Mechanical Engineering Co-op Story: Southern Company

Reilly Roberson

Mechanical Engineering

What company did you intern with and where are they located?

Southern Company Services | Forest Park, GA

How did you identify and apply for your internship? Are there any specific resources you used to find the opportunity (i.e. Handshake, career fairs, other recruitment events)?

I attended a career fair in the fall of 2023. I had an initial interview with SoCo at AU after the career fair, and then a follow-up interview via Zoom. I applied to their co-op directly through their employment portal and they placed me in a department they thought best suited my talents.

What was the application process like?

It has been a while since I applied so my memory is a little foggy on this one, but the actual online application itself wasn't anything scary--just personal information. The initial interview was about getting to know me better and why I was interested in the company, and the second-round interview was all behavioral questions asked by their HR team.

Tell us about your internship experience. What types of tasks and projects did you engage in? Was there a particular project or part of the experience you learned the most from?

I was a member of the substation physical design team. The typical project timeline I followed as a physical designer began with being assigned a project. Next, I coordinated with senior-level designers to come up with best design solution to the problem that needed resolving. For example, there was an area where the power grid was being upgraded to carry more current, so the voltage regulators in one part of a substation needed to be upgraded so they could handle the extra current coming in and not suffer from any damage. I worked with my team to figure out the best jumper cables to connect the regulators to the system, the best foundation they needed to be stood on, etc. I used AutoCAD to create and update the substation drawings so construction could use them for reference. All of the projects I was assigned allowed me to improve my communication skills through collaborative work within my team and with the construction crew.

In what ways did this internship help you prepare for your next destination after Auburn?

My co-op taught me a lot about the importance of clear communication and what it's like to work in a team unit. Wherever I end up when I graduate, I know that I'll not only have technical skills I learned on the job (AutoCAD, operation and maintenance of various components of the power generation process), but I also have soft skills that will help me get far. I know to speak up when I'm confused about something, I am able to ask good questions, and I am comfortable with speaking to anyone I come across.

In what ways did your coursework or other experiences at Auburn prepare you for your internships? Are there specific topics or skills you learned from classes that you put into practice on the job?

Auburn does a great job at teaching engineers how to problem-solve. Every class I've taken encourages you to think for yourself through a constant application of the problem-solving process. Not all of the specific course material is applied at work, per se, but the critical thinking skills I've gained in school have tremendously helped me in my co-op.

Do you have any advice for other students looking for internships like yours?

Keep an open mind! Any experience you obtain will help you significantly in your life after graduation. Talk to as many people as you can from all different disciplines and lines of work. You will learn a lot about yourself and your job interests in the process.