Soren Bruehler

Major: Industrial Design

Design Intern, Panthenon Longboards

How did you learn about this internship opportunity? 

There was actually no official internship position at Pantheon. The company is relatively small and just owned and operated by one guy. I reached out by email to ask if we could work out some kind of internship position for this summer and the owner, Jeff, was super accommodating and I ended up having a great experience!

How has your internship helped build your skills and clarify your career goals?  How did being a Liberal Arts student at Purdue apply to your internship?

My internship definitely helped give me an idea of what kind of work I want to do after I graduate. I think that being a liberal arts student helped because I have had a wide variety of experiences in my time at Purdue and my trip out to Colorado included a lot of new things that I felt like I was more prepared for because of it.

What is a piece of advice you would give someone in your major  looking for an internship? 

I would say that there's a lot of pressure to follow the traditional internship route with official positions at big companies, but my advice would be to reach out to smaller companies even if there is no official internship offered initially.

What key responsibilities or tasks have you taken on during your internship?

I was responsible for managing orders that went out to customers and ensuring that they were taken care of correctly. I also helped make adjustments to 3D models for new products that will be coming out soon.

In what ways has the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University supported your internship journey? How has your participation in our job-ready program specifically aided your professional development? 

Being a CLA student has been great and I received a lot of support in my search for an internship. The job ready scholarship helped me afford to travel out to Colorado for the summer, and I might not have been able to make it work if not for the college of liberal arts.

Could you highlight a standout aspect of your experience in this program that you find particularly noteworthy? 

One of my favorite experiences in my program has been knowing my classmates and professors really well. The smaller program size makes it easier to get to know people and that makes for really enjoyable classes as well as other events.