Engineering internships and co-ops are available for diverse students

“Our managers realize that the students are our future.”
– Annemarie Mycka, NRL

“We need a diverse workforce to evaluate the efficacy of programs and their effects on different populations.” – Lori Rectanus, GAO

By Laurel A. McKee Ranger
Contributing Editor

Student employment programs appear to be surviving the recession at most organizations, although some express caution. “There is no intention at this time to scale back the internship programs,” says Annemarie Mycka, HR specialist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL, Washington, DC), “but the size of the program will depend on the needs of the lab.”

“We did take a more targeted approach to school selection and onsite visits, but our hiring efforts remained fairly constant in 2009,” says Tera Martinez, manager of student programs at Texas Instruments (Dallas, Texas). “For 2010, we plan to move in the same way.”

According to Neddy Perez, VP of inclusion and diversity at National Grid U.S. (Brooklyn, NY), the U.K.-based company has not seen a slowdown either in the U.K. or the U.S. “The U.S. has had a robust internship program for the past ten years,” she says. “And in 2010, U.K. operations will be recruiting for summer internships for the first time.”

In contrast, Debbie Wallace, an engineering recruiter at the Kansas Department of Transportation (Topeka, KS) reports that fewer interns may be hired as a result of the ongoing recession. But all the organizations interviewed for this article are looking for diverse students.

The GAO needs people with diverse skills
Lori Rectanus, campus executive program manager at the Government Accountability Office (GAO, Washington, DC) says, “Our workload hardly ever declines. And because our intern program is critical to finding new hires, we rarely consider cutting back.”

The GAO evaluates the performance of government programs. “We need writing ability, critical thinking skills, oral communication skills, and interpersonal teamwork ability,” says Rectanus. GAO has about 3,000 employees who investigate everything from financial market problems to health care and climate change.

“We are Congress’ investigative arm and respond to congressional requests,” Rectanus says. “We have had a huge role in helping Congress understand where the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds are going.”

The agency hires about 150 interns each year. Some are undergrads, but most are masters or PhD students. The GAO recruits through a number of avenues: social networking media, diversity organizations, campus career fairs, and relationships with universities that have diverse student populations.

Diversity is an important part of GAO’s strategy. “We need a diverse workforce in order to determine how to evaluate the efficacy of programs and their effects on different populations,” Rectanus says.

Angela Ragan: from SCEP to full time at NAVFAC
Angela Ragan is an environmental engineer at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC, Washington, DC), which designs, builds and modernizes facilities for the Navy and the Department of Defense.

She works for NAVFAC Southwest (San Diego, CA) and is enrolled in the postgraduate acquisition internship program. It’s a two- to three-year rotational program with a new assignment every three months.

Right now, Ragan is developing scopes of work for environmental restoration. Training is an important part of her job; she spent four days learning about the Navy environmental restoration program. Her previous assignment was in environmental compliance and her next rotation will be in construction management.

Ragan earned her 2009 BS in environmental engineering at Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR). She connected with NAVFAC at a career fair and was hired as a temp in 2008. She joined the student career experience program (SCEP), which provides federal employment opportunities that are directly related to the student’s academic or career goals.

As a SCEP intern, Ragan wrote fact sheets on noise pollution, radon, mold and other topics of interest. She worked remotely for NAVFAC Southwest while school was in session and on site during spring break.

Ragan joined NAVFAC full time after graduation. NAVFAC has a formal mentoring program, so she now has an official mentor to help her navigate her rotations.

Ragan says internships were crucial to making her feel comfortable in her job. “Coming in here the first time was intimidating,” she says. “Trying to figure out the different business lines and how to navigate the online training program can be very confusing.”

Ragan grew up in East Portland, OR in the Columbia River Gorge, and originally intended to study art. “But I was very interested in geology,” she says. She decided to try environmental engineering and loved it.

Lucreatria Holloway, senior environmental engineer at NAVFAC, notes that NAVFAC also hires for the federal student temporary employment program (STEP) and summer jobs.

