Co-ops helped recent grad define career path

When Antonio Samuel crossed the stage to receive his diploma at the 2010 Spring Commencement, he already had something most new college grads are still searching for — that first job in the real world.

Samuel’s job offer came from The Timken Company in Canton, Ohio. He got it through a combination of hard work in the classroom and the promise and skills he demonstrated during the semester he spent with the company through the College of Engineering’s Cooperative Education Program.

The co-op program, one of the oldest in the nation, enables UA’s student engineers to integrate classroom learning with on-the-job experience while they earn their degrees. Students can alternate semesters of paid employment in their major fields of interest with semesters on campus after they have completed five semesters of study. Full story.