Blog Entry #4

Honestly, I have struggled a lot with my internship. I almsot feel as though my mentor does not trust me to give me real "chemistry" type work, and therefore I have been give the opportunity to tour the factory. Although this has all been extremely interesting, I want to get a better idea of the concept of chemical engineering. Therefore, this past week I asked if there was any possible way for me to obtain a more detailed chemistry project that allowed me to get a better idea of the major ahead of me. Most gratefully, my mentor helped me to initiate a project in which I am testing different variables to see what may affect the efficiency of refining oil for the company. I am extremely excited about this new project as the company is actually going to use my data to possibly change their processes and I get to involve myself in the lab! I am thankful for this new opportunity and I am glad I get to experiment with chemistry in such a way. I still hope that I may get some idea of the concept behind food research and development, which is the direction in which I plan to take my major of chemical engineering. However, as of right now, I am excited to build on the basic concepts with soybeans.