Career and Co-op Ambassadors represent the Engineering Career Development Center (ECDC) at functions across UA’s campus and serve as peer advisors for students seeking professional development and experience. Co-op is open to all majors.
The Career and Co-op Ambassador team looks forward to connecting with you in classroom settings and in professional development events throughout the year. Please feel free to reach out to an Ambassador with relevant Co-op or Career questions via email. If you are interested in serving as a future Career and Co-op Ambassador, please reach out to Linley Wallin at lklane@ua.edu.
Drew is a senior mechanical engineering student, minoring in mathematics and manufacturing. He completed three rotations with GAF Materials Corporation (GAF) in their project engineering department. He oversaw several machine upgrades and equipment installations, where he gained practical leadership experience as the project lead. In addition to completing capital expenditure and technical reports, he gained international business experience by engaging with an Italian vendor for one of his projects at GAF. After graduation, he will be staying at The University of Alabama to pursue his MBA. His experience in co-op and his development in the STEM to MBA program led him to explore creating his own concentration for his MBA studies. Drew can offer insights on evaluating potential opportunities, taking classes during co-op, staying involved on campus, and networking.
Drew is available via email: apcasingal@crimson.ua.edu. He would love to share his experience and provide information on co-op with GAF, the STEM to MBA program, Crimson Racing Formula Student, the Engineering Career and Development Center, and life as an engineering major on campus.
Originally from Montgomery, Alabama, Hannah is a chemical engineering student and is minoring in liberal arts through the Blount Scholars Program. She is completing a co-op with SABIC in Burkville, Alabama. During her time at SABIC, her diverse project decks have allowed her to gain experience related to a variety of engineering fields such as production, process, environmental, maintenance, and reliability. She attributes her co-op to her extensive professional and personal growth, including her increased self-confidence and her improved problem-solving skills. Through the co-op program, Hannah has gained invaluable experience and made lifelong connections that will continue to contribute to her professional development. She is thankful that co-op has sparked a new, fresh passion in her for chemical engineering and her future career.
Hannah is available by email at hythomas@crimson.ua.edu. She can provide information on co-op for chemical engineering students, and can provide guidance for students who might be hesitant about co-op. She is also happy to answer questions for those interested in engineering or the Blount Scholars Program.
Aiden is a senior computer science student who has completed 3 rotations with Camgian, working at the Tuscaloosa branch under the software engineering team. While at Camgian, he gained valuable technical work experience in DevOps, integration, software engineering, and containerization. Additionally, he gained leadership experience while being the lead on a team spanning multiple projects that was tasked with integrating a software stack together in preparation for a product release. He was also a team lead on feature development, being tasked with updating the containerization approach used on a project and keeping senior management up to date with the results. Aiden took his technical and communicational skills learned from being a student and applied them to help solve problems in the CUAS industry.
Aiden can be reached at jacarroll4@crimson.ua.edu to help answer questions about the co-op program.
Morné is a senior Mechanical Engineering major who has completed three rotations with Mercedes-Benz U.S. International (MBUSI). During his time with MBUSI, he gained hands on experience in quality management and equipment planning. Through these roles, he learned valuable project management skills from the early planning stages through production quality tracking. Morné was able to form valuable connections throughout his time at MBUSI and gained a deeper understanding of his long-term goals in the manufacturing industry.
Morné is available by email at mgvanzyl@crimson.ua.edu. He can provide information regarding a co-op in the automotive industry and maintaining involvement on campus during co-op terms.
Airale is a Senior Electrical Engineering major who has completed three rotations with Southern Nuclear. She has worked in three engineering groups at two of Southern Nuclear’s electric generating plants. During her time as a co-op, she completed projects that centered around supporting reliable equipment and overall plant health. Working on these allowed her to apply lessons and skills that she’s learned as a student at UA. Outside of plant-specific work, she developed her leadership and soft skills by planning site tours and attending NAYGN programming. She also served on the Students of Southern Company executive board as the community service chair and the communications chair. Airale is thankful for the connections she has made during her co-op experience and she looks forward to returning to SNC as a full-time employee upon graduation.
