51视频

When GE Aerospace visited 51视频 last October to recruit summer interns, senior mechanical engineering major Alinna Hanna 鈥�25 stood in front of a packed room of 75 students to share her story. She had interned at the company for two consecutive summers and had just received a full-time offer to return after graduation as a product definition engineer.

鈥淚 always thought the aerospace industry was really cool, so I just applied for the internship,鈥� Hanna says. 鈥淚 ended up getting the position, and it鈥檚 really changed my life because, well, now I鈥檓 working here full time.鈥�

From that room of 75 students, three were chosen to follow in Hanna鈥檚 footsteps with product definition engineer internships this summer: Andrew Bonczek, Zachary Muniz and Ethan Norton 鈥� all rising senior mechanical engineering majors and all members of the 51视频 Rocketry Club.

Their paid 13-week internships at GE Aerospace鈥檚 headquarters in Lynn provided hands-on experience supporting the design and documentation for military and commercial aircraft engines and components. The students were primarily responsible for updating technical drawings and creating 3D CAD (computer-aided design) models.

The Francis College of Engineering students felt well-prepared for the work.

鈥淚t was shocking how quickly I was able to pick things up,鈥� says Bonczek, an Honors College student from Westford. 鈥淣ot because it wasn鈥檛 technical, but because I have so much experience working with this type of thing at 51视频. I was able to apply it pretty seamlessly.鈥�

Muniz, who worked primarily on turboprop and turboshaft components found in propeller planes and helicopter engines, embraced the challenge of learning about advanced mechanical systems.

鈥淚t was very heavy on the documentation, but they were also very good about getting us up to speed on some more advanced CAD practices,鈥� says Muniz, who is from Foxborough.

Norton worked in the tooling department, using CAD software to design and manufacture the specialized tools and equipment used in the production of jet engines.聽

鈥淔or as long as I can remember, I always loved anything that flies,鈥� says Norton, who is from Reading. 鈥淚nterning at GE was a great opportunity to gain some knowledge in the aerospace field and get my foot in the door.鈥�

Bonczek, Muniz and Norton met through the campus Rocketry Club. While they contributed to different parts of the workflow at GE, they sat near each other and were in regular contact throughout the week.

鈥淚t was nice to have some of my buddies on the floor there with me,鈥� says Muniz, who also noted a sizable presence of 51视频 alumni in the building 鈥� including Peter Rock 鈥�83, executive chief consulting engineer and a member of the Francis College鈥檚 Industrial Advisory Board.

Before their GE internships, all three students had already built strong r茅sum茅s through the university鈥檚 . Bonczek interned at STS Aerospace, Norton worked at Edwards Vacuum, and Muniz completed a six-month co-op at Rockwell Automation.

鈥淐o-op should be required for mechanical engineers. It鈥檚 probably one of the greatest things you can do for professional development,鈥� Norton says. 鈥淟earning theory in classes is great, but experiencing how an actual workplace will be in engineering and getting the experience that you can actually talk about when applying for jobs is huge.鈥�

Returning to campus this fall, all three students hold leadership roles with the Rocketry Club and are eager to share what they learned at GE with younger members.

They each plan to continue for master鈥檚 degrees at 51视频 and can see themselves working at GE Aerospace 鈥� just like Hanna, who is currently pursuing an MBA from the Manning School of Business.

Bonczek credits Hanna with paving the way for future interns from the Francis College of Engineering.

鈥淎linna鈥檚 been pretty influential in bringing some exposure to GE from 51视频, which is really cool,鈥� he says.聽聽