Students interested in engineering now have an opportunity for a paid internship leading to guaranteed full-time employment at a unique military engineering center. Thanks to the efforts of the University of Michigan-Flint Academic Advising and Career Center and a chance meeting with an alumnus, internships are available at SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center) in South Carolina. The Center, according to its Web site “provides global ‘cradle-to-grave’ software support and engineering for fleet standard automated information systems, afloat and ashore…and supports the information technology needed by combat forces and the supporting shore infrastructure so they always know the status and capability of their mission assets, weapons systems, equipment and people to prepare and sustain combat operations anywhere in the world.”

UM-Flint alumnus Captain Red Hoover had not returned to the campus since graduating in 1984.  In the spring of 2007, he returned for a career fair. At the time, the Flushing native headed SPAWAR in Charleston, South Carolina.

Hoover liked the students he was meeting, so much so, that he suggested to Advising and Career Center Director Ami Moss the establishment of an internship program. Eleven students were selected for the first group and in spring of 2008, they were flown to the center for interviews.

“They told us our students were some of the most well-rounded they ever interviewed,” said Moss. “They were especially impressed with their life experiences and felt they would make good employees.”

UM-Flint computer science and engineering students and alumni, who were in the first intern group, are now being hired for paid summer internships as well as full time positions.

SPAWAR officials will be back on campus in the near future to conduct more interviews to fill internships.

The program has proven so successful that Computer Science, Engineering Science and Physics faculty have been invited to SPAWAR to discuss the possibility of collaborating on senior research projects.