Dumebi Elueme

What motivated you to apply for Co-op/Internship

At first, I just needed a summer job. I applied for a coop term, because I had hoped to get an engineering job and I assumed that the student life coop postings will be more streamlined than other job search websites. It was, and I applied for a few jobs.

Can you describe your position in a few sentences?

My position was a Production Group Lead, and I was supervising a group of employees involved in plant production operations. It was a group of about 10 people and we were responsible for fixing defects on the cars. I was responsible for their safety, quality of the cars coming out of the department, throughput, and everything that came with it.

Did you receive training to perform your engineering duties? Please Explain.

I was in training for a full week, after which I shadowed the person whose position I was filling for another week. This was enough training. I also had support. I ask my senior group lead questions, the shift lead, so I was able to perform my duties properly.

What was your work atmosphere like? (flexibility, formality, team centric, supportive)

The coop students at GM are well supported. Hours are set, because it is a factory. Dress code in the plant is business formal. We could wear jeans, typically with a collared shirt. Because we had to wear coveralls in the plaint plant, it didn't really matter what we wore to the plant.

What new skills were you able to learn/develop during your Co-op/Internship?

I learned people management. It is one of those things I never really had to do before. Root cause analysis and troubleshooting came with the job too, so I improved on them.

How did your experience compare with your expectations?

There weren't a lot of surprises. It was a good experience, what I had hoped for. My coop term  brought my attention to things I haven't really thought about before, and I learnt a lot about the industry.

What advice would you offer to current students thinking about pursuing Co-op/Internship?

Do it. You can't really go wrong with work experience.