What is a Co-Op?
Cooperative Education is a full time, temporary employment program that gives college students the opportunity to have first hand experience within a full time job. The professional practice and ultimate understanding of what it is like to work inside your field of study not only helps with classes and projects, but allows you to have the kind of experience that applicants are looking for when hiring.
At Wentworth Institute of Technology, the required and supported program is said to be one of the most comprehensive co-op programs in the nation. Wentworth starts a student’s Co-op journey by offering a 7 week Co-op institute seminar that prepares the student for interviews, assists in the creation of portfolios and guides the student to use resume techniques.. The community gains its hardworking and experienced reputation from this very program. Having at least 2 years professional work experience is a great tool to have for when the student is looking for full time jobs after graduation.
Check out Wentworth’s Virtual Tour here. The Co-op and Career’s Center is featured on the tour!
Co-op/ Class Schedule
Many people get confused when talking about the Co-op schedule and how it fits in with our classes, but it is actually a very simple schedule when you look at the big picture. All majors are different when it comes to their academic schedule, but for an Interior Design major, my schedule looks something like this
First Year (Freshman)
Fall Semester – Class
Spring Semester – Class
Second Year (Sophomore)
Fall Semester – Class
Spring Semester – Class
Summer Semester – Co-op (Optional)
Third Year (Junior)
Fall Semester – Class
Spring Semester – Co-op Work Semester 1
Summer Semester – Class
Fourth Year (Senior)
Fall Semester – Co-op Work Semester 2
Spring Semester – Class
Summer Semester – Class
Wentworth takes advantage of the Summer semester, which is what allows the Co-op Program to not disrupt the typical 4 year program that most colleges and universities follow. Many people might disagree with having a summer semester of class or work, but the benefits that come out of the Co-op program have long-term rewards regarding a student’s professional career.
Currently, I am on Co-op and am in my Summer Semester of my Sophomore year. Before I got to this point, I had to start to prepare for my next steps. Knowing that I wanted to have a Co-op for the summer, I enrolled in the spring course of the Co-op Institute class and started to meet frequently with my Co-op and academic advisors. Conveniently, I was also enrolled in a presentation techniques class in the spring semester that helped me with my portfolio and resume design.
When my resume and portfolio were perfected, It was time to start applying for Co-ops and getting my name out to companies in my field of study. One of the best parts of the Co-op program at Wentworth is that they put on a Co-ops and Careers Fair where companies can set up a booth and meet students who are actively applying for full time jobs or internships. At the Co-op and Career fair, I made it a priority to network with as many people that I possibly could.
Around the same time, I got news that Silverman Trykowski Associates was looking to hire a co-op student for a summer internship. Right as I got the news I immediately applied, sent my resume, and waited to hear back from STA. Moments later, Felice Silverman emailed back and asked if I could come in for an interview. Since this was my first interview in a professional workplace related to my major, I was undoubtedly nervous but also extremely excited! Walking into STA, I knew that this would be one of the most interesting and amazing experiences that I could have ever asked for. Once I interviewed, I was accepted into the team of incredible interior designers, architects, project managers and more. Everyone at STA, even from the beginning, has been so welcoming, understanding, and helpful throughout my Co-op journey.
One of my goals for my co-op experience was to continue my education further outside the classroom. Although simple, I completed my goal way beyond what I was expecting. I gained valuable skills and knowledge from this co-op that will help me in my future classes and career. Meeting clients, talking through projects and having the opportunity to be so hands on with everything that STA was doing, was really helpful in guiding my understanding of what goes on behind the scenes of a great project.
Another goal that I wanted to accomplish was to further explore problem solving within design. I wanted to experience the true process behind every decision. As I achieved this goal throughout my co-op, I could tell that my time management skills, and my patience developed into strong traits of mine. I was lucky enough to be put on the task of creating multiple project proposals which required me to carry out the ideas that Felice and David would ask of me. With a deadline and a strict list of required content, it could have been easy for me to lose patience and get frustrated, but I was able to stay calm and complete the process by focusing on time management! A final decision for a project cannot be rushed. It might take many revisions to come to a final product, but in the end, It always seemed to be worth it.
My last goal was to become apart of a community, or in this case, a team! Within the workplace, I believe that being part of a community and having that culture with people you are working with is extremely important. This goal of mine could not have been completed without the constant support of the STA team. Through living labs, tech talks, lunch & learns, and field trips we were able to come together as an office and discuss projects, life events and other topics. Being part of a community in the office was one of the most important things to me, and I definitely felt apart of one.
-Lindsey
