Scott said her classes at Wichita State gave her a solid foundation in math, physics and teamwork skills and prepared her to learn quickly and contribute meaningfully to the company. The financial support of the paid internship has also helped ease her cost of living and academic pressures.

“The money I earn through my interning role will go directly toward paying rent and covering the costs of living during my next year at WSU,” she said. “Having this financial burden lessened will allow me to focus more time on my academics instead of working extended hours at my on-campus jobs.”

Scott credits the Shocker Career Accelerator, the College of Engineering and the Engineering Student Success Center for helping prepare her internship.

“PEC was present at the College of Engineering and IT career fair,” she said. “After an extensive resume workshop with the COE Wallace Scholars, I decided to take a risk and attend the fair. This is where I met representatives of the PEC Power team.”

Soon after the career fair, Scott secured an interview. 

“Before going in for an interview, I met with the Shocker Career Accelerator to finalize my resume. Without the help of the WSU support offices, I would not have had the confidence to pursue this applied learning opportunity.”

According to Dylan Hess, PEC team lead and project manager, Scott has made a strong impression.

“She does a great job of striving to grow and learning all that she can while completing her internship,” he said.

A 2015 Shocker graduate, Hess said Wichita State students have become integral to PEC’s growth.

“We have grown our team from three people, two of them from WSU including myself, to a division of 14 people in the last several years,” he said. “Most of our interns and employees in our group are from WSU, as this allows them to continue to intern during their semester if they want to maintain 20 hours per week. We typically hire our interns full-time after graduation.”

He added: “We enjoy and appreciate the engineers we have received from WSU. They gain a great base in their engineering understanding, and the engineering program is easy to build on for real-world applications.”

Scott, a graduate of Goddard High School, is looking ahead with gratitude for the experience and confidence for what comes next.

“I am so grateful for this experience to apply the knowledge I have gained through my first year as a WSU engineering student and prepare for the classes ahead,” she said.

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Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student-centered and innovation-driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry-funded engineering R&D and No. 8 overall for engineering R&D.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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