YANA

Q: When you heard about Keirton, what attracted you to come here and work for us as an Engineer co-op?

Yana Burgos: I had already worked as a co-op in production before so I got to meet the engineering team beforehand. The way they do work is really R & D and hands-on stuff. It’s what’s really interesting, especially for a new grad, since you get to work with both theory and practice. That’s what makes it really helpful.

Q: Can you tell me about the innovation in engineering at Keirton? 

Yana Burgos: Innovation in engineering it’s pretty crazy. You get a pool of ideas and you have a great team to bounce it off of. There are crazy ideas everywhere, so I think that’s the cool part. You are never running out of things to do or things to work on and you get a lot of input from people so you get see a lot of different perspectives. I think that’s the best part, it’s just the team itself is good and there’s always new stuff to do not just for ourselves but the way we emphasize it on customers. That’s how Josh always said it, “we don’t really design what we want”. What would the customers want? That’s the focus.  

Q: Can you talk about your experience at Keirton? 

Yana Burgos: The best experience I’ve had here is doing a design from some sketches and a piece of paper to build it out on the shop floor. Seeing how your design works, from nothing to something, and get it sent out to the customer. I think that’s pretty crazy, not everyone gets to have that experience. Some people get stuck with drawings, some people get stuck with just building stuff, but the way we do it here is you see your design from beginning to end. That’s pretty nice. 

Q: What would you say you’re most proud of during your time here at Keirton?

Yana Burgos: I think it’s the way our leaders encourage independence. So if there’s a project you like, if you want to take it, you take in on. Then they guide you through it. It’s like you get a feeling of accomplishment that way because you get to try bigger things than what you expect and you see it through with the help of your team. So it’s a good sense of independence and also you can say that you did that and you can be proud of that because it is mostly your work with guidance from your team. For example, T03 was something that I took on and it’s such a big project, but I had Chad with me and the rest of the team. So I was like I can kinda do this. Also, it’s a pretty big accomplishment, I think.

Q: Is there anything that people who are thinking of joining Keirton should know about? Something that’s interesting or maybe unexpected?

Yana Burgos: I’m not sure about the unexpected, but something cool is that you’re not just working for a company, you’re working with a company. You’re working with Keirton to make the company grow, but they are also working with you, to see you grow in your career. I think that’s something that’s always emphasized here. It’s not just like sheep working for some corporate head somewhere. We’re growing together. It’s definitely something we can tell people. Other people that I know are stuck in a corporate company that’s kind of like: “I’m just some person in some department”. Here, everyone gets an opportunity to do something good and I like how Jay pushes everyone to improve themselves. I think that’s pretty sweet.

Q: If there’s a message that you were to pass on to anyone that’s interested in joining Keirton, what would you tell them in just a few words?

Yana Burgos: It’s hard to put into words. Here, at Keirton, you gotta expect to grow personally as well as career-wise, personal life, emotionally, socially. I think it’s everything. It’s a company that pushes you to grow with them. I think that’s the big message. You can’t be someone who’s like “yeah I’m just gonna do my 9 to 5”. No, you have to be someone that’s looking to grow, to actually benefit from being here.