My Third Co-op Experience

The strength of RIT’s cooperative education program was one of the primary reasons why I applied and ultimately attended RIT. Earning genuine professional experience while still being a student has broadened my breadth of knowledge as an engineer, significantly bolstered my resume, and allowed me to grow as a person. These developments helped me secure a spring and summer co-op as a transportation engineering intern at Erdman Anthony. This is my third and final co-op block in my program schedule before I graduate in May 2026. 

Working at Erdman Anthony has been everything I wanted out of an engineering internship. I immediately dived into the projects I would be supporting on my first day. There was no twiddling my thumbs while waiting to be assigned work. They had a project outlined for me, how I could start contributing, and where to find all the files on their drives. It was a welcome start in comparison to my previous internships, which took weeks before I was working on projects in a meaningful way.

Not only am I working on drafting designs and plans, but I’m working on the permitting, specification, and bid processes for these projects as well. From start to finish, I’m gaining experience in all facets of a project. Asking questions has been highly encouraged, and I have had a lot of them. I am extremely grateful for my colleagues, especially Jordan Lindaman, who have patiently answered my questions and taught me so much in the short time that I’ve worked here so far.

My quality of life is very solid. The commute to the office from RIT is only 20 minutes at worst, and I’m given flexibility on my start time if I work 8 hours. While this might sound like a strange thing to mention, the office space has overhead windows to allow natural light in. This makes the office space feel livelier and not a stable brown or fluorescent white. My cubicle also has a lot of real estate; I can stand up and extend both of my arms out and I won’t hit anything around me. I have used this extra space to my advantage to take miniature stretching breaks during the day, as I’m sitting down for long periods of time.

Beyond the work, there have been multiple opportunities to get involved in the company. A social committee runs events within the office once a month, and I’ve joined their meetings to contribute ideas. I have been invited out to company happy hours and an employee appreciation party hosted by LASERTRON. I feel like I’ve been accepted as a complete member of the team, regardless of my status as an intern. Additionally, I am highly grateful for the ability to write this blog and exercise my creative writing skills. Engineers are not typically known for their communication abilities, so I am taking full advantage of sharpening my writing skills to distinguish myself.

At the time of writing this blog, I have completed two months of my co-op period. I will be employed here until August 2025, and then I will return to RIT for one more year of classes before I graduate in May 2026. I am excited about the work I’m doing and looking forward to the potential opportunities I will have during the rest of my co-op!