professional experience year (PEY) co-op program<\/a>.<\/p>\nShe had been looking forward to focusing on her coursework and graduating with her degree in mechanical engineering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But opportunity knocked again when Krishnakumar landed an interview with the BWT Alpine Formula One Team, based in Oxford, England.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did the first interview, and it went really well, but then they told me the job would be for a year,\u201d she says. \u201cI didn\u2019t know about taking another whole year off from school, and I went back and forth quite a bit before accepting the position.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, I realized I came to U of T to get experience, exposure and be part of cool builds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Krishnakumar\u2019s previous internship experience included stints at Bombardier Aerospace, where she worked as an operations strategy intern on manufacturing processes for private jets, and at Lockheed Martin, where she contributed to the design of Canada\u2019s naval ships (she had also landed a few summer gigs, including as a process engineering intern at Canada Post, where she helped to streamline mail-sorting systems).<\/p>\n
In August 2024, Krishnakumar packed her bags and headed to Oxford \u00a0\u2013 \u00a0the first time she had travelled outside of North America.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such a shock, and it was a bit difficult adjusting at the beginning,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I eventually got used to it. I ended up really loving it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a build and test intern at BWT Alpine, Krishnakumar acted as a liaison between the technicians in the design and build teams, helping to improve the drawings as well as the overall build.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was interesting because I got to see both the design and the technical perspectives, and that\u2019s what I really loved about it,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlus, F1 is super cool. So, I got to learn a lot and see several neat gadgets and parts.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to her work, Krishnakumar attended several events with her team. She went to the Silverstone Circuit in England for the British Grand Prix, as well as the car\u2019s initial track test. Krishnakumar was also one of five members from Alpine to mark F1\u2019s 75th anniversary at an event hosted by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Krishnakumar credits her many work experiences with giving her a better sense of her interests and career path.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDesign is a big portion of mechanical engineering, and I tried to make that my interest as well. But personally, I just don\u2019t enjoy sitting in front of the computer all day,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m quite a social person. I love talking and working with people and seeing things. I realized, through my work, I really want to go into manufacturing. I\u2019d like to be on the floor and working with parts.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite her hectic schedule, Krishnakumar was still able to fit several extracurriculars and social activities into her undergrad. She was elected to the Engineering Society, where she worked with faculty to support students through the academic and social challenges of COVID-19 and helped organize the Iron Ring Ceremony.<\/p>\n
Krishnakumar was also involved with Engineers Without Borders, serving as events director for the Indigenous reconciliation portfolio, where she organized initiatives to raise awareness and raise funds. And she was a member of U of T\u2019s Formula Racing team<\/a>, which sparked her interest in motorsport.\u00a0<\/p>\nAs she finished up her final courses over the past year, Krishnakumar fit in one more part-time internship \u2013 this time with the Canadian Space Agency. That role, along with her time at BWT Alpine, helped her land a job as a process engineer with Tesla Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think my internships definitely helped set me apart,\u201d says Krishnakumar.\u00a0\u201cMy boss actually told me the reason he was intrigued about my application was because of my F1 experience, because he\u2019s also an F1 fan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before starting her new position in late May, Krishnakumar booked some well-deserved time off to travel with her mom to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited to work in the automotive industry, especially at a company focused on supporting the transition to sustainable energy,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u201cI hope to apply what I\u2019ve learned from my degree to make a meaningful impact on the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aarabhi Krishnakumar figured she was done with internships when she entered her fourth year of undergraduate studies at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":744007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-744006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/744007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}