Spokesperson Lee Saunders says that between 2007 and 2009 there was a dramatic increase in the number of new employees. “In 2008, we hired 500 new employees and in 2009, 600,” he notes. “We’re expanding rapidly and our workforce is older, so there is a lot of opportunity for college graduates.”

Victor Mendez: co-op at NRL
Victor Mendez is working as an assistant engineer in the co-op program at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL, Washington, DC). He has a 2009 BSEE from George Mason University (Fairfax, VA) and is currently pursuing an MSEE at George Washington University (Washington, DC). He started as a co-op in the last semester of his senior year.

The NRL does R&D in radar, optical science, IT, chemistry, material science and other areas, for both military and nonmilitary clients.

When a project starts up, Mendez might be programming, building circuits, taking measurements, setting up tests or analyzing data. For one project, he built an antenna and then did impedance measurements.

Holding down a co-op while going to school can be challenging. “I worked about twenty hours a week and went to school full time,” says Mendez. He now works twenty-four hours a week, but he has only six hours of classes. “They’re very flexible here,” he says.

Mendez has at least two engineers mentoring him on each project. If he completes 640 hours of co-op work and maintains good grades, he hopes to be offered a fulltime position once he graduates.

Mendez was born in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador and is the first in his family to earn a college degree. He came to the U.S. at age eleven. “I never thought I would actually go to college,” he says. “I thought it was out of my reach.”

He joined a George Mason program to support first-generation college students with financial aid and scholarships. Mendez served as VP of the school’s SHPE chapter.

Mendez gets a lot of satisfaction from doing work that supports the military. “This country has given me so much,” he says. “I’m happy to give back.”

The NRL offers four types of internship/co-op programs: a student volunteer program, a summer employment program (SEP), a student temporary employment program (STEP), and the student career experience program (SCEP). The student volunteer program, STEP, and SCEP hire year round. Applications for SEP are accepted from mid-December to the second Friday in February.

In the summer, scientists and engineers present their projects and meet with the students. “Our managers are very interested in the students and realize they are our future,” says Annemarie Mycka, HR specialist at the lab.

Mycka says that despite the economy, last year the lab hired more STEP students than ever before. “Our student hires for 2009 were up 30 percent from the previous year.” Mycka says that most managers like to see at least a 3.0 GPA.

Nathaniel Lawson: from co-op to full time at Texas Instruments
Nathaniel Lawson is a facilities electrical engineer and the worldwide electrical process systems team leader at Texas Instruments (TI, Dallas, TX). He handles the management and distribution of power in DMOS6, a company facility in Dallas.

Texas Instruments manufactures semiconductors, integrated circuitry and analog and digital processors. Within a year of starting full time at TI, Lawson took over the role of electrical systems owner for DMOS6.

His main responsibility is to analyze capacity and demand, then design and estimate the cost of electrical equipment upgrades. He also works on cost reduction projects, implements power monitoring, and ensures that preventive maintenance is performed on existing equipment.

Lawson was born and grew up in Hope, AR and went to high school in Texarkana, where he made straight As all through school. He is the first in his family to go to college. His principal took an interest in him and encouraged him to go into engineering. He even took Lawson to visit Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View, TX), a six-hour drive from Texarkana. “If it hadn’t been for Mr. Keeton, I wouldn’t be an engineer today,” Lawson says with a smile.

Lawson earned his 2006 BSEE at Prairie View. As a student, he was a member of NSBE and VP of Tau Beta Pi. He also participated in the Engineering and Science Concepts Institute, an intensive eight-week summer course that introduces engineering to incoming freshmen.

As an undergrad, Lawson did two co-ops at TI. Each intern and co-op works directly under a systems engineer who is both supervisor and mentor. “My mentor exposed me to the right individuals to make sure I had what I needed,” Lawson says. “I went to every meeting that he did.”

The co-ops gave Lawson a good idea of the company’s environment and culture, and what to expect when working full time. “I already knew a lot of people and who to go to,” he says. “I enjoyed working with them and knew I would be happy here.”

TI’s new employee initiative is open to co-ops as well as new hires. A social committee organizes events for students, allowing them to network with other co-ops.

