In a groundbreaking back-to-school interview with Diana Hernandez-Alende, Florida International University (FIU) electrical engineering major Antonio Rubio (third from left) talks about how he landed an internship at Northrop Grumman during a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) conference and what employers look for.
“I attended the 2018 BEYA (Black Engineer of the Year Awards) Conference. It’s a really good career fair that is held annually in Washington, D.C.,” Rubio told Alende. “There were a lot of companies present including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Boston Scientific, NASA, Raytheon, Chevron, Texas Instruments, GM (General Motors) and many more. I highly recommend attending this conference to anyone. It was a great experience and I was fortunate enough to interview with Northrop Grumman and they offered me a position right then.”
The upcoming BEYA STEM Conference and Career Fair will take place Feb. 7-9, 2019 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.
As an electrical engineering intern, Rubio said he supported a United States land-based missile in service with the Air Force.
“My main task was to develop a software tool that would automatically check a digital parts list for errors and calculate the accuracy… The desktop application I built allowed the developers of the parts list to frequently check the accuracy of their work before the software goes into a weapons system.”
Rubio’s senior design capstone project happened to be designing an app that found errors in a data list. The experience he gained taking software technique classes at FIU, working on a robotics competition, and as a research assistant was invaluable for his summer internship.
Rubio said recruiters at the BEYA STEM Conference and Career Fair look at your GPA, applicable classes you have taken, projects you’ve worked on, relevant jobs and military service, clubs you belong to, and how you add value to your community.
The coolest thing about his internship was delivering the final product and hearing all the feedback at North Grumman Corporation (NGC).
“Just being in Utah was cool, too… I also really liked the work environment. They expected a lot out of you at NGC, but everyone is really nice and willing to help. They have a lot of BBQ’s and team building functions. We had at least one BBQ or potluck a week,” he said.
Click here to read more on how Rubio got an offer to be a returning intern next summer and a full-time position when he graduates in December 2019.
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