Intern Spotlight: OSU Students Gain Real-World Experience at Battelle

Every day Battelle challenges interns and co-ops with rewarding work in a welcoming environment that empowers critical thinking, fosters creativity and inspires innovation.

So far in 2022, Battelle has welcomed interns and co-ops from over 50 different universities. For this blog spotlight, we talked with students who joined us from The Ohio State University to learn more about their experiences.

Work That Makes An Impact

Kaitlin Pang, currently a senior studying economics, interned with Battelle this past summer and is continuing to work part-time this fall. She helps our procurement team complete direct orders and assists our contracts team with writing opportunity briefs and reviewing contracts. When asked what she valued most about her internship this summer, her answer was simple—the opportunity to do real work. 

“Instead of taking coffee orders or scanning papers, I was given real responsibility,” said Kaitlin. “My internship with Battelle allowed me to gain professional experience even before I get my college degree. I developed better public speaking, communication and problem-solving skills. After my Battelle internship, I feel confident in my abilities to work in a high-paced and professional environment.” 

Manish Jois, a senior studying computer science and engineering, interned with Battelle’s cyber team this past summer. Manish was also given real-world projects to help him advance his skills as a Java programmer. 

"My main job for the summer was to make a Python interface for the Java application that the team was working on. This would make the process of using the software easier and more seamless,” said Manish. “Doing something substantial over the summer gave me a glimpse of the work done by a software developer, and this makes me feel so much more prepared to soon be part of the workforce.

More Than An Internship

Outside of the interns’ day jobs, they were given the opportunity to hear from senior leaders during a speaker series and attend social mixers with other interns. These intern program events gave them a chance to network and learn more about Battelle’s organization. 

“The speaker series gave great insight into the future of the company and what it stands for,” said Manish. “Social events were also helpful to foster a sense of community and experience a little bit of Battelle’s culture. Connecting with other interns also made the summer so much more fun.” 

For Kaitlin, the people of Battelle really stood out to her. She of course enjoyed spending time with the intern group, but she was really grateful for her interactions with employees from across the entire organization, too. 

“The reason why I would recommend Battelle is truly the people,” said Kaitlin. “Everyone I worked with or got to talk to in passing was so kind and encouraging. As an intern, I truly felt like a valued member of the team.” 

From OSU to Battelle

For students wondering about career opportunities past the internship stage, look no further than Marissa White who is a social scientist in our health analytics team. Marissa first started at Battelle as an intern from Ohio State back in 2016. She has now been working full-time with us for more than five years.

“I wanted to stay with Battelle because I felt there would be opportunities to learn and a wide variety in day-to-day tasks,” said Marissa. “As a new grad, I was concerned with committing to a particular field or company and not having flexibility to explore my interests. Thankfully, every day is unique, and I constantly learn new skills and work on diverse projects.” 

Marissa has had the opportunity to work with various clients, from local task forces to federal agencies and international health initiatives. Marissa supports public health research projects related to healthcare quality, environmental health, and maternal and infant health outcomes.  With the COVID-19 crisis, her work pivoted to pandemic response as she supported a new Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) lab, as well as a COVID-19 testing program. 

Are You Ready to Join Battelle? 

Students at Ohio State can learn more about Battelle at an upcoming career fair. We’ll be at the following events on campus: 

• Fall Fisher Career Fair on Sept. 7, 2022 

• Fall Career and Internship Fair on Sept. 13, 2022 

• E-Council Engineering Fair on Sept. 21, 2022 

• Science Career Fair on Sept. 28, 2022 

If you’re a senior, stop by our booth to talk about entry level opportunities we have available. Know a student at Ohio State? Make sure to share this blog with them so they don’t miss out. 

Check out all our current job openings by visiting jobs.battelle.org. You belong with the brightest minds—apply today to join our team.