Name: Lilly Vartain

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: BGE

Position Title: Gas Business Support Engineering Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Mechanical Engineering

Expected Graduation Year: May 2018

Briefly describe your internship, co-op,  or research opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

This summer I worked as a full-time intern on the Gas Business Support team at BGE's Spring Gardens campus where their liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant is located. My main task this past summer was to develop a report that analyzes gas outages by looking at the different characteristics of the pipe that failed, the weather at the time of the outage, and the type of outage. I also researched developing technologies that could be implemented to reduce the outages. Creating this report involved learning new excel techniques to handle the large amount of data that I was dealing with; also I had to learn how to navigate several of the company's databases in order to extract the necessary information.

The intern program offered several opportunities to meet other interns in the company as well as network with company professionals. BGE's interns were divided into six team composed of five or six members, and we were assigned a project to present our idea of what BGE will look like in the future. The project was left very open-ended so each of the teams had to be creative in strategizing how to present their projects. On the last day of the internship, the presentations will be shown to many of the different managers who had an intern in their group.

Finally, I had the opportunity to go out in the field on several occasions. I went on a gas leak survey; I got to see where a new gas main is being installed; I visited Old Ellicott City after the flood left the area devastated; and most excitingly, I was able to climb all 162 stairs to the top of one of the LNG tanks! 

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

First, I had the Career Center look over and help me edit my resume before attending the Fall Career Fair. I handed out my resume to multiple companies at the fair; then, once I was offered an interview for a position at BGE, I scheduled a mock interview in which I got to practice interviewing skills and received feedback on my performance. Then I had two interviews; one was on UMBC’s campus and the second one took place at one of BGE’s office locations.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

What I enjoyed the most was being able to get out in the field to see first-hand the work that BGE is doing to ensure the reliability of gas supply to the Baltimore area. 

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I think that my report will help the company to begin to look more closely at what can be done to prevent gas outages as the customer base for LNG grows. I also have helped other company employees work more efficiently by doing some of their assignments with which they had need for assistance. 

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

I would advise other students to take advantage of the services that the Career Center offers. While it might be a little bit of a hassle to set up and go to appointments, it is certainly worth the effort. I especially would recommend doing a mock interview; I am a more introverted person who is not the most comfortable in interviews, but after doing a practice run, I was much more confident and relaxed for my actual interview than I would have been.

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!

John 17:24 - “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory.“

Believers in Jesus are precious to God (we’re his bride!). And he loves us so much that he will not allow our preciousness to become our god. God does indeed make much of us (adoption!), but he does so in a way that draws us out of ourselves to enjoy his greatness.

Test yourself. If Jesus came to spend the day with you, sat down beside you on the couch, and said, “I really love you,” what would you focus on the rest of the day that you spend together?

Sometimes songs and sermons leave us with the impression that the heights of our joy would be in the recurrent feeling of being loved. “He loves me!” “He loves me!” This is joy indeed. But not the heights and focus. Would not the greatest, most Christ-exalting joy be found in watching Jesus all day and bursting with, “You’re amazing!” “You are amazing!”

He answers the hardest question, and his wisdom is amazing. He touches a filthy, oozing sore, and his compassion is amazing. He raises a dead lady at the medical examiner’s office, and his power is amazing. He sleeps during an earthquake, and his fearlessness is amazing. He says, “Before Abraham was, I AM,” and his words are amazing. We walk around with him utterly amazed at what we are seeing.

Is not his love for us his eagerness to do for us all he must do (including die for us) so that we can marvel at him and not be incinerated by him? Redemption, propitiation, forgiveness, justification, reconciliation -they are the acts of love. But the goal of love that makes those acts loving is that we be with him and see his jaw-dropping glory and be astounded. In those moments we forget ourselves and see and feel him.
(Taken from John Piper’s devotional, The Goal of Christ’s Love).

Today, let’s thank the Lord for unfathomable love for us in Christ. Even more so, let us enjoy being with Jesus and marvel at his glory. Let our affections for him overflow.

