Co-op Employer Testimonials
What do you get when you spend a century building partnerships with companies of all sizes, in all fields, across the United States and abroad? You get deep relationships with employers invested in cultivating the next generation of leaders and committed to a curriculum grounded in hands-on learning.
Our network of more than 1,500 co-op employers includes Fortune 500 companies, enterprising startups, and respected arts and cultural nonprofits. Many organizations have been hiring Drexel co-op students for decades.
Why do they return year after year? Here’s what they say.
Philly POPS/Encore Series Inc.
“The students who come from Drexel co-op are uniquely capable of fitting in and making a difference. I’ve worked with several at different organizations… and over time I’ve hired three former Drexel co-ops for full-time positions, all of whom have worked out extraordinarily well. Here at the POPS we currently have an employee who co-op’d here for one semester. He fit right in; he was business ready and a creative problem solver, and I haven’t found that with some of the other programs. I’m a big fan of the Drexel co-op program.”
Karen Corbin
Chief Operating Officer
Publicis Health Media
“I co-op’d at Publicis Health Media when I went to Drexel, and now I manage the co-ops for Publicis Health Media. Speaking as an alumna, I think Drexel co-op students are unique. One thing that makes the Drexel co-op experience special is it brings a deeper level of understanding to your role when you are somewhere for six months. Through those six months you find a sense of ownership and independence in your role which allows you to be able to add value to meetings, to bring forth innovative ideas — it’s as close to an entry-level position as you can get while still in school.”
Sarah Robinson ’18
Human Resources Coordinator
Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House
“The co-op program works for us because it allows the students a greater number of hours and that lets them get ingrained in our programs and really have a sense of what it’s like to be in a workplace full-time. They become dedicated and connected to our mission. Those are the types of students we look for, that are looking to get involved with the community, and Drexel students really seem to have that desire.”
Sharon Brown
Human Resources Manager
Siemens
“[Drexel] students’ unbiased perspective on the problems we are trying to solve provides valuable input and leads to improved results. This goes both ways: Their involvement prompts us to rethink things that we previously took for granted. We expect students to not only solve a problem or implement a solution; they have to map their approach to the problem, explain their design decisions and present their results regularly. Demonstrators and proof-of-concept implementations that have resulted from past Drexel co-op collaborations have remained relevant long after [the students] leave.”
David Buettner
Engineer and Software Architect
Saxbys
“The Drexel students that we have in our cafés are running the entire café, so they get full rein of all of the ordering and the profit-and-loss statements. They get to decide how they’re going to hold different events or allocate their catering and interact with the community as a whole. Essentially, they are running a business on their own.”
Chelsea Logan ’17
Training Manager
Philadelphia Eagles
“There’s only so much you can learn in a classroom. We look for people who have gone out and joined clubs or actually done the work that they’re learning about in class. Drexel co-op students are actually taking things from their six months of class into the workforce and taking things from the workforce back into their classes, keeping the circle going. That’s appealing to us because we want people who can walk into the job and have experience under their belt, and knowledge of what it’s like to be in a professional environment, with all the teamwork and relationships that come with it.”
Kelly Rafferty
Event Production Coordinator
Urban Engineers
“Drexel’s co-op program helped me launch my career, and I am proud to lead a company that utilizes the program to this day. Employers know that Drexel co-op graduates are more technically prepared than their peers and have learned the importance of ethics, which is hard to measure but is a key feature in someone you are looking to hire.”
Kenneth Fulmer
President & CEO