Rebecca Deason, Biosystems Engineering

What was involved/what was your role during your internship or co-op?
As an Aerospace/ Mechanical engineering intern in the component engineering department at United Airline's SFO base in California, I got to create engineering repair authorizations for the mechanics on site to use when repairing aircraft components as well as run a return on investment investigation for machinery purchased for the aircraft repair hanger.

What was one of your favorite parts about completing this internship or co-op?
On our first day of work, United flew the interns out to Chicago for orientation at Willis Tower and we also got free flights to travel on the weekends, so it was a really fun company to work for. The engineers on the team were very supportive, helpful, and gave such great life advice and we all ate lunch together every day as a team, so the company culture and people made it a great work environment.

How have you benefited from participating in this internship or co-op?
I was able to get exposure to an industry I had not even considered for my own career path before and learn so much on the job. I got to see what real engineers do for work and how what I'm learning is applicable which was incredibly motivating. I think by far the biggest benefit was being able to meet, network, and work closely with some incredible engineers as well as my peer interns.

What specific skills (technical or professional) did you learn or develop during your internship or co-op? 
I worked a lot with Excel as well as mastered utilizing company and industry specific software systems.

Why would you recommend internships or co-ops to other students?
It's not only a great learning opportunity, but life experience as well. You will learn and grow so much and the relationships and skills you build will help you throughout your career. Being able to see what engineers do in their everyday work is so important in being able to see how what you learn in school will help you later whether it's direct application or just practice in critical thinking and problem solving.