Curtis George

What motivated you to apply for Co-op/Internship

Gaining good experience can mean the difference in one's career, and making sure that you have the right placement for you is incredibly important. Celestica showed a great opportunity to work for this company under the position I am in.

Can you describe your position in a few sentences?

In the automation department, I get to work on many things internally inside of the company. I will integrate vision systems into processes that exist, roll out new automation solutions, and even gather data automatically to give the company more control of the environment. I am also able to suggest any improvement that I see can be made and follow though with it as the project lead.

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

I received plenty of training to perform these duties. In addition to the general training that the interns in my department need, I was taught how to use visualization tools and how to properly set up a smart vision environment, I was trained in many different soldering techniques, I was able to go to workshops at CMTS to learn much more about the world of automation, and many of the people in my department take the time to teach me what they can.

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

The environment for my department is very flexible and supportive. You can work on solo tasks, group tasks, or even just ask anyone for help on just about any job when you need it. As long as the work gets done to a quality standard, you are fairly free to choose what you work on. You very much will get experience for the effort you put in. My management is very supportive and respectful of the student interns. It makes it feel like everyone has a voice.

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

I have been able to understand a few more programming languages. I've learned how 3D printing works along with the material and design properties that come with it. I have been taught how to properly solder and repair circuit board mistakes. I've gained experience several things to do with mechanical design and how to both design and build fixtures, moving parts, brackets, etc on an industry level. I was shown how to program and operate a UR robot. I was also trained on using different vision tools and how they can be integrated into existing machinery for automating the process. I have also been working with several IIOT projects and learning how to get different devices to communicate with each other on a large scale.

How did your experience compare with your expectations?

Drastically different. I expected boring lab work and doing the same thing over and over till the 16 months were done. Thankfully I was able to experiment with a wide variety of projects and topics. Every day is different and I am learning so much more than I expected. The atmosphere is also really great since everyone's opinions feel like they matter and things don't get boring.

What was your proudest moment? 

So far my proudest moment was receiving an award for being able to communicate to the public well what my department does during an open house. I was told that the demonstrations, explanations, and quick thinking when things went wrong were very good.

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

Pay isn't everything, focus on experience that will benefit you for the future.