During the past spring semester I was scrolling through LinkedIn when I saw an application pop up for the GE Aerospace L.I.F.T conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. The application was open, and I decided to toss my name in the bucket for it. Throughout the semester I completed 3 different interviews for a chance to attend. As the semester was coming to an end I got an acceptance email. I was in!!! I was so excited and grateful to have been chosen to attend this incredible conference.
For those who don’t know what this conference is all about, let me help. Every year GE Aerospace hosts a conference at their Cincinnati headquarters called the L.I.F.T conference. It stands for “Leaders Innovating Flight for Tomorrow.” People applying to this conference are looking for opportunities to receive an internship or full-time position with GE Aerospace. It is an incredible opportunity to get your foot in the door. Let me just say my experience was incredible.
Around 2 weeks before the conference I attended the teams meeting with all the attendees and employees running the conference. It was here that I learned I was one of the 94 students accepted out of the 2,800 plus who applied for a chance to attend. A remember another attendee asking how many of us attending would receive an internship. The GE employee told us, “There are 94 of ya’ll and 94 positions available.” That was very comforting knowing that I already had one foot in the door and just needed to ace my interview. Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely stressed about the interview.
GE Aerospace paid for my flight, hotel, and transportation for the trip which was a blessing. I left Daytona Beach at 6 am and made my first stop in Atlanta. I ended up spending an extra hour and a half in Atlanta because we had no Captain for our flight. Eventually I found out that our Captain was stuck in traffic and that they were going to get us a Captain that was already at the airport. Eventually I made it to Cincinnati and headed towards the meet-up spot for transportation to the hotel. Turns out there were 5 people on the Atlanta flight I was on attending the conference. We ended up talking the whole drive to the hotel and getting dinner once we got situated.
That same night everybody went to the Cincinnati Reds baseball game. GE Aerospace had the whole Handlebar Lounge and Seating Area reserved for the conference. We had an abundance of food. I spent most of the time at the game networking with GE Aerospace employees and asking questions. I am very glad that I did because I was able to talk to my program coordinator for over an hour and she ended up being one of the people interviewing me in the end.
The next day was filled with different informational sessions, interview preparation, and a behind the scenes tour of their Cincinnati facility. It was an incredible experience, and I got to see so many things in person that I had only seen in a YouTube video before. They are truly the best in the industry.
During my final day there I spent several hours preparing for my interview and ensuring that I had everything together. My interview went very well and took about 45 minutes. The employees at GE Aerospace are all so passionate about what they do, and it truly inspired me that I made the right decision in wanting to work for this company. Everybody was told that they would hear back on Monday about whether or not they got the position. After everybody did their interviews, we had a farewell barbeque where we had a BBQ food truck and an ice-cream truck. Many of the friends that I made and I ended up playing cornhole to celebrate the end of the conference.
On the ride to the airport, I got a call from the program coordinator and was offered a position for next summer. I happily accepted. So next summer I will be interning with GE Aerospace as an Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS), Manufacturing, and Facilities Intern. I don’t know which location I will be at yet, but I know that it will be an incredible experience.
When you see the application for the 2026 L.I.F.T Summit please apply. It was an incredible opportunity, and I would recommend it over and over again. There are so many different fields and positions open. Whether you are looking for an internship, full time position, or leadership program there’s something for you.
Here’s a photo from the Handlebar at the Cinncinati Red’s Stadium and all of the conference attendes. See if you can spot me.
