Since graduating in 2016 with a degree in manufacturing engineering technology, BYU alum Regan Homer has gone from intern to full-time manufacturing engineer at BD Medical, a Fortune 500 global medical technology company.
Homer leads teams of diverse professionals from engineering and manufacturing on long term improvement, quality control and cost saving projects. He is used as an engineering resource for projects involving BD’s other focuses including medical diagnostics, delivery and development.
“One of the first things I have learned is the importance of relationships and working well with others,” Homer said. “In a company as large as BD you work with many different functions and people that you must rely on. Many of my coworkers have decades of experience and it’s important to leverage that experience with what you learned in school to get up to speed and be successful.”
Homer loves having the autonomy to determine the best strategy and present a solution with his team. Nearly everything he does is self-directed work that requires quick thinking and innovation.
Since graduating, Homer has gained a greater appreciation for his BYU education.
“BYU has given me foundational engineering skills that I use every day and a network that helped me get an internship and fulltime job,” he said.
Homer’s advice to current BYU students is the same advice that helped him land his job at BD Medical.
“Intern as much as you can,” he said. “I was an intern here at BD two and a half years before I graduated and started fulltime. I feel a lot of what I do here requires skills I learned as an intern. Internships teach you many skills that cannot be learned in a classroom and they make landing your first job a lot easier!”