UC co-op offers a glimpse into the future
Engineering student says co-op helped her find what fits her best
Savannah Dickens is a fan of wearing many hats — it’s a chance to figure out what she enjoys and what fits her best.
A fifth-year environmental engineering student at the University of Cincinnati, Dickens became a jack-of-all-trades during her co-op experiences sampling various roles in companies big and small.
She will graduate this spring with a job as an engineering technician with the Davey Resource Group in Akron, part of Davey Tree Expert Company, a national firm offering environmental consulting, urban forestry and ecological restoration services.
Dickens says co-op helped her land her first job but her studies in the College of Engineering and Applied Science provided a good foundation for putting theory into real-world practice.
Savannah Dickens on the UC campus. Photo/Connor Boyle/UC Marketing + Brand.
“During class, you’re thinking, when am I gonna use this stuff?” Dickens notes. “But I think a lot of the work that I did, especially on the design side at Davey, showed me there are so many concepts that go into why you make certain design choices.
“You may not need to actually know how to do everything that’s taught, like doing calculus by hand, but knowing the concepts is super helpful to understand why you make the choices you do. It helps you create more structurally sound design decisions,” explains Dickens.
One rotation as a co-op at Davey Resource Group allowed Dickens to maneuver in a small office setting and offered the chance to become proficient in software like AutoCAD and Autodesk Civil 3D, which are useful for design work in land development projects. She was part of pre- and post-construction meetings with clients and contractors offering the chance to meet professionals in the field.
Her supervisor handled surveying and construction oversight, and Dickens was asked to be part of that detail as well. She remembers being asked to do a geomorphic assessment. It meant wading into a local stream they hoped to restore and counting and examining pebbles to determine their size and distribution.
“I got the chance to do a lot of different tasks. I like smaller companies because I get to take on a lot of different roles and wear different hats.”
How to land your first co-op
Some tips for securing your first co-op:
Don’t be afraid to reach out. Networking is a good mutually beneficial experience, it helps the employer to know who is genuinely interested.
Don’t forget to share your human side. Employers aren’t looking for robots.
Send a follow-up thank you note after an interview, or anytime someone helps in your job search process.
Mentorship and networking matter
A native of Brunswick, Ohio, Dickens is currently president of the Society of Environmental Engineers at UC, serves as an engineering peer leader in UC’s First-Year Experience and as a lead teaching assistant in UC Engineering Design Thinking Courses. She is also part of the UC Honors Program and has been on the Dean’s List every semester at UC.
Her first co-op at UC was with Hazen and Sawyer, an environmental engineering firm that focuses on drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and water reuse projects. The firm is headquartered in New York City but has offices in locations across the nation including Cincinnati.
“Hazen and Sawyer handle wastewater and water consulting work mostly with municipalities around Cincinnati. Most of my work during the first semester of co-op was with geographic information systems.”
She helped install or rehabilitate existing pipe networks and tested water pump stations. There was a lot of office work within a specific development, and the co-op was a design-heavy experience.
Savannah Dickens is a fifth-year engineering student at UC. Photo/Connor Boyle/UC Marketing + Brand.
“For people who enjoy that, that’s great, I personally like to wear more hats than that,” explains Dickens. “Everybody there was insanely nice and I really enjoyed working there. They have a structured co-op program, and they stressed the importance of taking different co-ops and knowing what you wanted to do.
“They knew it was my first co-op,” says Dickens. “My co-workers said go see what you like to do. Unless you are 100% sure that you like this and want to do this for the rest of your life, go try new things.”
Dickens did a second co-op rotation at the company before trying her hand at something completely different the following year. The mentorship from colleagues at Hazen and Sawyer was very strong for co-op students.
“I felt a lot of support there, and they helped me learn how to grow my career and figure out what I really wanted to do,” adds Dickens. “They still check in and support me. That was during my second year of college.”
UC co-op by the numbers
- $94 million-plus in collective self-reported earnings.
- 8,300-plus students from disciplines across the university participate.
- $11,220 average co-op salary per student per semester.
- 1,700-plus employer partners participate in co-op.
