As I began looking for a student position as a University of Dayton engineering student, I stumbled upon an opportunity via student employment that seemed to be a great fit with my background—a role tied to technology at the University of Dayton Research Institute.

​The student job opportunity offered flexibility, which I needed with my class schedule. I applied, interviewed, shared my availability, and landed the position!  What struck me most was the understanding and support I received—whenever exams loomed, I worked with my manager ensuring I had ample time to prepare. I was immersed in IT, where I witnessed firsthand the metamorphosis sparked by digital transformation. I was surprised at the evolution from pre-transformation technology to its present form, gaining invaluable insights along the way.

After graduation, I moved away from Dayton to pursue my career path.  A few years later I was back in Dayton and missed the great environment I had worked in at UDRI. Once again, I applied and was hired!  My current career path includes pursuing a master’s degree and digging deeper into my assignments. I’m motivated to expand my skills and grow my knowledge base!

Digital transformation is a relatively new and cutting-edge concept. It isn’t something that is discussed often at the undergrad level, at least in my experience. It was the opportunity to continue to participate in the digital transformation revolution for the DoD and my excitement and curiosity to see where it takes us that led me to the decision to continue to work for UDRI part time during my final semester and ultimately to come on as a full-time engineer upon my graduation. It is also my excitement for digital engineering that led me to the decision to pursue my Master of Science in Systems Engineering degree beginning this spring.

I knew that I was in working at UDRI full time after my first co-op work term during the summer after my sophomore year. I had a very positive experience and was fortunate to have worked with and for a very knowledgeable, fun, and talented group of people, and I knew it was something I could see myself being a part of. When I was given the opportunity to continue working for UDRI the following Fall semester to complete a double work term, I accepted immediately. I wanted to continue to grow at UDRI and see what I could accomplish. During my second, third, and fourth work terms I was able to participate in a wide variety of different projects and my confidence only grew that UDRI was where I wanted to end up after graduation.