Michigan Council for Internships and Cooperative Education : Awards Page

"Marcus Ritosa’s winning essay for the 2007 Carol Quandt essay contest."

Reaching the Top Shelf

A college experience is preparation for a career and for life. Cooperative education, in my experience, is the best way to educate future members of the work force. The co-op structure reflects the “learn-use-test” process that I have been taught. However, such an experience is less meaningful if it does not incorporate certain structures that give it specific purpose, and actually give the cooperatively-educated student an advantage over a conventionally-educated student. The most important factors of my industrial engineering (IE) co-op experience, thus far at Delta Systems Inc. in Streetsboro, Ohio, have been the basic skill training, my enthusiastic and motivated superiors, the work opportunities where I have been given responsibility, and the focus and goals that outline each term of work.

As part of each co-op work term, I have been required to make presentations of my study findings and of my project progress. The format of these presentations has varied based on the audience from completely informal to a more formal format presented to top management in the company. Internal training at Delta has helped me to compile my previous knowledge of public speaking with what is specifically expected on the job. Further, my manager, Paul Korcuska, has guided me using what he has learned through his own professional development so that I can appear perfectly competent and knowledgeable. This is a different level of experience than what I could have obtained through classroom practice. Nothing can replace this real-life experience for me.

My co-op experience has been greatly enhanced by my manager, Paul. He is motivated by his love for IE work and shares his passion by teaching me the real-world technical skills I know thus far. I would consider Paul to be my professional mentor. Paul implicitly trusts my insights and input regarding the issues we observe on the shop floor because I have shown him my own passion toward the IE profession. Paul allows me to experiment with different ideas that I formulate, some of which are inspired by my experiences at school, some by my own curiosity. Further, when I perform a detailed analysis and offer improvement suggestions, he takes them seriously and guides me toward implementing those which he sees are priority. I enjoy having earned the trust to act on my thoughts and learn from them.

The best part of my experiences has been the defined focus and goals that accompany each work term. They guide my projects, learning objectives, and overall efforts. All goals defined are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and tangible. This allows my progress to be measured, and it gives me confidence in progressing toward completion. In addition, the number of days is defined as far as how my time is divided toward each goal. This is especially helpful in allowing me to stay busy, not falling into a state of boredom and inactivity that plagues so many co-op experiences. With such a guide, I am able to find purpose in all that I do. I am not simply working; I am working toward something that makes a difference.

From my experience, I would like to share my personal lessons learned:

Insist on a focus – As stated above, a term focus has helped me greatly to get the most out of my time and effort. It provides a clear agreement of activity for you, the co-op student, and also defines how the company, and all its functions, will help you achieve your goals.

Explore all areas of a company – Time spent as a co-op is when you learn how your company, or how any company, works. There are many functions carried out by a firm, and understanding how they all interact is critical to understanding the company as a whole.

Get to know people – As a newcomer in any workplace, you gain credibility and trust by establishing good working relationships with and leaving a positive impression on people. Any work that you do will involve others, so it is very important that you establish positive relationships.

Use your eyes – Many people develop blind spots at work that are very easy to see as an outsider with a fresh set of eyes. By asking questions, you learn the processes and concepts while you question them at the same time. Old ways of doing things are brought into light, which, very often, are gold mines for improvement.

Be considerate – As a co-op student, you are not dealing with high school or college students, but rather professionals. You should maintain yourself as a patient, considerate person. You are still in school, and there may be theoretical concepts that you understand better than others in the workplace. However, there are undoubtedly many practices that you will not understand and to which you could object. Choose your forum wisely when you deal with the differences in knowledge levels. Some would say that it is as important to learn about how the company works as how office politics works.

Show enthusiasm – Find someone you admire for their work, or the way they do their work, and follow them closely. Take sincere interest in what they do, and ask how you can help. Put solid effort toward what you see as interesting and worthwhile. Now is the time to take advantage of the opportunities you come across. Do not close yourself off from them.

I feel fortunate to have discovered Kettering University with its great co-op program and Delta Systems Inc. the real-world opportunities. I know that these experiences are a very positive and influential part of my life. I want others to find similar real-world industry experiences where their passions can flourish and their potentials be realized. This isn’t merely about “getting ahead of the game,” but rather learning and growing where you are put on a higher level altogether.