Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

Twisthink Co-op Part 1

Christopher
Major: Electrical Engineering During this semester I worked on vision system projects, test setups, Wi-Fi pattern testing, board modifications and component tests. Since Twisthink is a consulting firm, it gave me the opportunity to work on a variety of different projects for a variety of companies. For the vision system projects I ran tests with multiple camera captures and wrote a variety of MATLAB scripts to analyze the results and modify the images. This also involved a lot of data formatting and developing file structures. For the test setups I build and evaluated setups for Wi-Fi pattern testing and fluid water sensing. I also did a lot of Wi-Fi pattern testing to determine the best locations for Wi-Fi board and external antennas on appliances. This involved mass data collection, data analysis, board programming and board modifications. Over the course of the semester I assisted in the rebuilding and redesign of the test platform that we currently used for Wi-Fi testing. Finally I did a lot of board modifications that included working under the microscope to change resistors, rewiring board and making a variety of harnesses.

Mechanical Engineering Intern

Chad
Major: Mechanical Engineering My tasks often revolved around continuous improvement of Genesis' production processes. This has provided me with projects that vary largely in scope and purpose. I have spent some time doing time studies to see where time is lost or there is some inefficiency and how the process could be enhanced or changed to make it more efficient and quicker if possible. I have spent some time designing and fabricating carts or racks to hold materials, parts, or finished products. As the semester progressed, I was given more complicated projects to work on. A couple of those more complex projects were fixtures that are actually part of one of Genesis' new productions cells and they are to help make the process more efficient.

Dematic Co-Op I

Tanner
Major: Mechanical Engineering During my time at Dematic I have worked on a wide variety of engineering tasks. I work primarily on the Walmart Mechanical Engineering team which focuses on the design of conveying and sortation systems for Walmart Distribution Centers. I have also had the opportunity to work on the Amazon Mechanical Engineering team which specializes in the design of conveying and sortation systems for Amazon Fulfillment Centers. My responsibilities at Dematic have been diverse. The majority of my time is spent on AutoCAD and Maestro, two of Dematic's primary CAD programs. Using these programs I spend time developing and updating drawings. I have worked on system layout drawings which describe the system's design in detail, and have also worked on installation drawings. These installation drawings are sent to Dematic's installation teams on jobsites to guide them through the installation process of the new systems. I have also spent time assisting lead project engineers with their project needs.

Testing ,Testing, 123

Tom
Major: Electrical Engineering My work at L3 was focused on Test Engineering and the rigorous testing process which aviation products have to go through. Software work was emphasized as much of the mechanical/ electrical aspect of the design is taken care of by the initial engineering team as the products are designed. Work towards a "station test box, test" was the bulk of the work done during the co/op. This involved building intricate knowledge of the circuits and signals involved in the testing of a set of products as well as working with software to send and receive specific in order to check their validity.

Co-op Rotation 1

Collin
Major: Electrical Engineering The work was very software focused with most hardware work being more basic, systems level analysis. I worked on creating new test engineering software packages as well as assisting in updates to existing software. However, the nature of what the software was being written for still necessitated an understanding of electrical engineering concepts.

IPM Co-Op I

Gavin
Major: Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering I have had previous experience with IPM outside of my first co-op, so I was able to hit the ground running with some new product development projects. As a Co-Op/Intern, you are expected to complete the full suite of task that any of the engineers would complete, including, but not limited, working with sales and project management to clearly define goals of the project, work with fellow engineers (both within your field of focus and not) to design a product or portion of an automated system utilizing Computer Aided Design, deliver manufactured components to mechanical assembly with the assistance of internal purchasing agents and local machine shops, a support the assembly and installation of designed equipment. Throughout the experience, the projects are "owned" by you, and you are responsible for every facet of the design, including attending important information gathering meetings, the ordering of components, and the support of testing and debugging equipment. However, your fellow engineers, as well as nearly the entire IPM staff are incredibly friendly and willing to help and answer any question you may have about the job function you are performing. Co-Op students complete work very independently, with knowledgeable and friendly people available to help facilitate learning in a team focused environment.

