- Major: Chemical Engineering
- Company: Malibu Boats, Crown Laboratories
- Graduation Year: 2024
- E-mail: acox68@vols.utk.edu
Profile
I completed a full year co-op at Malibu Boats, a wake boat manufacturer, in Loudon, TN. My co-op position was in process engineering in which I wore many hats which means that I gained incredibly diverse experience. I spent the biggest percentage of my time in lamination which involves the resin and fiberglass process of building boats, but I also worked in other areas as well such as fiberglass cutting and injection molding. Some examples of projects I did include resin testing, cart/storage design, time studies, process documentation, fiberglass cut programming (design and upkeep), and R&D of new boat models. During my time at Malibu, I was exposed to a variety of different programs including AutoCAD, Solidworks, and Pathworks in which I had no previous experience with, but am now proficient in.
A lot of students are intimidated by the year long co-op, but I preferred it! The continuous co-op term really allows for more and bigger projects. Upon returning to campus, I did not find the year break to be a problem at all because as they say, time flies when you're having fun!
I also completed a summer internship with Crown Laboratories, a skin care company, in Johnson City, TN. In this position I was a research and development formulations intern. I spent most of my time developing, evaluating, and improving topical skin care product formulations for both new and current products. I also performed various testing of formulations such as viscosity, stabilization studies, specific gravity, etc.
A co-op program or internship provides invaluable experience and significantly aids in career decisions upon graduation. I will forever brag about the experiences I had and will recommend it to everyone. Just a few of the skills I developed/improved during these experiences include people skills, professionalism skills, data collection and analytics, and the learning of various programs. I‚am incredibly thankful for my experiences and I can't wait to use them to further my education and career.
Outside of school and work some of my hobbies include cars, baking, and camping! I love working on my vehicles, creating new recipes, and exploring the outdoors with my dog.
