Category: Student Stories

Today’s Student Employee Spotlight is our very own Front Desk Employee, Sidney! Sidney is a fifth-year Mechanical Engineering Student from Midland, MI.

At Career Services, Sidney assists with all things career prep. She also works reception and assists the staff in working with students. Besides that, Sidney is always willing to help with anything and has become a valued member of the team.

Her favorite memories while working at Career Services are dancing to Queen with the coworkers when closing on a Friday, and the graduation parties that we put on when student workers graduate!

Outside of the office, Sidney is involved with her sorority, Delta Phi Epsilon, and is the president of the Advanced Metalworks enterprise. In the fall, Sidney will start a full-time position at Cardinal Glass in Madison, WI.

We are very happy to have Sidney on the team, and we know she’ll do great things!

Today’s Student Employee Spotlight is one of our Front Desk Employees, David. David is a third-year Mechanical Engineering Student from Gladstone, MI. 

At Career Services, David helps us with anything and everything career. He also works reception and assists the staff in working with students. Besides that, David is always willing to help with anything and has become a valued member of the team.

His favorite memory of working in Career Services was spending time with his fellow coworkers at our annual Holiday party. He especially liked the white elephant gift exchange that we did as it was a good laugh.

We are excited to have David on the team and we know he’ll do great things!

Today’s Student Employee Spotlight is our Social Media and Digital Marketing intern, Scott. Scott is a fourth-year Scientific & Technical Communication Major from Escanaba, MI.

At Career Services, Scott is in charge of our social media accounts, emails and helps with many aspects of marketing. Scott says that “I love the creativity that this position brings. I love being able to create graphics and memes that people can interact with and that can put a smile on their faces. Most of all, I enjoy working with all of the great people at Career Services!”

Scott’s favorite memory while working at Career Services would be the Spring Career Fair that just happened. He says, “it was very fun to see the other side of the operation that most students do not get to see. It was also very rewarding to see all of my hard work being implemented and appreciated!”

We are excited to have Scott on our team and we are excited to see what he does!

Today’s Student Employee Spotlight is our very own Queen of the Escape Room, Olivia. Olivia is a 3rd-year, Mechanical Engineer from Boyne City.

Her position in Career Services is the Escape Master. She says that “this job is extremely rewarding and it is so fun. I build and run the escape room that Career Services puts on in order to teach students skills that employers are looking for!”

Olivia’s favorite memory in Career Services was when we had a Christmas party with all the staff and student workers who did a gift exchange and ate cookies!

We are very happy to have Olivia on our team and we know she’ll do great things!

Today’s Meet the Career Coach is our very own Paola. Paola is a fourth-year Electrical Engineering major from Caracas, Venezuela. 

Within Career Services, Paola loves to help students with resumes, cover letters, linkedin profiles, everything career fair prep and with job searches. Her favorite memory while working at Career Services is the weekly student meeting, as she loves to see and catch up with everyone.

While working at Career Services, Paola said that “one of the things that I connect the most with my job is that since I am an international student, I had to learn my way in a new country and language and that I get to be part of that transition for other international students. I especially give help on past experiences and what not to do and what to do as an international student.”

We are excited to have Paola on the team and we are excited to see what she does.

Today’s Meet the Career Coaches is Karsyn! Karsyn is a fifth-year Chemical Engineering student from Green Bay, WI. 

What Karsyn loves to help students with at Career Services is “the resume, to make it the best it can be. I also really like helping students with interviews and giving them the confidence to nail their interviews.” 

Karsyn’s favorite memory while working for Career Services “was helping out at the Fall 2019 Career Fair. It was the first one I worked and it was really interesting to see what all goes into it. I also liked being able to see the students I helped leading up to it, go and conquer the day!”

Outside of working at Career Services, she is involved in Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Tau Beta Pi (national engineering honor society), and water polo club. She will be graduating this semester and will be working at Georgia-Pacific in Green Bay, WI as a Process Engineer.

We are excited to have Karsyn on the team and we know she’ll do great things!

