It's often said that you don't need to have it all together when you're a
young adult. That's where
Drexel's co-op program comes in. Through one to three six-month job opportunities, students can
test-drive careers, gain skills, and find paths that fit their interests –
all before graduating.
After moving to the United States from Myanmar, Su Nay Chi Htoo enrolled at
Drexel as a Political Science major. Her trajectory soon shifted to
chemical engineering
, leading to multiple co-ops over four years of education.
In her final co-op as a Materials Science Engineer at C&D Technologies,
she has taken on varied roles through her education in and outside the
classroom. These experiences diverged from standard industry paths.
At Sun Chemical, the world's largest printing inks and pigments company, she
constructed isometric drawings, performed pipeline calculations, and
developed paint and ink powders. Her next position at GlaxoSmithKline
involved working as a Drug Discovery co-op with cell cultures. The current
role at C&D Technologies adds battery lab experience to her portfolio.
The position involves work with advanced technology. Her responsibilities
include using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) for battery chemical composition
analysis and Inductively Coupled Plasma spectrometry for impurity detection.
"This is real hands-on," she said. "I had to take thermodynamic and mass and
energy balance classes, after my first co-op working at a chemical plant,
and by the time I was in class, I would actually visualize the units in
process designs as I've already worked with product collectors, jet mills,
heat exchangers and distillation columns."
The field experience enhances her academic work. "Our coursework prepared us
to be ready for any future careers from lab spaces to plant settings, and I
was lucky enough to be in a university that lets us explore [a variety of
careers within] our majors."
In her fourth year, she considers the impact of these experiences. "I got
into Chemical Engineering not knowing what to expect. After 3 co-ops I could
confidently say I picked the right career path for me. Being able to try
different sectors in this broad major also helped me understand all the
opportunities this major could give."