An internship can help close the gap between the classroom and the business world.  Pursuing a career path can be extremely beneficial to aspiring professionals when adding to skills learned in the classroom with hands-on experience in the workplace.

Scott Aason is a project engineer intern at Waupaca Foundry. He started his foundry journey in the Plant 1 mill room in the summer of 2017. Returning each summer for the past three years, he most recently interned in the Plant 2/3 engineering department.

Scott attends the University of Wisconsin - Platteville and studies Mechanical Engineering. His expected graduation date is fall 2021.  

Scott's educational experience has been beneficial in providing him with the skills necessary to succeed as an engineer; however, applying skills outside of the classroom can be challenging. “At school, I have wondered where I’ll ever use a certain equation, where it will come into play, and how it can look differently versus how it would in class.” With his internship, he has been able to discover how to apply his knowledge from the classroom to the workplace. "School used a lot of math and whatnot, but here you apply it and see where it comes into play and use it in the programs here."

This summer, Scott has been diligently redesigning industrial interior spaces at Plant 2/3. Reducing the number of ladders in the plant and replacing them with a set of stairs offers a safety improvement and potential risk reduction. This is a priority safety initiative for the gray iron foundry. Scott has also created numerous 3D models. By transferring 2D drawings to 3D models, which is beneficial to the engineering and maintenance teams. With the newly updated 3D models, it allows future plant improvements and maintenance upgrades to the equipment to be more efficiently managed.

Scott says his hands-on experience at Waupaca Foundry is valuable in making the connection between the classroom and the workplace. "You can see how everything flows together versus just learning about it in school."

His experience at Waupaca Foundry has been gratifying. “It’s definitely neat to go out and see what you’re working on and how it benefits the people using it.” Scott’s positive experience was mostly credited to the people he works with. “The majority of it is the people. You know you're never going to regret coming into work." He has plans on returning next summer.

The Summer Help Program at Waupaca Foundry provides valuable work experience and an insight into the variety of professional and manufacturing careers in the metalcasting industry. Students interested in summer employment and internships at Waupaca Foundry are encouraged to apply.