ECE Department Presents Student Internship Panel

Villanova’s chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Villanova’s Delta Mu chapter of Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society, recently hosted a student panel for those interested in learning more about opportunities in their disciplines and preparing for internships. Department Chair Dr. Bijan Mobasseri explained the catalyst behind the event, noting that student experiences do not receive the spotlight and appreciation they deserve. The panel was orchestrated to highlight those experiences with senior class panelists and to allow underclassmen to make more informed career decisions.

Dr. Mobasseri shared his own experiences at the Air Force Research Laboratory this past summer before opening the floor for panelists. The panelists covered an incredibly broad range of experiences in the public, private and defense sectors and technical, medical and legal positions.

Panelists received their internships through career fairs, networking events, cold-calls and Villanova research opportunities. However, they urged students not to solely rely on Villanova’s resources, but to network constantly, join extracurricular clubs and professional societies, and demonstrate your drive in any way possible. Freshmen looking to compete with upperclassmen for summer internship opportunities were particularly urged to join groups and pursue research opportunities in order to gain the technical and hands-on experience they may not otherwise receive until later years.

The consensus among panelists was that you “get out what you put in.” You need to work at internship opportunities—not expect them to fall into your lap—and attend future internship panels to learn more about these experiences and the culture at many of these companies.

Panelists included:

John Harding ’20 EE
Electrical Design Engineer, Exelon’s Limerick Generating Station

Nicholas Florio ’20 EE, ’21 MSEE
Power Electronics Engineer, Collins Aerospace
Electrical Design Engineer, L3Harris Technologies

James Pederson ’20 EE
Aerospace, Boeing
Software Engineer, L3 Harris Technologies

Dan McTeague ’20 EE
Systems and Software Engineering, Lockheed Martin

Kevin Kan ’19 CPE
Software Engineer, Lockheed Martin

Christopher Israel ’20 EE
Antenna Research Lab with Dr. Ahmad Hoorfar at Villanova University
RF Engineer, Army Radar Systems and ID Division, Lockheed Martin

Shelby Gallan ’20 EE
Systems Engineer, L3Harris Technologies
Technology at the FBI

Lauren Scalice ‘21 CPE
iD Tech Camps

Matt O’Connell ’20 CPE
Software Engineer, Amazon

Phil Dantoin ’20 EE
Biomedical/Healthcare, Northwestern Medicine

MK Mastaler ’20 EE
Patent Engineer, Michael Best Law Firm