Seth Woodward, a Ƶ senior who hails from Owensboro, Kentucky, has won the 2001 Carol Quandt Student Essay Contest sponsored by the Michigan Council for Cooperative Education (MCCE). He received a $1,000 check, recently presented his essay at the MCCE Annual Meeting at Crystal Mountain Resort in northern Michigan, and his essay was published in the MCCE newsletter.
Woodward is pleased to win the award but is quick to point out that he also enjoys writing.
"Last year I came in third. I like to write as a hobby and when I have a chance to test my writing skills, I take advantage of it," he said.
In his essay, Woodward described his co-op experience as a well-rounded endeavor thanks to the opportunities offered to him by Kettering. He recently returned for his Senior I term following his co-op work assignment at Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, which is based in Normal, Illinois.
At Mitsubishi, Woodward worked in the Production Engineering Trim/Final area. His plans following graduation in 2003 include earning his MBA within several years of graduation.
The competition for the 2001 essay contest was fierce. According to contest organizers, Woodward's essay beat out more than 65 other submissions to win first prize. This year's essay question asked students to discuss what they have learned from their co-op experience as it relates to their personal development, and to discuss whether or not they believe this experience will enhance their education and prepare them for the rigors of future employment.
Organizers judged entries based on the following criteria: essays had to (1) offer original ideas; (2) provide specific and well-described examples from the student's co-op experience and show how those experiences relate specifically to the essay topic; (3) develop a positive theme for cooperative education; and (4) demonstrate solid writing skills as demonstrated by appropriate sentence structure, grammar, spelling and organization. Second place winners won $500 and third place winners $250.
The Michigan Council for Cooperative Education is devoted to the promotion of cooperative education throughout the state of Michigan. Ƶ is one of the country's premier co-op education institutions and provides 2,500 students with career-based education in engineering, applied sciences, mathematics and business management.