We are so excited in the Engineering Career Development and Co-op office. If you stop in to see us, you’ll see groups of students milling around, turning in co-op reports and signing up for practice interviews. The first few weeks of the fall semester we are processing about 416 students coming in and out of our doors.
226 of those students are just starting the co-op seminar. They are super excited and nervous about where their co-op position is going to be. For many of them, they will have their first professional interviews, write their first professional resumes, attend their first career fair and for some, this will be their first real job!
190 of those students are coming back in to turn in their final co-op reports. You can tell which students they are; it’s amazing to see how co-op has transformed them. There is a lot of growth that happens in those three co-op rotations. They come back more self-confident, more mature. They have stronger technical and interpersonal skills. There is a marked improvement in communication and professional interaction. Not every co-op is a perfect placement, but every co-op presents a great opportunity for growth.
This semester we are preparing the largest group of first time co-ops that we have ever had. It IS an exciting time in the co-op office and I haven’t even mentioned the numbers for career fair yet. So far we have 55 employers registered for the Oct 2nd career fair! But more about THAT later…
UofL Engineering 