The July Co-op Student of the Month winner, Jacob Pence , was on an Engineering Co-op during the spring and continuing on into the fall with Hamilton Sundstrand in Rockford, Illinois. Pence found that his co-op experience challenged him to use the engineering skills he learned at NIU and allowed him to develop new skills. In his words, "Everyday at work, I directly apply skills I have learned from my electrical engineering courses to design and assist the engineers at Hamilton Sundstrand…This session, I have designed, analyzed and constructed digital systems and tested analog circuits." In regards to learning new skills, Pence states, "The most extensive new skill I developed was programming in VHDL (Very high speed Hardware Description Language). VHDL is, put simply, used to describe a digital system like a computer program and then place it in a chip in the form of digital logic gates. When I first started at HS, I did not know anything about VHDL. With the help of my team leader, however, I was able to pick up the basics very quickly, and I was soon working alongside the other engineers in my team."
Pence also learned more than just technical skills during his co-op. As he states, "I have learned how to function as an engineer in a large corporation. The paperwork and meetings that are an everyday part of the job for a real engineer are not taught in the classroom." He also learned to refine his communication and teamwork skills. In his words, "After testing one of the designs in my group, I must communicate effectively to the engineer who designed the particular component what happened during the test and could be improved…I also have to take technical instruction from the engineers in my group."
One of the most important aspects of Pence's co-op experience was the opportunity to find role models in his engineering career. His team leader at Hamilton Sundstrand provided this modeling. As he states, "Not only has Mr. Drager been instructive and encouraging, but has also filled the void of an engineering role model for me. Before my co-op session, I did not know a successful engineer I could model myself after. Having Mr. Drager's experience to draw from has been invaluable in plotting my future career and academic future."
Pence credits the NIU Co-op Internship Program for helping find his co-op work experience. Having transferred to NIU from a community college, he visited their office right away. After refining his resume and exploring job possibilities with the engineering coordinator, Angela Cline, Pence still found that he did not fit what the employers were looking for at the time. The engineering coordinator then steered him to attend the next NIU Internship Career Fair. As Pence states, this move brought success, "At the Fair, I gave my resume to Hamilton Sundstrand engineer Paul Peterson. During the ensuing conversation, I made a good enough impression for him to highly recommend me to the HR managers in charge of hiring new co-ops. Not long after that, I was interviewed and hired as a co-op engineer at Hamilton Sundstrand."
Barry Drager, Project Engineer at Hamilton Sundstrand and Pence's team leader, praised Pence's work, "Over the course of the past two months, Jake has demonstrated an ability to understand technical problems, a willingness to learn new skills, and the ability to function in a teaming environment. I consider these skills to be very important to engineers here at Hamilton Sundstrand. His performance to date has been exceptional, and he has become a valued member of the Hamilton Sundstrand JSF team. I look forward to working with him for the remainder of this session as well as in the future."
Mansour Tahernezhadi, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Northern Illinois University, also praises Pence's academic performance as he states, "I have come to know Jacob as my student in ELE 315—Signal and Systems—class…Based on direct observation through class and after-class interactions, I found Jacob to be a highly motivated student who always has a keen interest to relate theories advanced in the class to real-life practical problems, especially those related to his co-op experience. He also impressed me by his acute alertness towards inter-dependencies of seemingly unrelated subject matters. This is as a result of his philosophical interpretation of ideas advanced during lecture."
June winner, Benjamin C. Ogle, spent his summer working with the Chicago Field Division of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which operates within the Department of Justice. Ogle was assigned to assist a special agent and forensic auditor on an ongoing conspiracy and fraud case. As he states, "Due to my involvement in the case I was cleared by the Justice Department to view grand jury information…I provided assistance in the form of basic office duties and the photocopying of subpoenaed evidence. The auditor I worked with charged me with the creation of a number of data spreadsheets containing information I had drawn from documents attained by the ATF. Finally, I completed my internship with the basic analysis of financial information subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney's office. These activities were meaningful, beneficial to those I was working for, and provided me with a great deal of insight into federal law enforcement."
Ogle's internship also allowed him to see the connection between his academic field of study, political science, and the workings of an executive branch of the federal government. He states, "How governments enforce laws and regulations is a key attribute of the study of politics. This internship proved an informative window into the everyday workings of a federal agency charged with such a task. While it is possible to learn of these activities from a textbook or lecture, it is impressive to see firsthand how an investigation is conducted."
Ogle was also impressed by the amount of resources that are accessed during even one investigation. Regarding this he states, "The special agent and auditor contacted other organizations such as the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Internal Revenue Service, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, Chicago police and fire units, the State Department, insurance agencies, banks, and other sources of information. Furthermore, an investigation of this nature required major time commitments. When I began my internship the special agent informed me he had worked the case for a year, and expected it to continue for possibly another year before prosecution began. Such realizations could only have been attained through an internship."
Ogle was also enthusiastic about the networking opportunities his internship with ATF has provided, as well as their efforts to help him prepare for a career in federal work. He states, "This internship will allow me to be kept in the loop about openings, as well as potential jobs as a contract employee. Indeed, many of the employees I met there were former intern program graduates…Many of the ATF personnel offered to serve as references for me…Finally, the program supervisors conducted two mock job interviews. These events allowed the interns to experience a realistic panel interview environment, after which we were critiqued on our responses, body language, and presentation."
Finally, Ogle attributes his success in obtaining his internship to the Northern Illinois University's assistance, saying, "It is unlikely I would have discovered this opportunity without the NIU Co-op/Internship office. I found the internship announcement on the Co-op website and received the application from them. Additionally, the internship fair provided me with the chance to interview with other organizations, unrelated to the ATF, which provided me with experience I could use in my interview with ATF."
