Colette Ruden, United Technologies Corp
Ruden embarked on her first internship with UTC’s Otis Elevator Co. in 2017. Today, she has completed her second summer with the company and plans on interning again – next year – after she’s graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a degree in mechanical engineering. Ruden says working at Otis has boosted her career and her confidence.
“When you’re in school you’re at the same aptitude level as everyone else and you start to wonder, ‘Am I really cut out for this?’ Having supportive mentors at UTC has helped me to believe in myself,” said Ruden.
Colette Ruden
Age: 21
Title: Propulsion intern
Company: UTC’s Otis Elevator Co.
Lives: New York City
Makes: Products for customers in commercial aerospace, defense and building industries
Career aspirations: To become fully employed at UTC – Otis
At Otis, Ruden joined the coded steel belt group, working on new testing procedures for primary elevator qualification belt screenings. In layman’s terms, she worked to reduce safety risk by ensuring belts won’t break down in the future.
“My main project this summer was to work with my mentor in the Otis test tower,” said Ruden. “I learned how to design an experiment, understand data and statistics, and present my project at the end of the summer. I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to work, individually, at my own pace.”
The most exciting and rewarding part about working for UTC Otis was the support network, Ruden said.
“My mentors were my biggest fans; they let me tag along to meetings and inspired me to be inquisitive. Working here has reminded me why I went into engineering in the first place,” Ruden said.
UTC is looking for fall interns, especially in program management. Plus, they don’t require applicants to have a formal agreement with a college or university. Applicants can explore open internship opportunities and set up notifications alerts by going to UTC’s careers page.
Ruden plans to pursue her masters at WPI once she completes her undergraduate program in May. She hopes to complete a third internship with Otis next year and, if all goes well, one day become a full-time employee.
