Faith Hyllberg isn’t just studying mechanical engineering technology at Grand Canyon University – she’s living it.
Not only does she gear up and operate machines in the engineering shops with the Society of Women Engineers and for her classes, but she received a scholarship for the second year in a row from the American Gear Manufacturers Association Foundation, which supports next-generation gear manufacturing employees, and interned with Twin Disc, a global power transmission company headquartered in Milwaukee, not once, but – in the spirit of the company’s name – twice.
Knowing women are underrepresented in the engineering field, Hyllberg’s mom encouraged her to pursue an engineering career.
“She thought I could handle the challenge,” Hyllberg said.
So she chose mechanical engineering technology, which differs from mechanical engineering in that it’s hand-on and application based, while mechanical engineering is more theoretical. While mechanical engineers focus on designing new products and systems, mechanical engineering technologists, like Hyllberg wants to be, are more involved in production, quality control and manufacturing processes.
Hyllberg’s sophomore year marked a turning point in her career journey when she attended the SWE national conference in Houston.
“Her excitement to network with top engineering companies stood out,” said Dr. Cori Araza, senior project director for Grand Canyon Education’s K-12 Services and Solutions.
Though Hyllberg declined an offer from a North Carolina company to stay closer to home, persistence paid off when she landed a position as a manufacturing engineering intern with Twin Disc after a former high school basketball coach connected her with the company.
“I got to work the assembly line and catch variances in parts, hands-on, with the assemblers,” Hyllberg said. “I got to build the transmission from scratch with the parts, under supervision.”
She also corrected operating procedures that she knew, from her experience on the assembly line, were wrong. And she later developed standard operating procedures – essentially, work instructions – for the assembly process, which didn’t previously exist.
They’ll be used as a guide by future interns working on an assembly so they don’t have to read individual manuals. The procedures provide a consistent form for everyone, Hyllberg said, ensure efficiency and create a consistent and reliable process.
“The internship allowed me to connect theory with real-world applications,” Hyllberg said.
John Tharp, who teaches materials science and mechanical engineering at GCU, said, “Faith would ask the deep questions that get to the ‘why’ behind engineering principles. It’s not just about solving equations or understanding technicalities, she connected the technical aspects to a larger purpose, making her stand out among her peers.”
He added that GCU’s hands-on engineering program, which includes chances to work in engineering workshops and labs that range from a welding shop to mechanical materials lab, helped ready her to work for a company like Twin Disc.
“The opportunities to work with machinery and real-world tech prepare students for industry,” he said. “Faith’s hands-on experience and her ability to ask meaningful questions have set her up for success.”
Her accomplishments during her first year earned her a return invitation to work for Twin Disc the following summer.
In her second internship with the company, she reverse engineered a pinion gear, created 3D models of fixtures used in manufacturing, and produced technical drawings that included all the necessary information to manufacture specific products.
“I was on the manufacturing floor instead of designing things in the office,” Hyllberg said.
Twin Disc’s Dana Holland, manufacturing technical lead, said of Hyllberg, she’s a “great girl, high energy, eager to learn.”
And the internships didn’t stop there. This spring, Hyllberg is a civil engineering intern for B&R Engineering in Sun Lakes, Arizona.
After graduation, Hyllberg wants to work in design, project management or sales engineering. She loves overseeing projects and making sure tasks stay on track.
“My leadership skills and vision for project scope are strengths I hope to leverage in my career,” she said, adding how “GCU gave me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone, ask questions and truly learn.”
Grand Canyon University student writer Leandra Lepp can be reached at [email protected]
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