The benefit the students bring to the company is considerable, according to Tera Martinez, manager of student programs. “Interns and co-ops bring in the most innovative mindsets and the latest skills.”

Martinez notes that there are more than twenty diversity/affinity groups at Texas Instruments. “Diversity is vital to us as a company and we believe that diversity in our workforce is critical to being successful and competitive,” she says.

Telephonics internship refines Justin Matos’ career goals
Justin Matos is a hardware engineer in the radar systems division at Telephonics Corp (Farmingdale, NY). He designs and tests circuit boards, and directs technicians in the prototype lab.

Telephonics provides integrated information and communications systems technology for the aerospace, defense and commercial markets.

Matos earned his 2007 BS in computer engineering at Tufts University (Medford, MA). His first internship was at Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, MD), but his Telephonics internship helped set his career path.

At Telephonics, Matos did VHDL work, which is what he was studying. As an intern, Matos was mentored by two relatively young engineers. The internship not only helped refine his career goals, it also increased his comfort level when he joined the company after graduation. “I knew people here,” he says. “I knew the acronyms and I was familiar with the computer programs.”

After his internship, Matos kept in touch and accepted an early offer of employment. “It was great not to have that stress of wondering where I would be working,” he says.

There’s a lot of learning on the job in his field, says Matos. “But when you get a system up and running after spending months and months on it, the sense of personal satisfaction is tremendous.”

Matos was recently promoted: “The management team really recognizes the work you do here.”

“We offer ten-week internships, running from June to August,” says Telephonics HR director Theresa Rose. “We focus on systems, electrical and software engineers.”

At the end of their internships, students do a presentation for the corporate president, senior engineering management and other interns. “We want our interns to really understand what it’s like to work here,” she says. “We get a great group of students and do a lot of team building from day one. We’re very committed to continuing and building our internship program.”

Shilpa Bollineni interned at NRAO after her MSEE
Shilpa Bollineni is an electronic engineer 3 at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO, Charlottesville, VA), which provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community.

She works at the Green Bank, WV facility, developing a new data acquisition system for a forty-three meter telescope used by MIT. “I look at data and analyze it for evidence of pulsars,” she says.

Bollineni got her 2006 BS in electronics and communications technology at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (Hyderabad, India) and her MSEE at West Virginia University (WVU, Morgantown, WV) in December 2008. While pursuing her masters, she worked as a research assistant at WVU and had a paper published.

Bollineni started as an intern at NRAO after she finished her masters. She began working on firmware for the telescope, and got more responsibility over time. By September 2009, she was a fulltime employee.

She was mentored by her supervisor from the beginning. “He would tell me who I should speak to about problems during the project,” she says. “The atmosphere here is very friendly and people are very open.”

Bollineni grew up in Hyderabad, where her father is an engineer. “I was always amazed and fascinated by electronics,” she says. “There were no impediments to my becoming an engineer; my father encouraged me to do what I was passionate about.”

“The co-op program provides opportunities for undergrads to enrich their classroom learning experiences,” says Faye Giles, employment and diversity manager at NRAO. Giles notes that students are mentored and that advisors play an important role in the day-to-day experience. During summer co-ops, participants are encouraged to join other summer interns in attending student-focused seminars on topics in radio astronomy, in addition to participating in social activities.

According to Giles, there is no plan to scale back the co-op program; in fact, NRAO expects to expand it. “Co-ops work on projects that tackle real problems,” she says. “Co-ops bring a fresh perspective and insight into emerging technologies, and the enthusiasm to advance NRAO’s mission.”

Jihyun Lee: job shadowing to intern to perm at KLA-Tencor
Jihyun Lee is an applications development engineer and applications team lead at KLA-Tencor Corp (Milpitas, CA), which provides yield management and process control solutions to the semiconductor industry.

“I work with customers evaluating new products, and I provide training and support on existing products,” says Lee.

Born in Korea, Lee immigrated to the U.S. with her family when she was seven. She earned her 2006 BSME at the University of California, Berkeley and her 2009 MS in engineering management at Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA).

