Jill Kennicott’s experiences as a student at MHS led her into the field of mechanical engineering. Now, there’s a chance that her internship as a student at Bradley University will bring her right back to her hometown high school.
The 2023 MHS graduate was recently offered an internship at Elara Engineering during the summer of 2025.Because Elara happens to be the company that is working with MHS on its facilities improvement plan, Jill would be working at her old high school this summer if voters support a referendum on Nov. 5.
“That would be amazing,” said the Bradley University sophomore. “The learning curve for the internship would be less because I already know the building itself.”
In fact, the engineering team might find an advantage working with a former student who is familiar with the building. And her perspective is much deeper than just moving from classroom to classroom for four years. When Jill was a student, she learned about the building’s HVAC system from District 120 Maintenance and Facilities Director Kevin Quinn. He explained to her at the time why the building’s newer science wing felt so different from the original sections of Mundelein High School.
Quinn, who continues to be a source of advice for Jill as she finds her path toward a career in engineering, told her she is doing a fantastic job in laying the groundwork for a tremendous career.
Caitlin Levitsky, Principal at Elara Engineering, said the traits that made Jill a good choice for the internship go back to her time as a student at MHS.
“We are impressed with her passion for engineering that has clearly been encouraged through STEM opportunities throughout her educational career including during her recent tenure at Mundelein High School,” Levitsky said.
Jill agrees that her passion was shaped by her experience at MHS, especially in her involvement in the Robotics program.
“I fell in love with robotics in about third grade when I was a student at Mechanics Grove,” she said. “At Mundelein High School, robotics brought me my closest friends. It taught me a lot about engineering as a whole - just the process of working through a problem and finding a solution. I use that all the time now.”
She was also involved in the MHS Project Lead the Way program, which offers classes in engineering design, engineering principles and computer integrated manufacturing.
Jill is no longer involved in robotics - she wanted to try something different - instead she serves on two Bradley University executive boards for a pair of national organizations - the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the Mechanical Contractors Association of America.
The internship at Elara will be her second. Last year she worked in general contracting with the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. It was there that she learned what she didn’t like. While contracting didn’t seem to fit her, she is hopeful engineering will be a better choice. The experience, coupled with the upcoming internship at Elara, should help her narrow the scope of her career choice.
Besides the typical advantages of having a summer internship, Jill will earn some credits toward her degree through Bradley’s Experiential Learning Program. By keeping an hourly log and writing a reflection paper as she did during her contracting internship, she is optimistic that she will find more reasons to move forward as an engineer.
“I’m looking forward to it. Last summer I learned what I didn’t like. Now I want to learn what I like.”