Excel Enemuoh | Intern
Company: HMH
College: University of Houston
Major: Computer Engineering
Grade: Senior
Hometown: Port Harcourt, Nigeria
What has surprised you most about working in the energy industry?
What has surprised me most about working in the energy industry is the sheer scale of the industry and how much impact I was able to have as an intern.
Before starting my internship, I viewed the energy industry primarily through the lens of production. I knew energy was essential, but I underestimated how much technology, automation, engineering, and coordination are required behind the scenes to make everything work reliably. I also assumed I would spend most of my internship learning from experienced engineers rather than contributing directly to projects that could improve existing workflows.
One of the most rewarding parts of my internship has been developing automation tools that help engineers test systems faster and with greater confidence. One project involved creating an HPU simulator that mimics the functionality of an HPU skid and FRU while helping modernize and replace legacy software solutions. Working on this project showed me the importance of maintainable software in industrial environments. As technology evolves, it becomes increasingly important to build tools using modern technologies that future engineers can easily understand, support, and improve. If a younger engineer joins the team tomorrow, they should be able to work with the software without first having to learn outdated technologies.
Another project involved developing a control system simulator and an OPC UA pipeline validator that automates testing from the control system layer through telemetry and Modbus communications. These tools reduced manual testing effort, accelerated development cycles, and helped identify issues earlier in the process. Through this work, I learned that small mismatches can quickly turn into larger downstream problems if they are not caught early. More importantly, I learned that good engineering is often about validation, traceability, reliability, and consistency rather than simply creating new features. By automating testing, teams can move faster, ship out products with more confidence, and spend more time solving meaningful engineering problems.
Beyond the technical work, I have gained a much greater appreciation for the incredible scale of the energy industry. Whether it is oil and gas, wind energy, power transmission, or the infrastructure that supports them, there are enormous investments, highly skilled teams, and complex systems working together to deliver energy to consumers. Most people only see the end result: fuel at a gas station or electricity powering their homes. They rarely see the thousands of people, processes, and technologies required to make that possible.
This experience has reinforced my passion for automation and software engineering while showing me how technology can help the energy industry move faster, operate more efficiently, and continue meeting growing global energy demands.
What attracted you to this internship opportunity?
I was attracted to the opportunity to combine my interests in software, automation, and engineering while working on systems that have a real-world impact. I wanted to understand how technology is applied in large scale industrial environments and contribute to solutions that improve efficiency, reliability, and testing processes.
What’s one thing you wish more people understood about the energy industry?
I wish more people understood the sheer scale of the energy industry. Whether it is oil and gas, wind, or power transmission, there are countless technologies, processes, and people involved before energy reaches consumers. Most people only see the final product, but rarely the enormous amount of engineering, investment, and coordination required to make it possible.
If you could ask an industry leader one question, what would it be?
As demand from AI, data centers, and emerging technologies continue to grow, how do you see the energy industry scaling production and infrastructure to meet future demand, and what technologies will play the biggest role in closing that gap?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I hope to be in a senior engineering role working on automation and control systems that improve industrial operations. I also hope to be mentoring younger engineers and interns, just as the people I have worked with throughout my internship have helped accelerate my own growth.
Complete the Sentence-
Before this internship, I thought the energy industry was… primarily about production and operations, but I have learned how heavily it depends on automation, software, testing, and collaboration across different engineering and financial disciplines.
My friends would be shocked to learn… the amount of technology, infrastructure, investment, and manpower required to deliver something as routine as electricity or fuel is far greater than most people realize.
If I were CEO of an energy company for a day…. prioritize modernization efforts that improve maintainability and automation while continuing to invest in developing the next generation of engineers who will drive the industry’s future.
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