Prairie State is excited to welcome Joseph Hanger as the Electrical Engineering Intern for the summer!
Joseph is from Evansville, Illinois, and is currently pursuing a degree in electrical engineering. He will be entering his senior year this fall at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Joseph’s interest in engineering began with a curiosity about science, computers, and wanting to understand how things work. He was drawn to electrical engineering because of its versatility and its ability to combine his interests in physics, chemistry, and mechanics. “I like electrical engineering because it touches and combines so many different topics,” Joseph shared. “It’s really cool when I see a motor move and I know exactly how everything works behind it.”
Before joining Prairie State, Joseph gained hands-on electrical experience working as an electrician at a manufacturing company. While he already had a solid foundation in electrical systems, he saw this internship as an opportunity to continue growing his skills and gain exposure to the power generation industry. “What led me to apply to Prairie State was the opportunity to work in a hands-on environment, which is different from other engineering environments,” he said. “I wanted to experience what it’s like working at a power plant and learn directly from the equipment and machinery.”
Throughout his first couple weeks at Prairie State, Joseph has been involved in analyzing control system data and investigating inaccuracies within plant systems. He enjoys seeing the many different roles electrical engineers play across the facility and values the opportunity to learn from employees across departments. “Being out in the plant and learning from employees in a variety of roles has been a great experience so far,” Joseph explained. “It’s given me a clearer understanding of daily operations and helped reinforce the concepts I’ve studied in school.”
In addition to strengthening his technical knowledge, Joseph hopes to improve his skillset including documentation and report-writing skills while becoming a more effective team member in a professional engineering environment. Outside of work and school, Joseph enjoys rock climbing, listening to music, and exploring music production. He is also active on campus through the Illinois Robotics in Space (IRIS) competition team and the Illinois Rock Climbing Club.
Joseph will return to U of I in the fall. He hopes this internship will help prepare him for a successful engineering career after graduation. “I want to gain meaningful connections and real experience that will set me up for success,” he said. “The start of this internship has already helped me understand what it’s really like to work in the engineering industry and how important it is to work as a team.”
We are excited to have Joseph here this summer and look forward to seeing all he accomplishes during his internship experience!