When she arrived at the University of Dayton Research Institute in May, Emma Paterchak—a third-year mechanical engineering student at Sinclair Community College—had no idea what to expect from her first college internship, let alone what she would do with her degree in mechanical engineering after graduation. Less than 90 days later, she knew exactly what direction she wanted her career to go, and where she wanted to do it.
Emma was one of 60 students from 15 colleges in eight states who participated in UDRI’s summer internship program. She was hired onto the repair technologies group and assigned to major projects and a number of smaller ones.
In one project, Emma helped with the design and development of foam inserts for toolbox drawers to organize and track tools used by the team; in the other, she aided in the development of a prototype for an improved repair technology information table that summarizes the equipment, testing and application of the group's capabilities. She also had the opportunity to be involved in 3D printing prototypes for displays.
“When I went into the internship, I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduation aside from being a mechanical engineer,” Emma said. “Now I know I want to work at a research institute, because I really like working with new technology. I like working in repair technologies, and I learned a ton about the technology and our process here.”
From a career standpoint, Emma said the best part of her internship was the hands-on experience that helped her understand what she wanted to do with her degree. “Designing 3D displays demonstrating our testing processes helped me understand how much I liked design engineering, as opposed to process engineering or materials engineering. I felt super engaged and I could spend hours doing design work; it was my favorite part.”
Emma said she was excited to be offered a part-time job at the end of her internship, so she could continue to work with the repair technologies group through the school year.
“I’m so happy here!” she said. “I absolutely love UDRI and how it’s run, and I love the people here. As soon as I started the job, I immediately got such a warm welcome, with people coming to meet me, offering to help, and answering every question. I’m so glad UDRI offered me an internship, because I couldn’t see myself fitting in so well anywhere else!”
If you’re ready for an internship that will level up your career prep, full-time summer positions for 2026 are now open for UD students on Handshake! Opportunities will open to students from other universities later this fall. For questions, feel free to contact EEETeam@udri.udayton.edu.