Wheeling Park High School senior, Lucelus Swartz, is an aspiring engineer and over the summer he has taken major steps in achieving his goals. During summer break, Lucelus made the decision to take an internship at Touchstone Research Laboratory as an engineering intern working under Mathew Przybysz and Brian Joseph. This paid internship gave him connections and learning opportunities that will last a lifetime. Swartz has big plans for his future and interning at Touchstone Research Laboratory was one step in his staircase toward success.

Lucelus did not originally plan to intern over the summer, but when the opportunity presented itself he did not wait to seize the moment.

“I learned about the internship from a Facebook post, and I reached out to Brian Joseph who is the CEO of Touchstone Labs, and his secretary. They set up a meeting, I got a tour with him, and I talked with him for a few hours. I followed up with questions about interning there because I liked the facility, and eventually I was accepted,” said Swartz.

One post on social media led Lucelus to making connections and learning new engineering techniques that he can carry with him throughout his entire career. He values the different professionals he worked with and the contributions he was able to make throughout the summer.

“The internship opportunity was very nice as I got to meet a lot of very nice people in the industry and form connections while also getting to do a lot of work that nobody else my age would get to do anywhere else,” said Lucelus Swartz.

The bonds he made this summer with the individuals he worked with, whether it was other interns or those he worked under, he has made relationship that will help teach him the business side of engineering.

“In many industries a lot of your success is attributed to your connections.  Having people that I’m connected to, especially starting at such a young age, is nice to know that I already know many people in the industry who have connections themselves,” said Swartz.

This internship set Lucelus up to strive throughout college by already giving him a chance to work hands on in his field. This cemented his career goals and his decision to continue on with engineering for his career.

“I haven’t chosen the university yet, but I plan to continue engineering at the university level through a major in mechanical engineering or material science… working with so many high profile people, like Brian Joseph, was very enjoyable and it was nice to hear all of the experiences he has had throughout his life, because people like that are very interesting, and I got to attend the Wheeling Hall of Fame where he was inducted this past year,” said Swartz.

Lucelus shows how pivotal this internship was for his career and how all of the time spent working over the summer will pay off in the future.

Summer interning and job opportunities are so important for upcoming high school seniors because it will help lead each student to a career that they truly enjoy. Having a summer full of training, technique building, and collaborating, Lucelus plans to continue interning at touchstone next summer in hopes of gaining even more hands on experience. Although Swartz has not chosen a university just yet, it is clear that he has found a career that he enjoys and hopefully will lead him to living a very fruitful life.