- Top 5 program in the nation (U.S. News & World Report).
Learning a company from the ground up
A vertical farming company with a hydroponic system, 80 Acres Farms is based in Hamilton, Ohio, but has operations in Florence, Kentucky, as well. The hydroponic system is all indoors and heavily controlled so that the array of vegetables and herbs that are produced are the same all year long.
“It’s food manufacturing but it’s actually produce grown fresh and without a ton of extra items like fertilizers,” says Dickens. “They know exactly how much water they need and how much of each nutrient they need. They find ways to recycle water so there’s a lot less resource usage which is a big problem in traditional agriculture.”
Savannah Dickens, center, shown with co-workers at 80 Acres Farms location. Photo provided.
Dickens enjoyed two co-op rotations at 80 Acres Farms as a sustainability/technical services intern. But her responsibilities allowed her to sample virtually all stages of production within the operation by working with managers in corporate sustainability and training along with a continuous improvement team. She handled waste studies and developed training that kind of bridges the gap between farm staff and the corporate office.
“I got a really good mixture of hands-on work experience,” explains Dickens. “I loved being able to be there with the farm staff. They actually trained me how to pack the food. I enjoyed seeing the operation from the ground up, and I think that’s really important. Getting that experience in corporate sustainability is also so different from what I learned in school and what most engineers do.”
She encourages others to try the company’s lettuce, spinach and cherry tomatoes, which are “insanely good,” along with basil and salad kits.
“I didn’t realize that lettuce was supposed to have a taste. There is flavor in this lettuce, and it’s really good and very fresh,” she adds.
If I had none of these experiences coming directly out of college, I would have no idea what I am looking for. It gives me an idea of what I want to do. I know what the actual workforce looks like before I graduate, and that’s so helpful.
Savannah Dickens UC environmental engineering student
Co-op in CEAS
Bethany Hanson, an assistant professor in the UC College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies, counsels students majoring in environmental and chemical engineering about co-op and how to get the best benefit from the experience.
Students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science typically complete five semesters of co-op rotations. Students have a dedicated co-op adviser who counsels them on resumes, cover letters, interviewing techniques and follow-up etiquette after an interview.
“We meet with students every time they return from their co-op to check-in,” explains Hanson. “We find out what went well, what didn’t go well and how we can help for that future job search.”
Students are enrolled in a pass-fail course during co-op so they can maintain their full-time student status, and it allows advisers to maintain contact with a student during the midst of their co-op.
Savannah Dickens on UC's Uptown campus. Photo/Connor Boyle/UC Marketing + Brand.
Hanson says students are often nervous with their first co-op at a company, but after a second co-op with that same employer they return to campus feeling more confident. They’ve developed communication skills and personal connection with the people they work with on co-op.
Students are required to return to the same employer for at least two co-op rotations, in order to get the most out of their experiences.
“We feel that students have a better understanding of the professional environment after completing five semesters of co-op,” explains Hanson. “When they graduate they are off and running on their job, and they’re able to perform at a level of an engineer who’s already been at work a couple of years.”
Hanson says engineering isn’t just about the technical side, it’s also about people skills.
“Students work in manufacturing environments, dealing with operators and maintenance workers and engineering consultants with master’s degrees so they have to be able to communicate and relate to people on all different levels,” she says.
“Our engineering students are very highly motivated and they really take the initiative when it comes to co-op,” says Hanson. “It’s a great group of students to work with because they are so driven. They often come to UC because of co-op so they put the time and effort into the experience.”
Student Dickens says she would recommend co-op 100%.
“If I had none of these experiences coming directly out of college, I would have no idea what I am looking for. It gives me an idea of what I want to do,” Dickens adds. “I know what the actual workforce looks like before I graduate, and that’s so helpful.”
Featured top image of Savannah Dickens in Mantei Center on the UC campus. Photo/Connor Boyle/UC Marketing + Brand.
Your career is next
Through one of the nation’s most robust co-op programs, UC students don’t just learn about their future — they live it, alternating classroom study with real, career-shaping experience in industries around the world.
Students: Earn while you learn at UC.
Employers: Find your next hire.
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