Airale is available by email at awillie@crimson.ua.edu. She can offer insight into navigating campus involvement and Greek life while participating in the co-op program. She would also love to help anyone with questions about the co-op interview process.
Abbie is a computer science major who has completed two co-op rotations at the Mercedes-Benz production plant in Vance, Alabama. She has worked on the IT team and the Dangerous Goods team. Abbie is grateful for the opportunity to have worked with both of these teams, as they allowed her to get involved with many different types of projects. She gained experience working on projects related to her major and cross-departmental projects that serve as unique work experience for her future. Abbie values the work experience, confidence, and networking opportunities the co-op program has given her. She believes her co-op experience has shaped her into the person she is today and encourages everyone to fill out an application for the program.
Abbie can be reached at aajunkin@crimson.ua.edu. She can provide general information about the Co-Op Program and its benefits, as well as information regarding her experience working at MBUSI.
Mary is a civil engineering student who has completed three rotations with Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC in their Heavy Civil Division. Throughout her co-op, she gained experience in both construction project management and estimating, working in fields including wastewater treatment, industrial and aerospace construction, self-perform concrete, and soil rehabilitation and design. During her time at Brasfield & Gorrie, she was able to connect what she learned in the classroom to everyday occurrences on site and learn how to solve problems in time-pressing situations. She can provide advice on staying active in clubs and Greek Life while on co-op, and advice on finding out of state housing.
Mary can be contacted by email at mebounds@crimson.ua.edu. She can provide information about working in the general contracting and construction industry, and general advice for civil engineering students interested in co-op.
McKinley is a senior and is pursuing a double major in Chemical Engineering and German. She has completed three Co-op terms with International Paper at their Riverdale location, as well as an internship through the RISE program from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). While with International Paper, McKinley gained valuable leadership skills from coordinating many trials and process improvement projects within her department. In addition, her experience at International Paper prepared her for her internship through the DAAD, where she spent a summer researching at the University of Hamburg. During this summer, McKinley sharpened her soft skills as she lived and worked in a new culture and expanded her practical lab skills. The Co-op program has greatly enriched McKinley’s academic and professional career. She is grateful for all the opportunities it has already opened for her, and for the ones to come after graduation.
McKinley is available by email at mmhoffmann1@crimson.ua.edu. She can provide information about the Co-op program, Chemical Engineering, and working abroad.
Tate is a Civil Engineering major and STEM Path to MBA student completing his Co-Op with HPM. During his time with HPM, Tate worked in Mobile gaining valuable on-site construction management experience on the Airbus Final Assembly Line. He has continued refining program management skills with HPM’s Regions Bank team, and Planning department, and will be learning preconstruction and cost estimating this summer. Through his Co-Op experience, Tate was motivated in his course work by finding a career path that he loves. He has been aided in his graduate pursuits by working on his soft skills through real-world leadership opportunities that are otherwise hard to come by.
Tate is available by email at twduncan1@crimson.ua.edu.
Gibson is a Metallurgical Engineering student minoring in Mathematics who is completing his co-op with Nucor Steel here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In his time with Nucor, Gibson has primarily been focused on developing process improvements but has also worked on failure and corrosion analyses and environmental reporting all while gaining valuable knowledge and experience about the steelmaking process and continuous casting. During his work terms, Gibson was able to apply knowledge learned in the classrooms of the Capstone directly to problems and tasks at Nucor. Additionally, he was able to use information and practices learned on the job to his studies back here at UA.
Gibson is available by email at rgcheney@crimson.ua.edu and can provide information about local co-ops, navigating scholarships during co-op work terms, completing a co-op as a fraternity member, and co-op for metallurgical engineering students.
