It’s a necessary part of the school year or summer: the internship. Meant to give you some real world experience in your chosen field, an internship can be both exciting and intimidating. As an intern, you could do any number of tasks or have any number of responsibilities. It’s not just being the stereotypical gopher, rushing around with everyone’s coffee. Interns sometimes help make decisions and have a say in their department.  Internships provide you with some of the experience necessary for finding a job in the future – and they look pretty good on a résumé.

Here at Gannon, internship opportunities are available in a number of fields, including health sciences and engineering. For engineering students, you may have the chance to work for a company like GE or LORD Corp. Jonathan Sacco, a senior mechanical engineering major, found his internship with LORD through a mock interview. The session was held in the Student Success Center and featured representatives from local engineering companies. After the initial interview, Sacco was asked to participate in a secondary interview with engineering managers and ultimately received the internship offer.

As an intern for LORD, Sacco works side by side with engineers who specialize in different aspects of aerospace engineering applications, including vibration and motion control. They are tasked with finding better ways to maintain vital equipment and electronics and keep them safe from vibrations in various circumstances.

Currently, Sacco manages a full-time class schedule and a part-time internship, like many other Gannon students.

Having an internship is one of the best ways to make sure your chosen field is the best fit for you. There are many different opportunities for internships – and maybe even post-graduation employment. You just have to look for them.