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Michelle Chaffee |
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Participants |
I began my work by getting acquainted with the building and personnel that I would be working with for the next three months. I followed around the chemical operators, who described to me the process that was running and what they were doing to keep it running. Along with shadowing the chemical operators, I worked closely with my mentor, observed the proceedings of many meetings, and attended numerous training sessions. It seemed overwhelming. But as the days went by, I learned the process, how the unit operations worked, and why they were used, along with becoming great friends with my co-workers and fellow interns. During my employment, I was fortunate enough to see a switch over from running one product to another, and I also saw the installation of a large wiped-film evaporator. I got to experience first-hand the validation procedures that go along with these two tasks and the work to make sure that they are passed. Another great benefit of working at Pfizer this summer was the fact that the interns got to experience even more of the company by having tours of other areas offered to us. During my three months at Pfizer, I worked on a number of large projects. One included the investigation of the implementation of in-line pH meters within the antibiotic process. This included looking at different types of probes, housings, and transmitters. There were a number of specifications that each had to meet in order to work out on the production floor. For this project, I had the privilege of meeting with a vendor, who gave me a quote on the equipment and instruments I wanted. Another project was transferring an asset from one building, where it was not being used, to our building, where it could be utilized to its full potential. I plotted out an area on our production floor where I thought the equipment would best be suited to be installed. And went about working with the maintenance team to get a quote on the cost of the transferal. Before I had to leave for the summer, I was able to push this project through to the implementation phase. I worked on many more projects, which included plant trials, filter replacements, and authoring procedures. Along with working on these different projects, I organized volleyball/basketball games every Monday night for all the interns that worked at Pfizer. I also participated in the intern-bowling league that was set up, coached/played in the intern vs. mentor softball game (which was won by the interns), and played on one of the Pfizer soccer teams in the Pfizer soccer league. I had a very pleasant and rewarding experience at my internship this past summer. I managed to learn more “real-world” knowledge in three months than I ever could in a classroom. |
I began my summer with a
weeklong cruise to the Caribbean before I plunged into the working life.
During the summer of 2003, I worked at Pfizer, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I
worked as a production engineer intern in one of the extraction /isolation
buildings of the fermentation area.