“So, what exactly do chemical engineers do?” One of my younger cousins inquired during my first-Year holiday back home. “Well, we solve the world’s problems, make things, you know…very versatile” was my very ambiguous response. This interaction, and other similar ones really got me thinking about what I really aimed to do with my degree after graduation. In school I enjoyed the fundamentals of chemical engineering- mass and heat transfer, thermodynamics, kinetics- but it was sometimes difficult to picture myself in a role at a plant, using the skills I had gained. I approached my mentor and professor, and told him of the conundrum I had found myself in. His treasured advice was for me to get internships in different sectors of the industry. With some school resources and the internet, I was able to get some 2 internships, and this proved momentous to my growth. The first internship was a terrific opportunity where I virtually collaborated with an amazing team in a government agency on green energy. The invaluable guidance by the team helped me improve my technical writing and reporting, skills vital for engineers. Much as I enjoyed the internship, I realized I was not enthusiastic about resources engineering, especially in the field of research and development. This insight enabled me to seek out other sectors of chemical engineering that I genuinely found fascinating. The next internship I got was at a cement factory back home, which was vital for networking with professionals in the field. I was able to see how economics and the various engineering disciplines integrated and were used to produce one of the most in-demand products in our civilization. Being able to independently perform material and energy balances and monitor different parameters using sophisticated equipment was not only exciting but also validating to the effort I put in the classroom. The most valuable benefit I got was the interactions and mentorship from the engineers and technicians. One senior process engineer- my internship guide – introduced me to a materials’ engineer he knew when I informed him in passing that I found material science interesting. We continued our correspondence via email, with the materials’ engineer eagerly divulging aspects of his specialty which is polymers. Through the months since September 2023, I have continued to learn the different disciplines of this fascinating field, and I am most certain that this is the sector I would like to get into after graduating. I am currently awaiting approval for an internship placement at a company focusing on polymer science. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see the day-to-day activity of an engineer in a field I am likely to get into.