WireGuide | Issue 3 | 2022

The WireGuide is a digital newsletter that was created in 2017 by a group of marketing interns. With intentions of connecting interns throughout Cook with each other, they created content surrounding the other interns’ lives. The WireGuide stopped in the summer of 2020, as there wasn’t an intern program due to the pandemic. Two years later, we are relaunching it on a new platform. Now featured on the Life@Cook blog, the WireGuide and its stories are available to an even bigger audience. With that being said, welcome to the WireGuide!

Whether it be a to do list that seems never ending, back-to-back meetings, or upcoming deadlines, we’ve all had stressful days. Sometimes we take a break, go for a walk, or confide in a friend to make our day better. For those that sit by Kylie Littlejohn, it’s something as little as an origami butterfly that puts a smile back on their face.

All about Kylie

Kylie, a western Kentucky native, is going to be a senior at the University of Louisville this fall, where she studies bioengineering. She was inspired to study bioengineering by her uncle, who suffered from a spinal cord injury.

“I was always interested in the healthcare industry,” she said, “Then, my uncle had a spinal cord injury, and I chose bioengineering so I could help people like him.”

Like many other interns, Kylie’s degree requires a co-op with three rotations. For her first rotation, she was a Manufacturing Engineering intern in the Continuous Improvement Engineering department. She enjoyed the team she was on so much that she returned for this rotation, her second. Aside from enjoying the team she’s on, she loves getting to meet everyone else, too. Her favorite part about her internship has been learning what engineering is in a real work environment and the tasks that come with it.

Because she will be 2/3 of the way done with her co-op after this summer, I asked Kylie what advice she has for newer interns.

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions, to ask for more work, or to ask for short reviews on how you’re doing. Don’t be afraid to ask,” she said.

Outside of Cook, Kylie is very involved on campus. Not only is she a leader for a women’s ministry, but she also has a job in the Electrical Engineering department. Through this job, she helped remodel the entire department. In addition to this, she also helps professors grade students’ work and keeps the materials that students will need replenished and organized. When she isn’t on campus, she enjoys hammocking. She uses it as a way to spend time outdoors. During her childhood, she would often hammock with her aunt. It wasn’t until high school when she bought her first hammock. Luckily for Kylie, hammocking is an easy hobby to do in different places. Since she moved to Bloomington for her internship, she has been hammocking on Indiana University’s campus. If she isn’t chatting with her hammocking friends, she often reads or listens to music.

“I just love being outdoors. It’s really relaxing,” she said.

Putting a hobby to good use

Origami doesn’t sound like it would be in the Manufacturing Engineering job description, but Kylie still fits it into her busy day. She began making origami in high school in an art class that she took for three years. When she came to Cook, she realized she was spending her breaks on her phone. With a desire to fill her break time with something more productive, she searched for a tutorial on how to make origami butterflies out of Post-it Notes. Since learning how to make them, she has gifted an origami butterfly to five different people at Cook.

“Whenever I notice someone in my area having a bad day, or if they’re having a long day, I’ll make them an origami butterfly on my break,” she said.

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The summer before his freshman year of college was quickly coming to an end, and Micah Wright was still undecided about what major suited him. He had the choice of following in his dad’s footsteps by becoming an engineer or pursuing other interests. Inspired by a magazine subscription, and later learning guitar on a whim, he was able to do both.

Declaring his degree

After Micah mentioned that he enjoys figuring how certain things are engineered to fit together, I told him that it sounds like he chose the perfect major. Apparently, this isn’t the first time that Micah has heard this.

“Everybody was like, ‘Oh that’s perfect for you. You need to be an engineer,’” he said.

However, choosing this path wasn’t as simple as it seems from an outside point of view. Micah was conflicted because his interests also lie in reading and writing, which is why he initially wanted to become a writer.

Micah was inspired to pursue an engineering degree by his dad. Before switching to ministry, his dad was an engineer and worked at Ford for 5 years. His dad was also part of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The ASME would periodically send a magazine detailing current trends in mechanical engineering to Micah’s house. His dad would rarely read the magazine, so it would often fall into Micah’s hands.

“That magazine really inspired me,” he said.

Micah followed in his dad’s footsteps and chose to study engineering. He will be a senior this year at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, where he is from. He ultimately chose mechanical engineering as his major, and left reading, writing, and music to his hobbies. To graduate, University of Louisville requires three co-op rotations, which is how Micah found his way to Cook. Since starting his co-op, Micah has worked in Production Engineering at the Ellettsville location, Production Engineering at Park 48, and now he is on the Continuous Improvement and Process Technology team at Park 48.

Micah’s favorite part about Cook is the culture. The co-ops are assigned real projects and have mentors that are always willing to help when needed. He also enjoys the connections he’s made with his co-workers as well as the teams he’s been on.

“We don’t make coffee runs,” he said, “I appreciate how willing everybody has been to bear with me as I struggle through some things for the first time.”

Self-taught guitarist and drummer

Micah grew up attending church and church events regularly. One of the events, vacation bible school, is where Micah played guitar for the first time. Vacation bible school is a summer program where children participate in activities together, play music, and learn about the Bible. One year, the person who oversaw the music for this program approached Micah saying that he needed a bass player. Micah, who had never played guitar before, picked up the instrument and tried his best to follow along.

“I started playing bass even though I didn’t really want to,” he said, “After that event, I put it down for a while.”

He eventually picked it back up and taught himself how to properly play after hearing a song he wanted to learn. In addition to the guitar, he taught himself how to play the drums. He put these skills to use by playing regularly in his church band and by making Youtube skits with his parents.

Earlier this year, Micah took his guitar skills to the next level and joined a band—The Loxmiths. After meeting online, this Louisville-based group began playing punk rock and alternative. They do both originals and covers. If you want to check out Micah’s band, you can find them on the Loxmiths Instagram account.

In the future, Micah hopes to try a variety of careers, most of which are inspired by his hobbies, that are involved with engineering. Although they are not areas he’s entirely experienced in, he has considered working with race cars, audio production, and animation. Because these fields would present a learning curve for Micah, it shows that he truly exemplifies Cook’s value to continually improve.