Colin is a Senior Mechanical Engineering major who was hired by Generac as a Product Management Intern for the Summer of 2025.
What did you work on this summer? I’m working on supporting the development of new portable generators. Working on the product management team I get to work on products that are in all states of development, from doing market research to figure out new products to launch, to figuring out new ways to improve sales of existing products.
What’s the best thing about your job? In product management you help coordinate the different teams as the product goes through it’s development cycle, so as a product management intern I get exposed to all aspects of the business, from the front end market research and industrial design, to the engineering, the marketing, and the distribution of the product, which is a lot of stuff you wouldn’t normally see in a standard engineering internship. I also think it’s cool that the products I’m helping to develop will eventually be released in a few years.
What’s great about your company? My manager at Generac and everyone else on the product management team for portable generators are super nice and supportive as I learn the position and business throughout my internship. They are also willing to put me on some interesting projects where I’m doing meaningful work. I also think that the heads of the portables group and product management department have been supportive and interested with the work that I’ve been doing and my development, which also helps make for a good internship experience. Generac as a whole also puts a lot of effort into their internship program, so they have put on various events for the interns focusing on career development, which I thought was a valuable experience.
How did you find your internship opportunity? I found my internship posted on a job board.
How did the Career Connections Center help you with your internship search? They helped me look over my resume, go over some interview skills, and helped me navigate the offer negotiation.