Sylvia Smuszkiewicz, Senior Operations Officer of the Chicago Field Division of the ATF, praised Ogle's work by stating, "Ben was outstanding. He always showed professionalism, determination, conscientiousness, attention to detail and a work ethic that was extraordinary. He was a productive member of an investigative team…Ben was always responsive to any work assignment…independently worked assignments…demonstrated extremely effective oral communication skills." Smuszkiewicz went on to give Ogle the highest compliment an intern can receive by saying, "Ben's mentor commented that if he had the power to hire Ben right now as a special agent, he would. Overall, Ben would be an asset to any federal agency or private sector organization that would have the good fortune of hiring him. He has shown that he can and will take every step to do the best possible job."
Vicki Clarke, Masters in Public Administration Coordinator at Northern Illinois University, familiar with Ogle's academic work, comments, "Mr. Ogle completed an internship this past summer with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), one of our most prestigious internships available to political science students. As a part of the Internship in Political Science course I teach, he wrote a fine paper on arson investigation within the ATF. Not only did Mr. Ogle demonstrate his enthusiasm in securing this internship, but also he was a fine representative of Northern Illinois University. His supervisor, Ms. Sylvia Smuszkiewicz, noted that in the short time he was at ATF, he was doing ‘high grade analysis.' His outstanding analysis was equally evident in his written work."
The August Co-op Student of the Month winner is Ashlie Verhaeghe , an NIU Corporate Communication major who held a summer internship with State Farm Insurance in Geneva, Illinois. Verhaeghe was primarily hired to assist the Geneva State Farm staff in clerical functions. However, it became evident that she was capable of service and marketing functions as well. As her supervisor, State Farm Agent Richard Lewis, states, "In her new role, Ashlie became our ‘ambassador of first impressions.'" Verhaeghe took up this new role with enthusiasm as she describes, "I completed every marketing campaign I was assigned as best as I could, and the positive results and new business our office received was great reinforcement."
Verhaeghe also saw how her internship was extending her academic education. She states in this regard, "I not only learned about the workplace and corporate communication from this position, but I also learned about myself—all of which I would have never learned in the classroom. I saw how I handled tough situations and perfected my multi-tasking skills…I now have a working knowledge and feel for what it is like to be part of a large organization. I worked with the regional and corporate offices on a daily basis and witnessed my education being put to use everyday…I don't know of a better way to spend a summer and get class credit!"
Another benefit Verhaeghe experienced through her internship with State Farm was refinement of her career goals. She states, "This internship has reinforced my career goal of wanting to work in the insurance business, as I saw that every day was different and each new day brought about fresh situations. I learned more about insurance that I thought was possible in one summer! My internship has given me the motivation to work as hard as I can to get where I want to be. I would love to work one day in a State Farm corporate office on a marketing team because I have seen how effective State Farm's marketing campaigns are…"
Verhaeghe also speaks about the competitive edge she will have as a result of her internship work experience, "The competitive edge I have from my internship will certainly pay off in my classes and when I apply for jobs in the not so distant future…My cooperation skills were tested and further developed as I worked and communicated with my supervisor, coworkers, and customers…I now have a working knowledge and feel for what it is like to be part of a large organization…I am better prepared for and more confident about my future career."
Richard Lewis, State Farm Agent and Verhaeghe's supervisor, describes how her internship evolved, "I have been a State Farm agent for more than 30 years. I have an office staff of seven associates, and we service more than 9,000 policies…and we have recently added banking and mutual funds to our product offerings. It is a complicated business and to become a productive member of the staff normally requires a learning curve of at least two years. As such, I was somewhat skeptical of how much value we could realize from adding a short-term summer intern. Nevertheless, I decided to take a chance and offer Ashlie a position…to support my seasoned staff as a clerical assistant. However, it soon became evident that her intelligence, work ethic, and determination to succeed would quickly transform a position of marginal importance to a very valuable service/marketing specialist."
Lewis goes on to describe the complexity of Verhaeghe's duties ending with praise of the highest order, "In addition, she was the primary originator and contact person for both vertical prospecting within our current client files and new prospect initiatives. The methods and structure she developed in this area are so good that we have adopted them as part of our ongoing office procedures…Ashlie has exceeded expectations in every regard. As a representative of the NIU Cooperative Education/Internship Program, she could not have done a finer job or left a better impression…she was a joy to work with, and we hope she will return next summer."
Kathleen S. Valde, Assistant Professor in NIU's Department of Communication, comments on Verhaeghe's academic work, "Ashlie was a student in my Organizational Communication course, and she was an exemplary student. She was consistently one of the highest performers in the course. Ashlie distinguished herself from many of her classmates with her ongoing attention to assigned readings and ensuring that she understood the ways in which concepts and ideas were interrelated an/or related to real-life experience…Ashlie was also a member of the group that wrote the best team paper last semester…Beyond the quality of the paper, what stood out about Ashlie and this group was their ability to work together…In essence, Ashlie's team showed an ability to put into practice the skills they had read about in the chapter on team communication for this course."
Valde goes on to praise Verhaeghe's enthusiasm and interest in the subject matter of organizational communication based on her request to become an undergraduate teaching assistant for the course in the fall. Valde comments, "I believe her attention to the details of lecture and readings, as well as her interest in exploring how theories and concepts apply to real world experiences, make her an ideal teaching assistant for this course. In this role, she will have the opportunity to share her learning with other students and to develop leadership skills…"