When I walked into Carpenter Marty for my first day of work, I was just as nervous as anyone else would be on the first day of their new job. I didn’t get any less jittery when I found that my tour of the office was going to be given by one of the owners of the company, Kevin Carpenter. I mean, this guy’s name is on the company logo, I better not say anything dumb. But Kevin was easy to talk to, and made me feel at ease getting to know my new surroundings. All of the people he introduced me to were nice and happy to see me, and the office itself was beautiful. Then he brought me to my desk. It was much larger than I’d expected, and it had some office supplies, along with a black CMTran hat.

“Great”, I thought, “I’m displacing someone and I’m sure they’ll be unhappy with me once they get in. I hope they don’t think I was trying to steal their hat, too.”

But then Melanie, our awesome marketing assistant, came up to the desk and told me that the hat was a gift, for me. That exchange pretty much defines my whole summer at Carpenter Marty. Every time I expected to be treated as a lowly intern, I found myself being treated as a peer and a coworker. Where I expected boring filing jobs, I found meaningful work that gave me experience while I helped to complete real projects. Where I expected indifferent neighbors next to my desk, I found the always friendly Kristin and Matt, who were never too busy for an afternoon chat. Where I expected annoyance at my constant questions, I found excitement to help me learn things that I never would’ve picked up in a classroom. Where I expected to find boring days in an office full of engineers, I found Fun-Loving Fridays, food trucks, and volunteering at the food pantry. Where I expected an empty desk in a closet, I found one right in the front, with a gift on it.

Most importantly, I found friendships that will last far beyond the end of the summer. Later during that first day I met the other guy whose name is on the logo, Bill Marty. He was just as nice as Kevin, and always eager to help give me work when I had some free time. I was able to reconnect with my former TA, Dan, who I hadn’t spoken to since my freshman year of college. I got to spend some time chatting with Nick, Adam, and Lucas, as they passed the hours trapped in a car with me driving from jobsite to jobsite. Those three had the honor of introducing me to Arby’s, an addiction that I doubt I’ll be able to kick. I got to know a classmate I’d never met before, my fellow intern Katie, as we carpooled to and from work. I got to work with Andy, who somehow never got tired of my endless stream of questions. All of my coworkers helped me in some way or another, and I hope I get to work with them again.

So, to Kevin, Bill, John, Kristin, Melanie, Matt, Tony, Mike, Kam, Alec, Shane, Beth, Greg, Neal, Dan, Kyle, Nick, Gina, Greg, Drew, Andy, Nick, Lucas, Adam, Katie, and Jeff: thank you for making my summer incredible, and helping me to learn how to be professional while still having fun. I promise I’ll come back and visit.

John O’Neill – The Ohio State University

Class of 2018