Chemical Engineering Internship Story: Milliken & Co.

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Danielle Payne

Chemical Engineering

Where did you intern?
Milliken & Co. in LaGrange, GA

How did you find and apply for your internship?

I first learned about Milliken at a spring semester Career fair and was offered an interview with them at the fair, which lead to my internship.

What was the application process like?

My application process was very unique in the sense that I met the recruiter at the career fair. I was then offered the opportunity to interview based off my resume, I provided to him, and the conversation we had at the career fair.

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 worked in the floor covering division of Milliken & Co, and I spent my summer testing alternative sources of xanthan gum, which is a component used in the dying process of printing carpet. I had the most amazing experience and was shown daily what it means to work in a welcoming and supportive environment.

In what ways did this internship help you prepare for your next destination after Auburn?
Working at Milliken allowed me to better understand the manufacturing side of the industry. The work environment at Milliken provided me with a prime example of the type of company I want to work for after I complete my degree at Auburn. Also working 40 hours a week helped me to learn better time management in my daily life.

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

Since I mainly worked with carpet dying components I used a lot of the chemistry, both basic and organic, that I learned at Auburn. While I had only taken Principles of Chemical Engineering going into my internship, I was able to apply the fundamentals of engineering at work daily.

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

I would recommend for everyone to do at least one internship at a manufacturing company. While I went into my internship having no clue what to expect, I ended up really enjoying the company and the manufacturing industry.