Great Place to Grow

Logan
Major: Electrical Engineering Quality control projects for production lines. Improvements in the production efficiency. Prototyping for off-road vehicle lighting.

Controls Engineering Co-op

Collin
Major: Electrical Engineering My day to day activities included designing system layouts of control devices necessary to the operation of the system, drawing these systems in AutoCAD, and the documentation to support these installations. Once the system design and schematics are complete, the software has to be written for the programmable logic controller so it can correctly processes the input and output devices previously added.

Internship with Heartland Hospice

Elizabeth
Major: Integrative Studies As a hospice volunteer, I was asked to attend weekly Interdisciplinary Group meetings (IDG) to stay current on the status of patients. This included new patients, those who were nearing the end of life and those who had died since the previous meeting. I attended two senior expos where I was asked to assist in sharing information with the public about services provided by Heartland and to educate people about the importance of making end-of-life decisions before a health crisis or terminal diagnosis presents itself. Hospice care isn't only about dying--it's about fully living the remaining days of one's life. I was treated as a member of the team and was involved with home visits to patients and their families, as well as to families whose loved one had recently died. I was part of a small team which coordinated with a local grief support organization to develop a gardening project for children in mourning. This was a summer-long project in which children attended sessions to plant, tend and grow flowers and vegetables as a mechanism for grieving.

Network Engineering for an ISP

Chad
Major: Computer Engineering My job has been to help support both the internal network for HBPW use as well as the external network for customers. I have done a lot of work in bringing up the network at the new power plant in Holland. I have also worked on upgrading current network infrastructure to provide resiliency. I also have done work with setting up the network monitoring and alert system.

Tapping the Hidden Passion

Chit Zin
Major: Information Systems Tasks I have involved: " Activate Directory configuration for policy " Test Access control profile of Palo Alto firewall " User Access deployment " Writing script " Observe testing of Wildfire feature to forward suspicious file in traffic to Palo Alto lab " Testing Workspace as cloud based client " Learn how to troubleshoot PostgreSQL server and grant user limited access to specific tables " Check the URL filtering policy applied to Amazon workspaces instances " Certificate management of Windows system on Amazon workspaces server " Configure Amazon IAM " Configure the Amazon API Gateway I mainly involved in infrastructure development projects. My first project with cloud systems engineers, on standardizing user access control by using Active Directory configuration. This allowed me to observe the active directory on Amazon web service has the equal abilities to the locally hosted server. Beside it needs some caveats in configuration, it has major advantages in eliminating overhead without forgoing redundancy and performance. This assured me that the cloud-based infrastructure was fully dependable and increasingly become the option for new days' business with dynamic environment. Another project I worked on was creating parallel patching script for open sources. I used python and bash shell for this project. This project helped me reinvigorated my knowledge on scripting and horned my skill in debugging. The last project that I involved was developing Amazon lambda function to run and stop the EC2 instances.

Fáilte go hÉireann (Welcome to Ireland)

Gerrit
Major: Allied Health Sciences I worked on a wide variety of tasks and projects in my time at TURAS. My supervisor aptly said that there is no such thing as a 'typical day at TURAS.' Each day had different tasks to complete and matters to attend to. My role on paper was to help the Tutors, but this took on many forms. I often supervised breaks, sat in on sessions, and prepared rooms for sessions, but I also served as a photographer and cameraman on occasion, helped students write their resumes, and even helped to carry boats that the students made from scratch.

Co-op Rotation 1 at SAF-Holland

Erich
Major: Mechanical Engineering I aided in a research project to develop the best steel coating in the industry; made conceptual designs for a potential new product; design changes to current products; learned to weld and plasma cut, among many other things, working in the test lab; and lead tests on my own. All the work I did was meaningful; it was never busywork.

