Internship Spotlight: Jake Vilott, Honeywell

Jake Vilott is an Accounting and Entrepreneurship major graduating in the fall of 2023.  This summer he interned for Honeywell as a Future Finance Leader Intern in Phoenix, Arizona.

What was the process for getting this internship, job, or summer experience?

This process began through externship interviews at the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. From spring of 2020 to spring 2021, I took every opportunity I could to talk to the recruiting team for this program. This occurred not only through other externship opportunities, but at the fall and spring Eller Career fairs as well.

What was your favorite part of the experience?

My favorite part of this experience was the ability to own the project I was working on. I was able to use my own judgement and develop my own skills while conducting data analysis. Similarly, how much trust was given when working on tasks was a highlight. From the instant I began the summer, I was trusted with complex and intimidating projects, but was also given the resources necessary to accomplish the given task.

If you worked on a big project, please describe it below:

The main project I was on was developing a Tableau dashboard that reported flight hours, claims costs, and billings revenue for Honeywell business jet-engine industry. This required developing numerous data sources through data governance, as well as allowed myself to develop Tableau design skills. The end product includes a four-panel dashboard that provides visual analytics and insights.

What did you learn?

I learned that you have to become comfortable being uncomfortable. This allows one to focus on the task at hand and become solution oriented as opposed to problem oriented. Additionally, not knowing exactly what to do when given a task is very normal. It is the ability to use one’s resources to chip away at task one problem at a time.