Unexpected Benefits of Co-op (Co-op FAQ #2)

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Visiting friends from co-op for Val’s sorority formal in Toledo
Q: What was your experience coming back to Purdue after a semester of co-op?

I finished my co-op the same week that many other Purdue students were finishing their final exams and getting ready for winter break. Like many of my friends, once I completed the last of my work for this rotation with GE Appliances, I headed home for winter break. I was excited to see my family as well as recharge and prepare for the upcoming semester back at Purdue.

I was unsure of what to expect coming back after being gone for four months. I didn’t know if the relationships that I had built in my freshman year would be the same when I came back. As the semester progressed, I found that my relationships with friends had changed, but for the better. Being apart from my friends made me realize how much I cherished them and resulted in us having a greater appreciation for our time together. Additionally, some of the friends I had made the previous semester while working, fellow GEA co-ops, were also Purdue students. I spent time with those friends throughout the school year and we built good memories with one another. We also made sure to visit our mutual friends from the rotation who lived in Ohio (pictured above)!

Looking back on this semester, my initial apprehensiveness to it was warranted. My old friendships had indeed changed and new friendships were strengthened. While this semester was not what I had imagined, I’m still very grateful that it turned out in the way it did and allowed me to become closer with the wonderful people that are in my life.

Q: Did you work on any projects during your co-op that involved your career interests?

During my rotation, I took on various shorter-duration projects as well as two longer projects. The shorter projects taught me a lot about how a large factory functions on a daily basis while the longer projects coincided with my interests more. After discussing with my manager, we decided my first project would support my strengths as well as educate me in fields that I had expressed interest. We quickly found something that fit what we had discussed and I began work on this project within my first month at the company. My second project was presented by an employee looking for a number of co-ops to collaborate with him. The project had emphasis on one of my potential career paths so I opted to join the team.

The two projects were not directly related and had ties to different fields: data collection methods/analysis in the first and logistics/optimization in the second. Both these areas are interests of mine and these projects helped me pinpoint exactly why these fields sparked my intrigue.

Alongside the experience I gained through the responsibilities of my role, this rotation with GEA gave me the opportunity to dive into my targeted fields and laid the groundwork for my developing career.


Samantha Lu, Industrial Engineering '22
Recruitment Project Committee

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