Our German intern experience: Drilling Performance

Like many in the machining world, I’ve dealt with more than enough serious issues in 2013, so it’s cool to have been part of a fun experience.

Some quick background: Tomball, Texas, where our shop is located, has a sister-city relationship with Telge, Germany, because of the extensive German history in our area. It’s mostly a public-relations exchange program where city officials, business owners and residents visit each other’s city as guests.

As part of the sister-city exchange, a 19-year-old from Telge, Jannick Gerdes, would be staying in our community for 3 months. One of Jannick’s primary goals as an economics student was to improve his English. He also wanted to experience the “real America,” interacting with locals, driving a truck, eating American food and doing what we often take for granted.

The exchange program manager informed me that part of Jannick’s visit would include working at several local businesses as an intern, and asked if our shop would like to be a host company. The plan was to have Jannick work at a diverse group of companies, including a manufacturer.

My initial reaction was mixed. While we’ve participated in community activities, it never included a foreign intern. I wasn’t sure this would be a good fit, not to mention our busy workload meant employees wouldn’t have much time to entertain or instruct.

After giving it some thought, however, I decided to accommodate, determining a 2-week internship would be adequate. Still, I was not sure what to expect. In November, Jannick arrived with a huge smile and a level of excitement that was quite refreshing. He was eager to immerse himself and quickly became our friend.

Courtesy of K. Jennings