Jill Riley
Major:  Industrial & Systems Engineering

"I am truly grateful for my time as a Co-op with the Coca-Cola Company which taught me enduring values of integrity, leadership, and accountability. I found myself consistently surrounded by incredible people who I had the good fortune of getting to learn and grow from. I’d like to say a huge thank you specifically to my boss - Karen - and my three former mentors - Alexis, Kate, and Joe - for all of your guidance and support that’s helped me to evolve both professionally and personally! Thank you to the Career Center for honoring me with this award!"

Shashwati Da Cunha  
Major:  Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

"I interned with the Systems division of IBM Research, which develops semiconductor technologies that will power future demands on IBM's servers and cloud computing systems. I worked remotely with a team based in Albany, NY at IBM Research's chip fabrication facility. Despite being a new intern, I had the opportunity to work on the biggest day-to-day bottleneck in the fab: a process where silicon wafers that had been patterned and tested were "reworked" to be reused for other experiments. The process involves very corrosive materials, necessitating frequent part replacements. I remotely controlled experiments to identify a parallel process that could reduce load on the tool. My recommendations could reduce down time and save nearly $200,000/year in operating costs. Moreover, they exposed me to a wide cross-section of IBM employees across levels and sectors. 

Working remotely sharpened both my technical and interspersonal skills through the added support that my project needed. I am sure these learnings helped me to be accepted at top graduate programs and will continue to benefit my research journey. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and am so grateful to my manager, Brown Peethala, and mentors, Kedari Matam, Prasad Bhosale and Robin Schulz! "

Don Filer 
Manager – Flight Operations
Project Development Office

“Georgia Tech Co-Ops have powered the Flight Ops Project Development Office for three years now.  They have not been doing busy work but have made real improvements that help our division as well as the Delta pilot on the front line.  We utilize an agile team-based approach to mature initiatives into projects as well as deliver flagship efforts in change management and process consulting.  It is a win for Delta as we get top caliber talent and an opportunity to evaluate the students as potential employees…and a win for the students who get real world experience and the opportunity to evaluate having a career at Delta.”

John McGrael
Acoustic Engineer
Bose Corporation

"There is something so unique and special about the value and perspective that a talented student can bring to a team. Some of the most talented and most important engineers contributing to the innovation engine of Bose Corporation came from Georgia Tech, many of them starting their career with impactful work as part of our internship program. Bose’s internship program is foundational to everything we strive to do and be as a corporation, which is an environment where every employee from executives to summer interns are encouraged to explore their passion and reach for their fullest potential. And, as all of you know, a Georgia Tech student exploring their passion and reaching for their fullest potential is quite a thing to behold."

Sarah Tinsley
Major:  Economics

"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!"

Maureen McGough
Major:  Biomedical Engineering

"During my two-term internship, I gained valuable experience in the design control process, which has greatly benefited me during my Capstone project this semester. My new knowledge also helped me land a full-time position, and I know I will be well prepared to enter my field after graduation. Through this work experience, I was able to better contextualize how my coursework and skills contribute to my future career, as well as expand my professional network. Lastly, I'd like to say thank you to the Career Center and BHS!"

Rachel Fallon  |  Natalie GaNun  |  Leslee Langley  |  Nickolas Lee

Rachel Fallon  
Major:  Computer Science

"While my co-op program at Nead Werx taught me how to grow into a young engineer, The Wohlford Scholarship helped me immensely to focus on my studies and further education during the last of my time at Tech. Nead Werx hired me as a second year Computer Science student, and through the program, I have learned to write professional level software, lead projects, and become a web-developer and problem-solver, even though I started with almost no prior knowledge of professional software development. As a co-op student, I tend to rely on my savings and income from the co-op program to fund my expenses throughout the school year. After my last rotation, I could not rely on the following semester of work whilst finishing my degree. As an out of state student, the Wohlford Scholarship has afforded me a great deal of peace-of-mind, and I have been able to put my savings toward graduate school applications. I am happy to announce that I will be spending the summer completing a data-science project as a part of the Data Science for Social Good Fellowship through The University of Warwick and Ludwigs Maximilian University Munich and supported by The Alan Turing Institute. I hope to complete a Master's in Computer Science and human-centered computing in Germany next year."

Natalie GaNun
Major:  Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

"Whenever people ask me about Georgia Tech and my college experience, I always love to tell them about my co-op experiences. Being a co-op has been one of the most beneficial experiences I’ve had in my college career. I love seeing the connections between what we learn in the classroom and how it applies in industry, as well as just learning many new things. However, the most important thing I learned in my co-op terms is that I really enjoyed the work that I did, and I am excited to have it be my career once I graduate. I am so thankful for the Wohlford scholarship. I extended my graduation date a year in order to complete my co-op, and the scholarship has allowed me to be able to do this more comfortably."

Leslee Langley
Major:  Mechanical Engineering

"The Co-op program has provided me with the opportunity to gain real world engineering experience before graduation. I was able to create new designs while working with Southwire, this experience has helped me narrow down the specialty in Mechanical Engineering that I would like to focus my career in. Receiving the Wohlford scholarship has lightened my financial burden greatly and now I can focus more on the most important aspect of college which is of course learning. I am thankful to the Briaerean Honor Society for this thoughtful award and amazing opportunity."

Nickolas Lee
Major:  Electrical Engineering

"I was blessed with the opportunity to work with Factory Automation Systems in Atlanta, Georgia.  Factory Automation Systems is a full-service industrial integrator.  The scope of their work includes but is not limited to process engineering, controls engineering, and robotics engineering.  The works is fun, and I participate in many interesting projects. 

The Wohlford Scholarship was a great blessing in my life.  I was able to go paperless with some of the funds.  I am very excited about being paperless.  The money is very helpful.  I can eat healthier foods also, there is not a single package of ramen in my entire house. 

The experience I have garnered from my co-op and the world class education I am receiving are putting me in position to move into industry with very few hurdles.  There are many employers that weigh education verses experience in their selection process and by receiving both I am setting myself apart. 

I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in a co-op and receiving the Wohlford Scholarship has been a great addition to my life."

Joel Boggs  |  Tyler Bolo

Joel Boggs  
Major:  Mechanical Engineering

"My co-op experience has been full of new experiences. I have enjoyed getting to know HVAC because it is almost always present, and I find myself recognizing it in my everyday life. I have been exposed to people that I historically have not been around and each and every interaction has helped build my respect for McKenney’s and the quality work it performs. This scholarship helped me focus more on my schooling and remove some of the stress on my shoulders. This lack of stress played a significant role in helping manage my mental health as well as my physical health as I have type one diabetes." 

Tyler Bolo   
Major:  Mechanical Engineering

"Working at McKenney’s in the co-op program has given me valuable experience applying the knowledge I’ve learned in the classroom to real-world applications. My day-to-day responsibilities included designing HVAC and plumbing layouts, performing system calculations, and communicating with customers and vendors. Throughout my first term, I learned so much more than what I expected in the field of HVAC and plumbing. I hope to continue my work with McKenney’s for my next two terms and then potentially attend graduate school at Georgia Tech."