Meet Champion’s Summer Interns

They may only be with Champion for the summer, but both of our interns have already spent years studying what it takes to move our industry forward. We talked to them about how they see their futures in the engineering field, and how they plan to use their Champion Fiberglass experience in their future careers.

Julio Soto

Hometown
Raised in Dallas, TX; currently living in Houston

Education
Julio is a rising senior at Rice University, majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHBE) with a minor in Computational and Applied Mathematics (CAAM).

Champion internship
“Champion’s internship is perfect for an engineer focused on optimizing production lines. I’ve been studying various mathematical methods to optimize systems all year in my CAAM classes. This is an opportunity for me to test my knowledge of chemical engineering and optimizing systems while gaining valuable experience in a professional setting.”

What brought you to engineering?
“I attended a high school specializing in STEM classes that I really enjoyed and so I knew I wanted to pursue a career in one of those fields. My brother graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and attended graduate school for his Masters. After asking him what engineering is all about, I knew I wanted to become an engineer.”

Career goals
“I believe I will stay in the manufacturing side of engineering and work in a role similar to the one that I am currently interning in. I enjoy working with data and finding ways to optimize production lines. I may explore the oil and gas field should the opportunity present itself. My goal is to become a plant manager at a well-respected company.”

Hobbies
“I am a huge fan of soccer. I enjoy watching and playing. I am currently the president of the Rice Men’s Club Soccer Team. I also really enjoy fishing in my free time. I will often go fishing with my dad on the weekends when I’m at home.”

Jacob Kjellman

Hometown
Stockholm, Sweden

Education
Jacob is currently studying chemical engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. He’s just finished the first year of his Master’s in Macromolecular Materials. He’s also spent a year on an exchange program at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH).

Champion internship
“I’ve done two internships previously, both in academia. I wanted to do an internship this summer in the industry, so I get more “real world” experience before I finish my Master. I also enjoy going to new places and I’d never been to Texas before so I just thought ‘why not?’”

What brought you to engineering?
“I had an excellent chemistry teacher during high school, and I got quite interested in chemistry. I had looked into a lot of different programs before I decided, but in the end, it was a natural decision to study chemical engineering.”

Career goals
“I hope I get a job where I can continue developing myself and never stop learning. I honestly didn’t see myself doing an internship in Houston this summer a year ago, an example of why I think it’s quite hard to set up long term goals since you never can know for certain where you are heading.”

Hobbies
“I like alpine skiing, but that’s not possible to do during summertime though…especially in Houston! I also enjoy playing racket sports. My favorite thing to do might be traveling, since I think the most fun thing to do is to arrive at a new place and find out what it offers. I have been in Houston for a week now and like it so far!”

There you have it – our two summer interns couldn’t be more different in background, but they’re both bringing their expertise and willingness to learn to Champion this summer. Follow along as we check in with them – will Julio find some innovative ways to optimize production? Will Jacob adjust to TX’ lack of alpine skiing while bringing his macromolecular knowledge to Champion’s materials? Stay tuned! The summer has just begun, and our interns will be sharing their experience with us as they learn.