My takeaway is that research is a long process and you can't expect everything to work on your first try.

One takeaway I had is that research is not what I expected. It involves much more hands-on work and problem solving which is a nice change of pace from the classroom.

My takeaway was that I can see having a career here at Tucson Electric Power and also gaining a lot of solar experience.

Throughout my internship at the Agrivoltaics site, I've learned so much about how research is conducted and the teamwork that goes into it. I have gained so many transferable skills to future jobs as an engineer thanks to a variety of tasks we've been asked to complete.

The experience I gained helping forecast solar power production with the power forecasting group helped me explore real-world needs for solar engineers.

Working on this solar project has allowed me to grow and develop tangible skills I believe to be important for any engineer. It has increased my appreciation for the field of research as well as the many opportunities that solar industry brings.

The experience I gained interning at Solar Desalination taught me how to use tools and how to solve problems on my own. Also, I gained insight into how college research operates, and it has inspired me to pursue research myself.

The experience I gained from being an intern at Tucson Electric Power will help me in the future when it comes to communicating with different kinds of people and being able to troubleshoot on the spot.

This internship has taught me to always keep my eyes open to new possibilities. There is a world full of unknown things left to be discovered.

My time with the Power Forecasting Group piqued my interest in professional programming and showed me how useful it is in renewable forecasting,

“We will make electricity so cheap, only the rich will burn candles.” My takeaway from this internship is that even in the solar business not all staff and bosses are going to agree with the way things are handled and that's ok as long as there is an understanding and open line of communication. Communication is a huge deal beaker in the solar industry. Everyone need to work as a team.

The future of the energy economy runs on solar energy and being a part of a solar small business allowed for great insight into all aspects of running a business.  I really enjoyed experiencing the technical sales process.

Rheanay (left): I am a biomedical engineering major at Pima community college. The internship did not include anything medical, although they did apply principles and problem solving. I learned more on how to communicate and understand myself and others. These skills learned during this will play a huge role in not only my career but basic life concepts.

Reuel (right): I am a civil engineering major at the University of Arizona. Although my internship site did not directly conduct civil engineering services, I learned so much about communication within a team and applied my “imagineering” skills (as our mentor, Daniel Cormode, called it) to various problems I was tasked to solve. I know that these skills will be valuable assets to whatever career I end up pursuing.