In high school, she joined the robotics club to pursue her interest in electronics.
“In my senior year of high school, I decided I would study mechanical engineering in college. There’s so much you can do with it. It’s one of the broadest engineering fields there is.”
She still likes figuring out how to make things work better and finished two co-op rotations for American Honda Motor Co., where she applied her skills to the manufacturing floor and its research and development center.
“I have always known subconsciously that I wanted to go into engineering. I think my parents and others around me knew before I could comprehend what engineering was,” she said.
Honda is just one of many corporate partners for UC’s co-op program, a system UC pioneered in which students divide their year between full-time classroom instruction and full-time employment at a company in their chosen field.
It’s a program that has been duplicated by many universities, but UC still does it better than most anyone. U.S. News & World Report ranks UC as a top five co-op university in its latest rankings.
UC’s colleges have connections with both Fortune 500 companies and newer startups around the country. And students who want an international experience can even work in co-op positions abroad.
“Honda has had a long and successful relationship with the University of Cincinnati, a school we utilize to recruit engineering and business students for our co-op/internship program and entry-level full-time positions,” said Daniela Evans, unit lead for college relations at American Honda.
Honda has been hiring co-ops for more than 30 years. During that time, more than 600 co-op graduates have been hired into full-time positions.
“UC students are a good choice for our co-op positions because the students’ coursework and programs directly align with the knowledge and skills our positions require,” she said.
Evans said Honda provides networking opportunities for co-ops to meet each other and build a career network.
“We see our co-ops as a critical talent pipeline for positions,” she said. “Additionally, co-ops can get real-world, hands-on experience by working on projects that are directly tied to their area of study and give them a sense of what they may be able to do as a full-time associate.”
Honda offers internship and co-op opportunities to students pursuing a variety of majors, from business management to information technology and accounting to marketing.
Vail jumped at the chance to join an international automaker and spent her first co-op working at the Honda’s Anna Engine Plant about 100 miles north of UC in Anna, Ohio.
“My first rotation was very hands-on, working in manufacturing engineering and the production line,” she said.
She liked her experience so much that she applied to Honda for her second co-op, this time working at its research and development center in central Ohio. There she got hands-on experience in testing and development, analyzing and reviewing data for braking systems.
“We were studying the traction systems of cars, looking at stopping distances in different conditions like wet or icy surfaces,” she said.
Vail said sophisticated sensors can detect when a vehicle’s tire encounters slippery surfaces, allowing traction controls to improve braking distances under adverse weather conditions.
“I got to work on different projects, which made it interesting,” she said, adding that the best part of her experience was collaborating with experts from different departments. “I don’t think I would like working on a project alone. I really liked the team aspect of the projects.”
More details
Learn more about UC’s co-op program by visiting uc.edu/co-op.