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Dayton Engineer

Cooperative Education: Apply Your Engineering Knowledge

By Karen Updyke, School of Engineering, and Mary Harbach, Cooperative Education

Discover Cooperative Education at the University of Dayton School of Engineering where you’ll train in a chosen academic discipline, define career goals, acquire work experience, earn money for your education and ease transition from graduation to employment.
Fast Facts About UD Engineering Co-op
  • $11,000 — average cooperative education salary per semester
  • 30 percent — participation by eligible engineering students
  • 1974 — year Cooperative Education established at University of Dayton
Former Co-op Student, Eric Belcik, Chemical Engineering

Eric Belcik, a chemical engineering major from Wooster, Ohio, worked as a cooperative education student for five work terms at the Dannon Company in Minster, Ohio.

For three summers and two falls at Dannon, Belcik managed and implemented projects that helped with operations efficiency at the plant. He was also a member of Dannon's engineering and utilities teams.

Because of working for the same company for five work terms, Belcik gained an incredible amount of experience while completing projects from early financial preparation to plant installation and start-up.

When describing the benefits of his co-op, Eric said, “To anyone who is considering the co-op program, all I would have to say is, you have to do it. The benefits are clear and strong. Getting paid, making a difference at a company, getting your foot in the door at a company and learning what it is like to work five days a week, is information and experience that you would never get in the classroom. I could not recommend it enough. The co-op program has been one of the best experiences of not only my UD career but of my entire life. The people and the experiences made it all worthwhile.”

This fall as a fifth-year senior, Belcik returns to the University campus for his final year and is excited to apply his work knowledge to his senior capstone project.

Currently, Belcik is seeking a full-time chemical engineering position for after his May 2020 graduation. He would like his future to be at Dannon but believes that the skills he has learned through co-op and the classroom can be used anywhere. He stated in one of his final reports, “I would love to work for Dannon when I graduate but in no way feel that my time at Dannon has limited me to only working for this company.”

School of Engineering Cooperative Education Website and Contact

Click here to visit our engineering co-op website for more information: https://udayton.edu/engineering/connect/cooperative-education/index.php

Nancy Chase, director
School of Engineering Cooperative Education

University of Dayton
Kettering Laboratories Suite 503
300 College Park
Dayton, OH 45469-0252

937-229-2335
nchase1@udayton.edu

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