My Internship: Kyle Moy at QuesTek Innovations

Kyle Moy tells Track Ahead about his internship experience through the NanoBusiness Talent program.

Track Ahead: Did you intern while attending college?

Kyle Moy: Yes, and prior to starting college, too.I just finished my freshman year, and this summer I'm interning at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Track Ahead: What college do you attend, and what is your major?

KM: I‘m attending Stanford University and majoring in computer science.

Track Ahead: Was an internship a requirement of the school, or your particular major?

KM: An internship is not a requirement, but it's highly encouraged.

TA: Where did you intern?

KM: The summer after my senior year of high school, I interned at QuesTek Innovations LLC. This internship was sponsored by the NanoBusiness Alliance through their NanoBusiness Talent program, which pairs students with participating nanotechnology start-up companies.

TA: Was this a paid internship, unpaid to build your resume, or unpaid in return for college credits?

KM: This internship was a paid internship. But prior to this, I was involved in two unpaid internships for just the experience.

TA: What did the internship consist of, and what was its length?

KM: I interned at QuesTek for 12 weeks. My work involved characterizing material microstructures using serial sectioning and local electrode atom probe (LEAP) tomography. This process involved a balance between lab work to collect the necessary data and computer work to generate the three-dimensional reconstructions. From start to finish, I was involved in every step of the project, which kept me constantly engaged.

TA: What did you hope to learn from this internship?

KM: I wanted to learn what it was like to work for a startup company. I’d always been interested in working for a high tech startup, so I wanted to use this internship as a way to gauge my true interest and to decide whether it would be something I’d want to pursue in the future.

TA: Did you feel as if the experience provided value to you, and if so, how?

KM: Yes, this internship was extremely valuable to me. All of my other internships have been in more formal research settings (university, national lab, etc.), so this internship was a nice change in pace. Experiencing that difference between working in industry and working in academia has definitely helped shape my career goals. I now have a better sense of direction of where I want to be professionally.

TA: Did the person you reported to mentor you in any way?

KM: Yes, very much. My manager, Chris Kern, mentored me on a day-to-day basis and always offered me positive support. The week before my final presentation, he walked me through every step and left me feeling very confident about presenting. I also received an enormous amount of support from the NanoBusiness Talent coordinators. In terms of mentorship, I couldn’t ask for more.

TA: Was the overall internship a positive experience, and if so, in what way?

KM: Yes, this internship was a very positive experience, and I would highly recommend the NanoBusiness Talent program to anyone who is up for a summer full of excitement, challenge, and fulfillment. In the end, this internship left me with a new set of skills, a new perspective of science, and a new group of connections, all of which are invaluable to me.

Last updated by TrackAheadAdmin Aug 5.

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