-AP

The UMBC campus and the Baltimore area would not be what it is today without the nourishment and cultivation offered by food justice leader, educator, and interdisciplinary advisor Jill Wrigley. UMBC is mourning our loss of this incredible woman and celebrating her legacy tomorrow, Friday October from 12-1pm in The Garden, one of the incredible places she brought to life during her time with us.

Please read the campus announcement below for more information.

Dear members of the UMBC community,

Jill Wrigley, who served the UMBC community as a faculty member and mentor to student activists, passed away on Wednesday, October 5 after battling cancer. Jill was a passionate advocate who worked tirelessly to connect students to themes of social justice and food sustainability issues through her work on campus and across Baltimore City.

Jill joined UMBC in 2012 as an instructor in the Interdisciplinary Studies program, where she quickly earned a reputation as a thoughtful, compassionate, and conscientious community leader who inspired many students through her work and experiences. Most notably, in 2014, Jill worked with students and partners on campus to establish UMBC's first community garden. Under Jill's guidance, the campus expanded its food sustainability and justice initiatives to include a permaculture food forest and climate garden.

In celebration of Jill's life and the foundational role she played in student involvement and advocacy, we invite faculty, staff, and students to join us for a moment of reflection and sharing tomorrow, Friday, October 14, at noon in the UMBC Garden.

A memorial service for Jill will take place on Saturday, October 15, at 11 a.m. at St. Bartholemew's Church, 4711 Edmondson Ave., Baltimore, MD 21229. To learn more about Jill's life and her impact on UMBC and the broader community, please take a moment to read her obituary in the Baltimore Sun. Jill's family sincerely thanks all of you for your expressions of kindness and sympathy during their time of bereavement.

Photo by Sarah Miller

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” The famed quote by Benjamin Franklin is wholly accurate. However, let us amend that statement just a bit, “In this world, nothing can be scarier than death and taxes.”

What are taxes? How does one go about paying for them? How does one go about paying for things in general? Figuring out how personal economics work, including but not limited to opening up a bank account, paying off bills, getting a credit card, amounting good credit, can be quite confusing.

Even though there is little to no preparation for any college student thrust into the adult world, they are left without much support when it comes to completing a task as simple as opening a bank account.

The average college student usually has sub-par money management skills. Such skills are essential, not only for deterring the purchase of that cute yet overpriced shirt or a $4 cup of coffee, but it also assists an individual with spending, savings and a plethora of different money-related topics.

A recent study conducted by NerdWallet found that 80 percent of millennials worry about making mistakes on their taxes. The study emphasized that 18-34 year olds have displayed higher anxieties when it comes to taxes than any other age group in America.

This is not a surprise as the general ignorance of all things financial is a persisting issue for younger adults. These problems become more prevalent when it comes to dealing with student loans, which can make one feel financially suffocated.

There are almost no resources that can teach an individual all the information they need to know in a clearly stated bundle that is specifically geared towards the younger generation. Yes, the internet, friends, family and other sources of advice can prove beneficial; however, with the market being difficult to understand as it is, there needs to be a solid base of information and resources for dealing with financial matters.

Foreign language, culture, social sciences and particularly physical education are all subject-specific credits every student must take in order to graduate, regardless of major. There should be an additional requirement for students: an introduction to economics and money management course. It can be similar to some other core credits where the class itself can operate on a pass/fail structure and only offer one to two credits.

Part of the reason why the recession and housing crisis occurred was due to individuals recklessly spending money they did not have and banks allowing them to do it. Although this is a bit of an oversimplification, it is still a valid reason for young people to learn how to navigate the market and economy through certified instructors, instead of relying on sometimes questionable and biased sources.

Money is one of the most important factors of survival and human civilization and the lack of knowledge concerning how to take care of, make, manage, save and efficiently spend money is going to end up disadvantaging this generation of college students. By making a money management course a graduation requirement, students would finally have the financial confidence to face real world situations.

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