By Jeannie Peng Mansyur
San Jacinto College and its industry partners are attracting talent to the Houston aerospace community by offering paid internships to San Jacinto College students and to other university and college students from the local area and across the country.
One of the college’s key partners in this effort is SGT, a KBRwyle business unit. Through the “Get a Glimpse of the Workplace” internship program at San Jacinto College’s Continuing and Professional Development division, students who meet SGT’s internship job descriptions are searched for, screened and recruited. If there is a solid match between the company’s NASA contract needs and the student’s interest and skill set, an internship offer is extended.
Students may be pursuing associate, bachelor’s or master’s degrees in a variety of fields that benefit the aerospace industry. These include majors such as mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering as well as computer science. All of the students are enrolled in the Continuing and Professional Development division of the college and receive Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits through San Jacinto College.
Two strategic goals of the college are being met through this institutional-public partnership: student success and workforce and economic development.
“Through this internship program, students gain real world experience and get to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom. They also get to connect with mentors, subject matter experts who are already working in the aerospace industry,” said Linda Drobnich, Business Development Manager with San Jacinto College’s Continuing and Professional Development division.
Intern Samuel Norman, a San Jacinto College graduate, is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and works with SGT’s systems test group.
Laurie Labra, Program Manager with SGT, said, “The advantages of having an internship program with San Jac include having students assist us to achieve our NASA contractual goals and deliverables. The internship program also provides a cost-effective way to recruit and evaluate students for potential employment.”
The interns placed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center become members of their SGT contract team and work side-by-side with aerospace engineers, scientists and staff members on projects related to the International Space Station and space exploration.
Intern Samuel Norman assists the team with automating the flight system testing procedures by writing computer language code that interacts with flight controller graphic displays. Norman said, “As an intern, I am learning new technical skills, like programming techniques. He added, “I am gaining knowledge that time management and being organized on the job are important too. Just like a student needs to manage their time to get good grades and complete homework assignments, I utilize those skills to use my time effectively to have good results on my work assignments.”
Intern Joe Bartos received his degree in Information Technology Security at San Jacinto College and transferred to the University of Houston – Clear Lake to pursue his bachelor’s degree in Information Management Systems. Joe works in SGT’s extravehicular activity (EVA) group.
Intern Joe Bartos said, “Because of this internship, I am able to take classes that astronauts take, like becoming familiar with tools used during an extravehicular activity (EVA), basically space walks. I assist the EVA group with completing Wiki software updates. This web-based application is a comprehensive knowledge source on a specific topic which is shared among NASA project teams.”
San Jacinto College’s internship program has created an environment for student success and built a pool of tested, experienced candidates to be considered for full-time positions at companies like SGT and others in the local aerospace industry.
To apply to the internship program, contact Linda Drobnich, [email protected].
(Left ) Laurie Labra, Program Manager, SGT, a KBRwyle business unit, with San Jacinto College interns.
These students are supporting SGT’s NASA contracts at the Johnson Space Center.
