By Ian Hoffman
Communication ’26
For many elementary school students, Earth Day can be a time to learn about trees,
flowers and the environment.
However, for 2022 Trine University chemical engineering graduate Erika Kendall, that
interest went far beyond growing plants or getting a tree to take home. Her desire
to learn more about protecting the environment led her to pursue a degree in chemical
engineering.
Erika grew up in rural north central Indiana with two biofuel facilities about 10
miles from her childhood home. She remembers visiting these plants as a child and
always found the process particularly interesting.
“Oftentimes, for Earth Day, we would go to these plants and learn about what they
did. It was those trips that taught me how we took crops that grew in my backyard,
corn and soybeans, and turned them into fuel for our cars,” she noted.
While there are multiple types of biofuels, ethanol is the most well-known. One of
the plants, POET Bioprocessing, is part of the largest biofuel production company
in the world. Learning about these processes as a child “blew her mind” and is one
of the biggest reasons why she wanted to study chemical engineering in college.
Kendall chose Trine because the campus was friendly, with multiple opportunities for
hands-on learning. During her time at Trine, she did research on algae as a biofuel.
As part of the honors program at Trine, she presented her findings in a project called
“Maximization of Lipid Production in Chlorella protothecoides Using Light Wavelengths,” with the goal of growing algae with a high fat content
for conversion into biodiesel.
Outside of her work in biofuels, as an undergrad, she was able to build connections
with classmates, professors and companies. She would meet with Rolls-Royce at the
career fair during her first two years at Trine, eventually, landing an internship
there for the summer of 2020. Her internship, like many things in 2020, was postponed
until her junior summer because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Erica worked as a Special
Process Engineer Intern at Rolls-Royce.
Erika looks back fondly on her time as an intern. She was particularly interested
in working at Rolls-Royce because of their Manufacturing Engineering Graduate Development
Program.
She noted, “Through this internship, I was able to apply to their Manufacturing Engineering
Graduate Development Program, which allows recent grads to rotate through different
departments within Rolls-Royce over a two-year time span.”
However, chemical engineering wasn’t listed as one of the preferred degrees for the
position.
“I knew going into interviews that I would need to sell my chemical engineering degree
and apply it to the job,” she said.
Erika succeeded and landed a full-time position with the company in the development
program. She currently works in Indianapolis, home of the Rolls-Royce Corporation,
the largest Rolls-Royce manufacturing site in the United States.
During her short time there, she has worked in various departments, including heat
treating, chemical processing, metal casting, CNC programing, fixture design and product
support. She has enjoyed her time everywhere, but noted working in the special and
chemical processing groups was her favorite because it related most closely to her
chemical engineering degree.
Erika’s ability to sell her degree and apply it to a position that many wouldn’t commonly
associate with a chemical engineer helps showcase the versatility of a chemical engineering
degree. Her alternate education path allows her to provide “a completely different
perspective” in comparison to her mechanical and aerospace engineering colleagues.
She also has a willingness to learn, which allows her to better apply her degree to
the various positions.
While Erika noted the versatility of her chemical engineering degree, she notes it
is also important to understand what the employer is looking for. “I would suggest
thinking about the skills and experiences you currently have and finding ways to apply
them to the position you are applying for. The application process is all about selling
yourself, so it’s important to show what you offer and how that provides benefit to
the company,” she said.
She also suggested identifying areas where you may be less qualified but express your
willingness to learn more in those areas.
Erika gives a lot of credit to her time at Trine for her success. Her technical knowledge
in classes like Thermodynamics, Fluid Dynamics and Statistical Analysis gave her information
she now uses every day.
She uses many other skills she learned daily, including root cause analysis, project
management and team collaboration. She also credits her professors, who pushed her
to present technically and always consider process safety.
Erika will complete her time in the Manufacturing Engineering Graduate Development
Program at the end of the summer. She will begin as a Manufacturing Engineer sometime
in August or September 2024, although the location is still being decided. Regardless
of where she ends up, she is very excited to see what the future holds for her at
Rolls-Royce.