- I chose to do the Option 1 Internship, which had 260 hours of work, and was paid. - The internship went from an internship to a job. - I now am working at Big Jon part time through the school year, and will continue to return every summer in the next few years.

- Big Jon Sports manufactures downriggers and fishing tools. - Using CNC Machines and manual assembly, Big Jon sells hundreds of them monthly. - There is an effective shipping area where orders are filled out and shipped out promptly and accordingly. - The main goal of the company is to produce downriggers and sell them.

- I have a variety of different bosses and supervisors at Big Jon. - Each person is in charge of their own section of the company, making each job important. - The company is divided into three sections, but those in charge stress that the company does not have separate “departments.” - The different areas of Big Jon’s facility all work together for the goal, so they are “one.”

- There is a variety of tools that I have used before, and an even wider variety of tools that I had never used before. - They expected me to learn quickly, and to make no mistakes. - I tried the best I could to pick up new skills fast, and get as much done as I could.

- My job at Big Jon is packaging. I am responsible for completing much of the boxing of parts, and blister packaging as well. - I use the lift truck to pull the parts from the shelves, and then return them to the shelves boxed up and ready for shipping. - I also help with assembly if needed, such as screwing bases together, wrapping reels with line, or gluing rod holder caps on rod holders.

- My work at Big Jon contributed greatly to the company’s bottom line. I took the workload off some other employees, allowing them to concentrate on their own jobs. - My supervisor is in charge of shipments and orders, filling them out, boxing them up, and loading trucks. - I periodically helped him out with boxing up orders and loading them onto the proper skids.

- In the packaging area, I often boxed up parts for inventory - Box sizes range from 7X6X4 to 36X18X6. - Parts had to be boxed neatly and efficiently. - Often done in large amounts, the jobs can be very repetitive. - 2 pallets were stacked with 60 boxes each, then brought out onto the floor for storage.

- In the assembly area, I normally worked with rod holders. - I would assemble them and put them away for packaging later. - I used a hydraulic press, drill, many different kinds of screws and screwdrivers, and glue. - There are several different types of rod holders, as well.

- These are the parts and products that I worked with at Big Jon. - Some of the prices of these parts may surprise you…a single otter boat is sold for $ A downrigger is often sold for more than $600 (depending on electric or manual), and they are often bought in pairs or groups of four. - Almost all metal parts are machined at Big Jon, and most plastic ones are shipped in from other locations.

- Other Responsibilities… - I was instructed to clean this fishing boat with a power washer, and add new decals to the boat. - I also used the power washer to blast out all the rust from the back pavement. - Decades old machines were finally shipped out from the driveway, leaving a rusty and oily surface that needed cleaning.