She began interning at KLA-Tencor in 2006 as an applications development engineer, doing customer support for system installation and applications training. By October 2006 she was a fulltime employee, and started on her masters part time. “That was a good challenge,” she says. “It pushed my limits.”

Lee found her internship through her membership in SWE, which listed companies that offered job shadowing. She signed up to shadow an applications engineer at KLA-Tencor for one day and then pursued the opportunity at a career fair.

“It’s very important for undergrads to walk in an engineer’s shoes and be exposed to the working environment,” she says. “You get a sense of the culture and a better idea of what kind of career you might prefer.”

Lee has already received two awards from the company: a general manager’s award in 2007 and a mentor’s award in 2008. “The most rewarding part of my job is my co-workers,” she says. “I’m learning both professionally and personally.”

KLA-Tencor offers technical and business internships during the summer months. Both short-term project work and job shadowing opportunities are available. In addition, students can co-op during the academic calendar for up to twelve months.

“KT offers an assimilation program for both interns and new college graduates that helps them learn more about the culture. And they have fun getting to know one another,” says Stacy Trujillo, senior HR manager, university relations. “Events range from lunch with the CEO to a day at the ballpark or go-cart racing.”

Cresta Kirkwood: finds BAE Systems “engaging”
Cresta Kirkwood is a software engineer at BAE Systems (Rockville, MD). She works at the defense contractor’s San Diego, CA facility, doing programming and working with Web 2.0 apps.

Kirkwood earned her 2008 BSCS at the University of California, Los Angeles. She had three summer internships at another company before interning at BAE Systems. “The experience contributed to my decision to come back full time,” she says.

BAE Systems holds an orientation for new interns and then assigns them mentors. Interns also gather weekly to discuss their projects. “It’s a very engaging place,” Kirkwood says. “You feel your opinions are heard. I worked on a lot of real-world applications. It was very challenging in a good way.”

A presentation she did for her school’s NSBE chapter helped Kirkwood secure the internship and her present job. She urges students to join an engineering group and become active to get exposure and network.

Like many engineers, Kirkwood enjoys giving back to the community. She tutors high school students in math, science and English.

BAE Systems director of strategic talent outreach Dennis Humphrey believes that interns bring a fresh perspective to problem solving and they have a good comfort level using the latest tools and technology. “We hired more interns in 2009 than we did in 2008,” he notes. “We have a very strong commitment to the internship program and are identifying opportunities for 2010.”

Internship at BPA opens doors for Carlos Mora
Carlos Mora is a natural resource specialist at the Eugene, OR location of Bonneville Power Administration (BPA, Portland, OR). BPA is a federal agency that markets wholesale electricity and transmission to the Pacific Northwest.

He’s responsible for controlling the vegetation around the transmission
lines. “Transmission lines maintenance personnel survey the power lines
twice a year,” Mora explains. “If vegetation is encroaching on the lines, I send out a crew.

“I have to submit an environmental review to determine where herbicides can be used,” he says. “The presence of wells and creeks may preclude it. We also have to follow regulations and work with the U.S. Forest Service in managing the right-of-ways that cross their land.”

Mora earned his 2009 BS in environmental studies at the University of Oregon (Eugene, OR), but he’s been working at BPA for more than seven years. He began interning at the end of his junior year in high school, shadowing people, including the man who preceded him in his present job. “I asked then if I could work with him,” he says.

Mora started as a natural resource specialist student trainee in 2007 and came on permanently in June 2009. He also worked with a realty specialist and a cost analyst, dealing with deeds and property rights. “I like my current job because I work both in the office and out in the field,” he says.

For most of his time as a student, Mora worked full time. “It was hard going to school and working, but I had already started a family and I had responsibilities,” he says. His son is now three years old.

Interning helped refine Mora’s goals: “I was oblivious about the kinds of jobs that existed. It opened so many opportunities for me.”

Antonio Samuels gains experience as an intern at Timken
Antonio Samuels is a supply chain continuous improvement intern at Timken (Canton, OH). The company manufactures bearings, alloyed steels and related components and assemblies.

