Students Success Stories :

Alan T. Freeman
Major: Electrical Engineer
Employer: Naval Research Laboratory
Location: Washington, D.C.

Why did you choose to participate in a co-op/internship?

I participated in the co-op for a couple reasons. One was because I wanted some time away from school. It was nice to be able to take a break from homework and it was awesome to have weekends to do what I wanted. Two, I wanted to work in a lab to see if that is where I wanted to work in the future.

What are the benefits of working in an engineering co-op/internship position?

The benefit for me is 40 hours a week of hands on lab experience. While lab classes at Maryland are valuable you do not have very much freedom to play the “I wonder what would happen if I did this….?” game. While playing that game (within reason) at NRL I have learned a lot about antennas and RF electronics. Another benefit is working with very expensive highly precise equipment that one will only see in a professional lab.  I was also learned that my major was the right pick for me. 



How has this experience enhanced your academic experience and/or shaped your career goals?

This experience has proven to me that I would like to work in a laboratory environment for my full time job. I enjoy the fact that I get to research, design and build pieces of equipment. It is a great feeling when something your have worked on for 1 month works flawlessly for a demo you are giving to your boss. I have also worked in a cubicle type environment for 2 summers and I found myself watching the clock most days.



Was there anything unique about your experience that you can share with us?

In mid April we went to Orange VA for one week to do distance testing with our transponders. The transponder that I help build was tested the first two days and functioned correctly. For the next two days for ~7 hours a day I was sent up in a 4 seat airplane with my transponder. For most of the time it was just me and the pilot. We were flying a circular pattern over my co workers, who were operating the radios to test the communication link. Again, it is very satisfying feeling to have something that you spent months tinkering with operate correctly.