Engineering in Practice

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Cassidy Viox (ME ‘22) and Joanna McCormack (CE ‘21) are both involved in the Women in Engineering Program and had summer internships in the field of engineering. While Purdue Engineering opens many doors to its students, Cassidy and Joanna had very different, yet valuable, experiences that prepared them for future jobs, classes, and projects. Each of them found their respective opportunities in different ways, which shows that there are multiple courses of action to take when searching for the perfect internship. 


Joanna:


This summer, I had an incredible experience working for AECOM at O’Hare International Airport. I worked as a Transportation Engineering Intern located at the Chicago Department of Aviation on the O’Hare Modernization Program. There, I was exposed to many different career paths within Aviation Engineering. I went to weekly meetings for different bid packages of projects being done on the airfield, such as new runways, taxiways, holding pads, aircraft hangers, and more. I was very fortunate to be able to meet different companies working there as well, increasing my professional network. Being there, I realized how interested I was in working on airports as a Civil Engineer. I loved the idea that going out onto the field for me meant being so close to planes taking off and landing- it was incredible. It is very eye-opening to see all the different aspects of planning that go into projects that most people don’t even come across. There were large construction firms, transportation design firms, consulting firms, as well as environmental firms and more. I realized that my opportunities ranged way beyond what met the eye. I think a misconception of going into an engineering discipline is limiting the kind of work you do when you specialize. However, this made me realize the opposite- that within a project are different tasks, with different tasks are different companies, and within companies there are many different roles. Overall, this summer was an experience I would not trade for anything, and I am lucky that Purdue’s Civil Career fair led me to have this internship.

Cassidy: 


Last summer I participated in a research internship at the University of Missouri (MU). At the time, I was a freshman and I knew that a lot of companies wouldn’t hire first year students. Originally, I went door to door back in my hometown of Columbia, Missouri and dropped off physical copies of my resume. I went online to find local opportunities for engineers because I knew it would be nice to stay at home for the summer and live with my parents for free. I ended up applying for some research programs at MU even though I didn’t know much about the job or research in general. By April, I heard back from MU regarding my acceptance into their REU NSF Creative Approaches to Materials Design program that was part of their Bioengineering department. The application process required no interviews or follow-ups and was relatively easy compared to the multiple interviews that some of my other peers completed. The program was 8 weeks long and was paid by stipend, and included many evening activities and opportunities to meet other engineering students from around the world. I was originally discouraged when I was applying to bigger industry companies and I wasn’t hearing back, but in hindsight, the research program was a great stepping stone for me and was a great learning experience. I would encourage anyone having trouble with finding industry internships to research REU programs nationally or other funded programs. These opportunities are generally less competitive, allowing flexible hours, and come with benefits such as a non-taxable stipend and free housing. While this wasn’t what I had in mind originally for my summer, it was the best opportunity for me at the time and has made me more qualified for new opportunities this upcoming summer.
Cassidy Viox (ME ‘22) & Joanna McCormack (CE ‘21)
Recruitment Project Committee

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Purdue Women in Engineering

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