Samuels’ group looks at all the elements of the supply chain, from raw material to shipping to time and inventory controls. “We use a lot of statistical software to analyze processes and data we receive from customers,” he says.

He’s on track to earn his BSEE at the University of Akron (Akron, OH) in May 2010. Because he’s a fulltime student, his work fluctuates from twenty-four to thirty hours per week depending on his class load. Fortunately, the bulk of his hardcore engineering courses are behind him.

Samuels has served as president of his school’s IEEE chapter and was president of its NSBE chapter for two years. “That was a lot of work,” he says.

Samuels also interned at ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based steel company. That first internship helped Samuels understand how to conduct himself in a professional manner and it allowed him to hit the ground running when he started at Timken. “I will have a fulltime position in the manufacturing and supply chain development program here when I graduate,” he says. “My two internships have given me the experience to take that on.”

A formal mentoring program at Timken has helped Samuels understand Timken’s corporate culture. The company also offers resume building and interviewing workshops for its interns as well as exposure to all aspects of the company. “It’s made me want to work here,” he says.

Samuels grew up in Cleveland. His school didn’t offer advanced math courses, but he’s managed to overcome the learning gap and maintain a high GPA, even while playing on the Akron football team. Today, Samuels enjoys doing community service and playing a lot of chess.

Co-op program helps Damian Nguyen choose PGW
Damian Nguyen is a plant engineer at Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW, Philadelphia, PA). The municipally-owned utility supplies gas and related services to a half million customers in Philadelphia.

Nguyen is responsible for ensuring that all equipment receives appropriate inspections and preventive maintenance. That includes dealing with contractors. “I provide the work permit, take them to the site and stay with them to oversee the work,” he says.

Nguyen was hired full time in June 2008 and is still in the company’s rotation program. In his first rotation, he worked at the Passyunk plant where he learned about the steps involved in liquefied natural gas vaporization. His current position in maintenance may become permanent.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam and came to this country with his family in 1995 when he was ten. He earned his 2008 BSME at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA).

He was in the first class to enter Temple’s new co-op program. His first co-op was at a civil and structural engineering company that worked on sewer lines and storm water management. His second was with a wireless telecommunications consulting firm, where he did a lot of AutoCAD work. In his third co-op, he worked for a manufacturer of automatic weapon parts. His final co-op was in 2007 at PGW, where he used intranet software to load equipment information into a central database so it could create work orders.

The co-op program helped Nguyen determine his area of interest and choose PGW. “The people here are very friendly,” he says. “Anything I need to know, I can ask and get an answer.”

Nguyen feels great satisfaction knowing that he is keeping families warm and safe.

Emilie Humbarger: from intern to rotation program at Kansas DOT
Emilie Humbarger is an engineering associate 2 at the Kansas Department of Transportation (KSDOT, Topeka, KS). The KSDOT is responsible for road and bridge maintenance, transportation planning, contract compliance and transportation-related administration in Kansas.

Humbarger earned her 2009 BSCE at Kansas University (Lawrence, KS). She worked on the concrete and steel quantities involved in bridge design as a KSDOT intern for two summers. “I also got exposure to software programs we didn’t have at school,” she says. “I knew when I got here what I wanted to do.”

She started in KSDOT’s rotation program. She’s worked in traffic engineering, materials and research, transportation planning, construction and road design. “I’ll be in bridge design permanently, though,” she says. “When I was on my construction rotation, I watched a bridge deck being poured and found it very interesting.”

This is Humbarger’s first project in bridge design. She’s designing a replacement bridge, a reinforced concrete haunched slab. “You have to consider the soil conditions, the dead weight of the bridge, and the live loads acting on it: traffic, weather conditions and the environment. Then the bridge is designed to resist those loads,” she explains.

The bridge crosses a small river on a state highway and Humbarger looks forward to driving over it some day. “I think it will be pretty neat to see something you designed being used,” she says.

D/C

Laurel A. McKee Ranger is a freelance business writer in Randolph, NJ.

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