Drexel’s study programs are known for being unique. Options include a
semester track alongside one and three co-op options. For students
unsure about their career paths, co-op offers the opportunity for
students to find their footing in their ideal career. It took Morgan
Tiziker, a fourth-year majoring Materials Science and Engineering and
minoring in Product Design, a few co-op experiences to find her path.
Through her work experience, she’s been able to forge a career path and
a degree to go with it.
Tiziker was originally considering majoring in product design, but
ultimately decided on materials science and engineering. She began her
first co-op experience at Crayola in research and development, and after
spending six months testing new products, she reconsidered studying
product design.
“I was fortunate enough to attend a meeting involving many
cross-functional teams—design, engineering, packaging, R&D,
etc.—where the employees were tasked with coming up with concepts for
new products and processes,” she said. “The atmosphere of innovation and
creativity was almost palpable, and I knew I wanted some sense of that
in my college career through a [product design] minor.”
After gaining an interest in polymers, she landed a second co-op
formulating, testing, and evaluating house paints at Solvay. Known as
architectural coatings in the industry, house paints are formulated with
binders like latex, which are added to the paints via emulsion
polymerization. In her co-op, Tiziker monitored the corrosion of paints
applied to steel, in order to improve paints for bridges and other
outdoor structures.
“My co-op at Solvay has further emphasized one of my career goals to be
involved in the science [and] engineering side of companies,” said
Tiziker. The final piece of the puzzle for her is incorporating
sustainability into designs, such as creating compostable products.
Right now, Tiziker is on the search for her third and final co-op. She
says that Drexel’s unique college experience has helped her not only
find an engaging career path but has prepared her for the postgrad job
search with over a year of experience in her major.
“Initially, I was hesitant to enroll in a five-year program as opposed
to a traditional four-year one,” she said, “but the benefits far
outweigh the downside of graduating a year after the peers I finished
high school with. I feel incredibly comfortable and confident joining
the workforce, and I owe my assuredness to Drexel’s co-op program.”
Learn more about becoming a material science engineer.