Today’s Meet the Career Coach Spotlight is our very own Travis Momsen. Travis is a third-year Electrical Engineering student from White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

As a career coach, Travis says that he enjoys “helping students work on their resumes and practicing for interviews. As someone who struggled with finding jobs in my first years here, I like to help reassure students that they’re doing all the right things, even if it doesn’t seem like their work is bearing fruit. If they just keep at it, then companies will surely notice them and that could be very beneficial to them.”

His favorite memory at Career Services was when a student requested an appointment with him but addressed him as Dr. Momsen.

In his free time, Travis is also a member of the Huskies Pep Band, and will be spending the summer in Ann Arbor working for DTE as an Electrical Engineering Intern.

We are excited to have Travis on the team and we know he’ll do great things!

Today’s Career Coach Spotlight is Clara Peterson. Clara is a fifth year Chemical Engineering major with minors in Spanish and Mathematical Sciences. She enjoys helping students with LinkedIn and Resume building. 

She says, “I love to share the knowledge I have gained through my two years of internships and co-ops. Career Services always feels like home to me! Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. My favorite memory of Career Services is when we celebrated the holiday season with a festive staff party!”

In her spare time, Clara is extremely involved with the Visual and Performing Arts Department here on campus; specifically being involved with Concert Choir and a theatre production in the Rozsa Performing Arts Center or McArdle theatre. Clara is also the President of Blue Key Honor Society this year, meaning she will be overseeing the famous Winter Carnival!

We are excited to have Clara on the team and we know she’ll do great things!

Today’s Career Coach Spotlight is Joey. Joey is a Third Year Accounting and Finance Major from Superior Wisconsin. He likes helping students with Resumes and Job Searching. 

He says, “It is so rewarding when you get to see people smile after their appointment because they now have a direction to go. It makes my day. My favorite memory of Career Services was getting to lead the first timers tours at Career Fair.”

In his off time, Joey is also in the KSI Accounting club, the Finance club, and on the MTU Cheer team.

We are excited to have Joey on the team and we know he’ll do great things!

Have you ever considered pursuing a job opportunity in a different country? A local to Minnesota, Nils Justen took a huge leap – approximately 4,346 miles across the Atlantic Ocean –  and completed a co-op in Ingolstadt, Germany at Audi’s headquarters.

Working at headquarters broadened the learning experience for Nils through the chance to interact with all operations of the company – engineering, design and testing, marketing, and upper management were all in the same place.

“I gained insight into many exciting areas of the company. My role definitely wasn’t just copies and coffee,” Nils explained, “I was in chassis engineering. My position revolved around working with different departments to compile function-based test procedures for prototype vehicles in order to ensure a more uniform and transparent development process between various divisions. I was also involved in project planning for future models.”

The decision to work abroad was a daunting thought for Nils, but the benefits far outweighed the risk and greatly impacted his trajectory and goals. Not knowing what to expect when he arrived in Germany, Nils flew out of Minnesota with two suits in his bag and more ties than he’d like to admit.

“There’s a few aspects of living in Germany that I’m not sure I will ever get used to: the lack of free refills, paying to use a public restroom, and the confused looks I got when I assumed water at a restaurant was free. I was surprised at how quickly I transitioned to my new surroundings and found my place in the company and my community in Ingolstadt. Of course, I was also pleasantly surprised at how few people wore a suit and tie. The six months I spent in Ingolstadt made me realize that the idea of pursuing graduate studies in Europe wasn’t so far fetched.”

Nils encourages all students to pursue internships and co-ops. They are a risk-free way to explore a field you think you might be passionate about. The more experience you have, the better you’re able to find a job that you’ll look forward to every day. Also encouraging students to go out of their comfort zones and pursue international opportunities, Nils explains, “There are more opportunities like this out there than people think. Sure, you might not be able to live at home and you’ll be away from friends and family, but it’ll certainly challenge you to broaden your perspective. There’s something to be said for taking that leap of faith. There’s tremendous potential for growth in those experiences.”