Undergraduate Student Co-op and Internship Award Winners

“As I was walking the aisles of the Fall 2019 All-Majors Career Fair, I recognized a familiar brand –– Georgia Power Company (GPC). I had not written this company down as one that was actively recruiting Economics students, but since I had already visited all the booths on my list, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least say “hello” to the recruiters and hear more about the company. I was happily surprised to connect with an employee who had previously worked on a team that did costing analysis, which was an area of interest for me. Though I was looking for an internship and the team usually hired a different major, the GPC employee strongly suggested that I consider their co-op program (if I wasn’t absolutely set on graduating in four years), and he offered to pass my resume along to the manager for an interview. Long story short, I interviewed, received a co-op offer, completed four and a half co-op rotations with the Costing & Demand-Side Support team at Southern Company (the holding company of GPC), and am now planning to go full-time with my team after graduating. I didn’t envision the co-op program as being an opportunity for me –– especially as a liberal arts major who didn’t receive a co-op offer until her third year of college –– but sometimes God opens doors we don’t expect for the best. I am so thankful for my friends and family who supported me along the way, my academic advisors and professors who guided me throughout the interview and academic planning process, my team at Southern Company who made the co-op experience so enjoyable, and Georgia Tech’s Career Center for facilitating this amazing work experience and learning opportunity. Truly, nothing replaces on-the-job experience, and Georgia Tech does an excellent job of ensuring that its students have every chance to get that experience under their belts before graduating. I am honored to be this year’s recipient of the J.E. McDaniel Award! Go Jackets!”