Co-op Corner

Angela McRee, ERDC Contracting Co-op student poses in Italy while studying abroad in March

1 May 08 -- Vicksburg, Miss. -- The federal government affords students many opportunities to obtain real career-world experience through internships, the student temporary employment program and the student career experience program, better known as the Co-op program.

The Co-op program provides valuable work experience directly related to a student’s academic field of study.  It provides formal periods of work and study while a student attends school.  Students may be eligible for permanent employment under this component after successfully completing their education and meeting work requirements.

Angela McRee has been a graduate Co-op student with the Corps since November 2003 and has been working in the ERDC Contracting Office since August 2006.

McRee is originally from Bay Springs, Miss., and moved to Vicksburg in August 2006 after she accepted a graduate Co-op position with ERDC.  She previously worked as an undergraduate Co-op at Sardis Project Management Office for the Corps’ Vicksburg District in the Oxford area.  She earned her bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Mississippi.  She is currently pursuing her master’s in business administration from Mississippi College (MC) and will graduate in August 2008.

“Co-oping with the Corp is the best thing I’ve ever done!” McRee said.  “I know that sounds so cliché, but it’s true.  I’ve had so many wonderful experiences and opportunities that I would not have had otherwise.  I have met some incredible people, some of whom have become great friends.  Working in contracting has allowed me to see what the business world is really like.  The Contracting Office is very fast paced.  There are dozens of suspenses, data calls and regulations that we have to comply with on a daily basis.  This has prepared me much more than sitting in a classroom ever has.”

McRee recently had the opportunity to study abroad through a grant from MC.  The college divided the grant into eight scholarships.  McRee competed against other master’s and ADP (Accelerated Degree Program) students at MC and was selected for one of the scholarships.  The class, which counted as her last elective, was the Study of the European Union.  McRee’s study focused on business practices of the European Union as compared to the United States.

All in all, McRee is very grateful for the opportunity she has had to Co-op with the Corps and believes that it has given her more business knowledge and opportunity than she would have received in the classroom.