Janett Lerma-Reyes, is a mechanical engineering sophomore and was an operations summer 2025 intern at Shuttlewagon. Shuttlewagon, a mobile railcar mover manufacturer, designs railcar movers for rail yards, industrial facilities, and ports. At the Kansas City location, Lerma-Reyes' work centers around Shuttlewagon’s assembly line processes, improving its efficiency, accuracy, and safety for workers.  

Before starting her role, she took advantage of her First-Year Seminar class, Intro to Tech and Design, learning the basics of continuous improvement. She taught herself SolidWorks, a 3D modeling software through LinkedIn Learning. Steps that prepared her for her operations intern role.  

As an operations intern, her workday focused on improving and understanding multiple operations within assembly lines. These specialized sections of the assembly require her full attention to create its instruction manual in complete detail. These manuals then give complete knowledge of the compartment assembly operation to new hires. These include detailed step-by-step instructions and annotated photos. To produce such detailed instructions, Lerma-Reyes immerses herself in the assembly hands-on, paying attention to all details.  

Standardizing learning materials is only one part of ensuring efficiency. Likewise, her creation of instruction manuals, Lerma-Reyes, also creates lift plans for crane operations based on different metrics. Another task is monitoring the time sequences of each assemblage to establish accurate cycle times. She is also involved in designing and developing fixtures. Her attention to detail is key in observing each moving part of assembly lines to ensure efficiency and safety. Getting this level of detail comes from her hands-on involvement in her work.  

She also became proficient in operating machinery including Shuttlewagon’s CNC Metal Cutter. A machine that creates Shuttlewagon frames by cutting steel plates with plasma or oxyfuel. She also operated heavy machinery including 25-ton dual bridge cranes and forklifts. She expanded her skillset with machinery skills by actively being involved in her role.  

“These experiences have really expanded my capabilities on the shop floor and deepened my understanding of the tools and processes involved in production,” Lerma-Reyes said.  

Along with her initiative and engagement, her curiosity leads her learning. Hoping to operate the CNC Metal Cutter, she took a chance to ask its operator for permission and instructions to handle the 30-year-old system. She learned more than enough to create an operation manual for it.  

Besides technical skills, Lerma-Reyes has also learned workplace norms and about herself. She experienced how team passion creates an “engaged, motivated, and collaborative work environment” essential in operating as a team.  

Now just beginning her second year at Wichita State, she has already taken the initiative in her career journey. Like in her work, she has continued self-improving through student resources and work experience. In her operations intern role, she learned most of all about herself and about her future self.  

“This internship has really helped me clarify the kind of engineer I want to be,” Lerma-Reyes said. “I want to be actively engaged with the shop floor—talking to operators, listening to their needs, and finding ways to solve real problems alongside them.”

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Wichita State's applied learning program gives students hands-on, paid experience with industry partners, helping them build careers before graduation.

For more information, contact the Shocker Career Accelerator at (316) 978-3688, SCA@wichita.edu, or visit wichita.edu/Career. You can also stop by in person at the Marcus Welcome Center, Suite 139, on the Wichita State campus.