Student Spotlight — Justin Williams
Justin Williams is a student at the University of Memphis, where he is working towards degrees in Physics and Materials Science as well as Mathematics. During summer 2024, he had an opportunity to participate in an internship through the Naval Enterprise Program at Naval Undersea Warfare Center at Newport, Rhode Island, which will be described in the interview below. We hope that this will provide useful information and encouragement for students interested in pursuing internships.
Can you please tell us a little about the internship program?
Justin Williams: I interned through the Naval Enterprise Internship Program (NEIP). This is a nationwide internship through the Office of Naval Research (ONR) that allows university students of all levels to spend the summer at a naval research institution.
What were your responsibilities and a normal day like during your internship?
JW: A normal day during the internship would start at 8:00 a.m., and would normally end between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. I would check in to my lab, and my daily tasks fell into three main areas which include the following:
- Check my email and examine my list of assigned tasks (Administrative Tasks)
- Conduct my experimental tests, as will be described in more detail below (Research Tasks)
- Attend meeting or go to seminars in the afternoon (Informational and Networking Tasks)
We would go to lunch around 12:00 p.m. Seminars that were intended and offered to new employees were open to us. These seminars cover topics of interest not only to our branch, but to those across the entire base. We were given the opportunity to tour the base and the Naval War College during the summer.
What challenges did you face, and what skills did you develop during your internship?
JW: One of the challenges and opportunities was exposure to new scientific material and equipment that I had not encountered during the course of undergraduate studies. For example, I worked with oscilloscopes and alternative current circuits, both of which were new experiences for me. A benefit of this internship experience was that I received credit for the upper division physics course for Internship in Physics (PHYS 4996) upon completion of the internship.
Skills that I had the opportunity to continue to develop and hone including the following:
- Quickly learn new material
- Designing and Conducting experiment research with an emphasis on rapid prototyping and direct applications
- Oral presentation of technical research, including all the aspects of problem motivation, research methods, discussion of results, statements of conclusions and future work
How did your internship relate to what you’ve learned in your academic studies? What was the most valuable lesson or insight you gained?
JW: It helped me visualize and gain practical experience how the different topics I had learned in class, such as Newton's Laws and Maxwell's Equations, relate to the solving real-world problems. Related to this, it seems to me that you really don’t know anything until you see it first hand. Many of these topics that I learned in the classroom became more complex when in a laboratory setting. At the conclusion of my internship, I had to prepare a quad chart and present it to my department head in Code 15 which is depicted below.
Did your internship change your perspective on your future career? Were there any unexpected experiences or surprises during your internship?
JW: I would say it changed my perspective on my future career for the better. It was a good experience, and I felt that it confirmed my general career path because I am in the Navy ROTC program at the UofM.
What was a funny experience you had during your internship?
JW: In order to gain access to the resources necessary to conduct my research during the internship, I was issued a contractor Common Access Card (colloquially known by its acronym CAC). This particular piece of plastic did not grant the same level of access. So, it was very interesting (and fun) to pull out my government CAC and obtained to locations I had been previously denied.
What advice would you give to students considering a similar internship?
JW: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You will be the least knowledgeable in the room so asking questions is very valuable for your growth and development. I got the opportunity to sit in many meetings where I was the least knowledgeable, and if I had not asked questions, I would have completely missed out on how lucky I was to be in that room.
How do you think this internship will impact your future career plans?
JW: Interning at NUWC Newport allowed me to get an unfiltered perspective of a Naval Installation before I commission. In the future when it comes time to take a shore tour, NUWC Newport will be at the top of my list.
Were you able to network or connect with professionals in your field?
JW: We had multiple opportunities to network. My Branch Head Megan Driggers organized an intern cohort for Code 15, and this brought all the interns together to hang out and network with the senior leadership at Code 15. NUWC would also host monthly meetings where the entire base would come together and speak about what was accomplished during the month and this provided the interns in attendance the ability to interact with Departments outside of their own.
What’s next for you after this internship? Any new goals or plans?
JW: I will be graduating this spring 2025 and commission as a Submarine Officer. This semester I am working hard to get good grades in my classes and get into Naval Postgraduate School before going off to Nuke school. If that does not work my first stop will be Nuclear Power Training Command in Charleston South Carolina for my first year, and I will be working towards getting a Fast Attack Submarine out of Groton CT for the remaining four years of my service commitment.