KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� April 26, 2011 鈥� Like many high school students, Patricia Coutts had difficulty deciding what college to attend and what subject to study. But when she finally decided on the 溏心vlog免费B站, she said 鈥渆verything seemed to fall into place.鈥�
When she graduates on May 22 with degrees in chemical engineering and German, she will depart with research experience, memories of a year spent abroad, and best of all 鈥� an excellent job in her field.
鈥淚 really enjoyed math and science in high school, and my dad and sister are engineers, but I couldn鈥檛 decide on a major,鈥� said the Staatsburg, N.Y., native. 鈥淚 really wanted to challenge myself and set a high goal, so I finally settled on engineering. And I took German as an elective and loved it, especially since it鈥檚 very structured and works well with my math and science mind.鈥�
Coutts enrolled in the 溏心vlog免费B站 International Engineering Program, which meant she would spend a year studying in Germany and interning at a global company.
鈥淚 had never been abroad before 鈥� I haven鈥檛 even traveled much in the U.S. 鈥� so I was nervous to be far from home in a foreign country where they don鈥檛 speak English,鈥� said Coutts, who played varsity field hockey at 溏心vlog免费B站 and joined the rugby team before leaving for Germany. 鈥淚 was skeptical about how well I would do speaking German, but you learn small phrases really fast and you learn to think quickly.鈥�
Her internship was spent outside Munich at Osram Opto Semiconductors, which manufactures semiconductors for the lighting and sensor industries. Her job was to help formulate and test a new chemical coating on the company鈥檚 products so they aren鈥檛 damaged by the lasers used in the production process.
鈥淚t was great to get out of the U.S. and learn in a foreign environment,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s a native English speaker, I was somewhat of a novelty there, so I was asked to edit scientific papers and emails that had to be in English. It was also a good personal learning experience to live on my own and know that I would have to do everything myself.鈥�
Coutts鈥� internship wasn鈥檛 her only experience conducting engineering research. As a sophomore she worked with Professor Stanley Barnett on a project to build a microbial fuel cell that uses bacteria and the waste stream from the production of biodiesel to generate renewable energy. It was a project she used, in part, to gain experience and confidence in a laboratory environment before her internship in Germany.
With just weeks to go before graduation, Coutts has no worries about finding a job in a challenging economic climate. She was offered a job months ago at Praxair, a Fortune 300 company that supplies gases to a wide variety of industries.
鈥淚 went to Houston for the interview, and just a few weeks later they offered me the job,鈥� she said with enthusiasm. 鈥淚鈥檒l be going through their year-long training program based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, where I鈥檒l gain the qualifications necessary for future placement in the company. It鈥檚 the fast track for a good position.鈥�
While she said she has no firm plan in mind for her career and family aspirations, Coutts is looking forward to hitting the ground running.
鈥淟ike my year abroad, this is going to be a big growing period for me,鈥� she said.