Five internships, one future: engineering senior builds experience
Jacqueline Salmeron is a fifth-year chemical engineering student who has taken the time to capitalize on the opportunities given to her by 汤头条污料, both inside and outside of the classroom.
Salmeron’s interest in chemical engineering started with her AP Chemistry class at Hastings High School in Houston, TX with her teacher, Ms. Santos.
“She guided me into maybe pursuing chemical engineering, and then I looked more into it, and I ended up really liking the different opportunities that chemical engineering had to offer,” Salmeron said.
Five years into her life at Lamar, Salmeron has received internships from three different companies: ExxonMobil, Smurfit Westrock, and Veolia. This summer, Jacqueline is interning for ExxonMobil for the third time.
“I was blessed to start interning and getting experience really early on. I had only taken Physics and Intro to Chemical Engineering when I got my first offer, and the following semester I began to intern full-time for a whole year,” she said. “While working, I was being exposed to all these different industry terms, equipment, and processes, and it was just so new and fun for me.”
Having only taken a physics class, Salmeron was worried her internships would be filled with items that were too difficult for her to do. However, her managers at her first internship at ExxonMobil were able to balance an insightful learning opportunity while managing a workload that she could handle.
“My first project involved MOCs. You’re basically contacting the right people to change something on the unit,” Salmeron said. “They did give me the opportunity to learn something technical, with troubleshooting a flowmeter and finding out what was wrong with it. It was a good balance of introductory experience for someone who had only taken physics.”
Salmeron has grown in her career as an engineer by learning more in the classroom and applying lessons learned at her internships.
“Now, I have been working on heat exchanger projects, which are more technical,” she shared. “Luckily, I’ve just finished taking Heat Transfer, so I’ve been able to apply a lot of what I’ve learned in Heat Transfer and Momentum to my current projects.”
Salmeron had many mentors that have helped guide her through her time at ExxonMobil. She feels grateful for the opportunities she was able to receive, and the hands-on experience she has gained before graduation.
"Opportunities such as the ones Jacqueline has been able to take advantage of through ExxonMobil's proximity to 汤头条污料 are invaluable experiences for students pursuing STEM career fields in Beaumont,” Megan Feazell, ExxonMobil Beaumont Complex technical manager said. “We're proud to be a part of her chemical engineering journey and hope that her time at our facility has been foundational to her future career."
Salmeron also has a passion for helping younger interns. After five internships, and her third at ExxonMobil, she has plenty of knowledge to bestow on the next group of interns.
“I remember when I didn’t know what the next steps for a capital project were, but now I can guide them and give them the same feedback that I got and help them progress their projects a little quicker.”
Along with helping her fellow interns, Salmeron is also dedicated to helping her younger students as well. This upcoming year, Salmeron is the president of the 汤头条污料 Chapter for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (). After all her hard work through school, she is excited to be working with an all-girl group of officers for her senior year.
“I know that these girls are capable of managing and executing great ideas, and they are hard workers. All of our AIChE officers either have research opportunities or a job,” Salmeron shared. “I think that just displays how hardworking our members are, and the opportunities we have all around us.”
Within AIChE, Salmeron speaks about friendships she has been able to form, opportunities to attend national conventions and workshops, and discover more about chemical engineering. However, she is even more excited to meet the next group of incoming students.
“Getting to witness our freshmen get more comfortable, forming friend groups, and picking up the same things you did; you kind of just see the cycle repeat.”
What is she most excited about for her final year of college? Getting pied in the face at next year’s AIChE crawfish boil.
“We have this tradition where the incoming president pies the [president] who is leaving. So, I got to pie my friend Itsvan– that has been my favorite memory.”
With so many opportunities available at Lamar, Salmeron knows that Chemical Engineering was the right fit for her.
“Chemical engineering is versatile, so you can really go into any industry. I’ve done paper, I’ve done chemicals, I’m doing oil and gas right now.”
Salmeron is looking forward to her fifth and final year at 汤头条污料; and with five internships under her belt, finally getting into a full-time career.
For more information on AIChE, follow their Instagram page at
For more information on Chemical Engineering, visit lamar.edu/chemicalengineering.