Looking back, Genius Garage was much more than just an internship. Taking part in Genius Garage was a hands-on way for me to get experience in the field I had dreamed of working in as a kid. It helped me to show my potential employers and more importantly, myself, why I would be the best engineer for the job. This program stood out on my resume and it often prompted questions like “So a group of students of all different backgrounds got together, built a race car and raced it?” To which my answer was a simple “Yes.” Some believed it, maybe others were skeptical, but that’s what we did during the 6 month long work period in between classes.
The beauty of Genius Garage was that it gave you as much as you put in. The first ever Genius Garage team I worked with was filled with energetic students who were hungry for experience and success. This ensured we all put in our best work despite our busy student lives at the time. I’m surprised I made it this far without mentioning the man who made this all happen. Our program director, Casey Putsch. I immediately connected with him through our obvious common ground of being car enthusiasts. Casey’s energy, time and mentorship was key to the program’s success. His genuine care for the program and the students became evident as time went on and roadblocks showed up yet his energy never faded.
While I was initially a bit nervous as to what I was getting into, I can say with little doubt that this program was the catalyst I needed to hone in on pursuing the career in automotive engineering I always dreamed of.