Boeing Facilities internships help give students hands-on factory experience

As a current student at Bellingham Technical College, one of Boeing’s partner manufacturing programs, Alicia Alaniz was looking to get hands-on training that was interrupted due to COVID-19. “We missed out on a lot, not being able to be in the classroom last year.” With opportunities for in-person instruction limited, Alicia’s class focused on core concepts and manufacturing best practices.

Luckily for Alicia, she was able to participate in a summer Facilities and Equipment Services internship at Boeing’s Everett factory to gain that experience. “It was super exciting and brand new to get out there and learn a bunch of things and to be able to put my hands on and apply what we read and heard in lectures” she added. During her internship, Alicia has been able to work with hydraulic presses, 3- and 5-axis routers, and work with Boeing equipment services team members as they respond to maintenance calls.

For Alicia, her experience gave her a better idea of where her education and where her career path could take her. “What better way to learn about industrial maintenance than to come out to heavy industry and be able to go out with the guys that do the job every day?” Alicia says that she is more aware of the tools she’ll need in the future. “I have a better understanding of what working, at Boeing anyway, would entail, what would be needed out of me and what type of knowledge base I need to be successful.”

By Carolyn Gatlin and Eric Olson