The Little Engineer That Could

Mario Scotto Di Vetta, a mechanical engineering student in the College of Engineering, came to Drexel University excited for the opportunities to come. Just like most Dragons, he said co-op was a big factor in his decision to attend Drexel. Now, as a pre-junior, he has completed one co-op and is preparing to head on to his second.

Scotto Di Vetta spent his first co-op working for a company called ConeTec Inc, a full-service geotechnical, geoenvironmental and mining site investigation contractor. In this position, he was able to travel across the country as a junior field engineer. Throughout his time with ConeTec, he traveled to over 16 states from Georgia to Arizona to South Dakota and many more. This alone made the experience one-of-a-kind, not to mention the priceless experience that will go on to help him throughout his career.

As a junior field engineer, Scotto Di Vetta performed various forms of cone penetration testing for soil analysis. Cone penetration testing is a newly developed soil test where an electronic probe with sensors is pushed into the ground using hydraulics. These sensors then plot data instantaneously based off how the soil reacts to the probe. While in the field, he processed preliminary data and performed inspections and maintenance on equipment and fleet trucks. He also served as an on-site problem solver for anything that popped up.

From this experience, he was able to not only travel the country, but meet a plethora of people from different companies and make many connections that could come in handy in the future. He also said he was privileged to be given a lot of responsibility, despite being a new co-op student, and said that his employers trusted him enough to allow him to work independently in order to get the most out of his time.

“Drexel introduced me to a fast-paced and challenging environment that provided me with problem solving skills; I was able to carry over these skills to apply to deadlines for projects and handling any incidents at a moment’s notice,” Scotto Di Vetta said as he reflected over his first co-op. He further went on to describe that the work he did with ConeTec was slightly outside of the scope of his major, as he is mechanical engineering and this co-op was more along the lines of environmental engineering. However, he loved how he saw a whole new field that was still a possibility for his major.

Looking forward, Scotto Di Vetta is preparing to do his second co-op starting in the spring with Bridgestone America, an international corporation best known for their tires. He will be moving to South Carolina for the duration of his co-op to assist engineers with machine modification projects, tech research and project management. Ultimately, he hopes to pursue a career in the automotive industry, though he’s unsure what specifically he hopes to do. This upcoming co-op could provide clarification for his future goals, which is one of the greatest benefits of co-op. Scotto Di Vetta is very excited to begin this next step in his Drexel journey.

By Hannah Pepper, a sophomore chemistry major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a Pennoni Honors College student, as part of the winter 2018 “Writing for Drexel Publication” Pennoni Honors College course.