Gateway to learning Electronics

Brad
Major: Electrical Engineering The electronics lab was responsible for a large portion of the testing equipment used on the production floor. The most popular testing unit is known as the "lunch box" these are small boxes that allow the user to power a tail lamp and test the functionality of each lamp. Each of the boxes are built for a specific model of lamp, meaning that there are hundreds scattered around the plant. I was given the task to build these as well as maintain them when they broke. I also build more advanced testing units known as "smart lamps" these lamps allowed for individual LED control and were programmed with a micro controller. Throughout this rotation I specifically worked on the Ford Edge and the Ford Mustang.

Interning for The Black Sheep

Emily
Major: Writing For this internship, I wrote weekly articles to The Black Sheep's standards and helped promote them on social media.

Regional Intern

Dayna
Major: Political Science As an intern in the Rochester office, I was tasked with answering phones, sending emails, going through newspapers and pulling out interesting stories/events, processing business cards, outreach programs and writing letters to individuals who are being recognized for an accomplishment or a promotion.

Wilderness Tripping Leader

Kat
Major: Sport Management I was responsible for planning and leading a 14 day backpacking trip to Isle Royale National Park in the waters of Lake Superior. I planned a program for my participants that was focused around self and group awareness growth goals. I maintained the health and safety of the group during the trip and provided a foundation that fostered self-sufficiency among the participants. Off trail, I completed property maintenance, gear repair and various community tasks as needed.

Small Business Experience Matters Too

Julia
Major: Advertising & Public Relations Besides every day basic tasks like: checking all the social media and brief customer service, we did two projects during my internship. The first was a Mother's Day marketing project where we promoted a sale on our special Spring tote bags. The second is currently in production, and it is the story of Porteen Gear. IT will be a long video, and a series of short ones, going over the impact Porteen Gear has had on its employees, customers, and venders.

2017 First Engineering Co-op

Anthony
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked on creating 3D graphics for the Hydronic and Air Handler system's controls we implemented as an interface for the customer we were working for. This way they could easily monitor their equipment from one central site without it being confusing.

Co-Op at Johnson Controls

Dan
Major: Electrical Engineering I am responsible for process development. I completed electrical schematics for a conveyor oven and developed a laser weld for hermetic sealing of lithium ion cells.

Steelcase Summer

Janelle
Major: Computer Engineering Each week, I was required to update software for the plant system. Each section in the plant had a "Golf ball" HMI. The plant user had to choose certain components on the screen and the program shows if the part in front of them matches what components it is supposed to have. In other words, says if the part was built correctly. I also wrote new parameters for barcode scanners as a creative new input method. I also changed C++ based code that creates the labels for reports which incorporates SQL language. The biggest part of my impact was when I led a project that creates shipping boxes. The boxes are built so that there is minimal waste. Through code, I had to analyze the size of our products and calculate which size of boxes would fit the most products as well as create minimal waste. In addition, I gained experience working with RFID barcodes and TCP connections.

GVSU Athletics Intern

Caity
Major: Sport Management We were responsible of running all the promotions during the sporting events at GVSU. We also helped promote and market the games to the students as well as the community outside of GV.

ME 2017 First Coop

Tim
Major: Mechanical Engineering Primary projects i worked on were two innovation projects, some quality testing for various programs, and a wide variety of miscellaneous non-PDP development.

Grand Rapids Griffins Youth Foundation Internship

Chase
Major: Sport Management I helped in the planning and the organization of the Great Skate Winterfest. Helped to organize, plan, and set up for the foundations Career Day. Created a comprehensive end-of-year survey for parents and kids, and then broke down the results and data, and presented it to the board of directors. I helped to find grant opportunities for the foundation. I also did research and statistical preparation for Griffins game day radio broadcasts.

Arconic (APP) - 2nd Rotation

Clark
Major: Mechanical Engineering I worked in the Research & Development department, so my range of tasks was diverse. As a mechanical engineer I got to design bucket elevators, guarding, fixtures, and several small projects along the way. I was also involved in some small automation projects and was introduced to robots and the logic behind them.