Mika Rappaport is in the middle of her second co-op as a structural analyst
at Boeing. She chose a career in mechanical engineering due to the ability
to switch disciplines and because it contains a blend of technical knowledge
as well as creativity.
“I believe that if you attend Drexel and have the opportunity to complete
three six-month co-ops, you should focus more on trying things out of your
comfort zone and exploring areas that you might be unsure about.”
She started out at Drexel as a civil engineering major. Through her first
co-op as an electrical designer at IPS, she observed that many leadership
roles were filled by those with mechanical engineering backgrounds. She
decided to expand on her education with the broadest of engineering
disciplines and switched to mechanical with a minor in finance.
“A lot of the time, it’s easy to enjoy learning something but once you apply
the skills you learn in real life, it’s not as exciting,” Mika said. “I
found the 3 co-op program the perfect opportunity to test out what fields
actually excite me when it comes to using what I learn in school out in the
workforce. So far I’m learning a lot about what I love and some about what I
don’t like as well!”
While a bit hesitant to claim a desk at such a large company, Mika was
surprised by her experience. Right now, she’s working on stress analysis of
wing slats for a new project. She’s also created a program using Boeing’s
internal software that analyzes thousands of varying designs for the slats,
ending up with around 8,000 scenarios. After that, the program can test the
strength of each design against different failing conditions.
She says she’s proud of learning concepts through her co-op, getting ahead
of classmates through lived experience. And it affirmed change in majors,
too.
“I’m very confident in my choice to major in mechanical engineering, and
this co-op led me to decide to pursue an aerospace concentration,” Mika
said. “I... never saw myself working in the aerospace, defense, or aircraft
industry, but now I’m not sure I see myself anywhere else.”