Engineering Success

Hannah Schulze, Biomedical Engineering ’18, and Abbie Petersen, Electromechanical Engineering ’20, met as Wentworth resident assistants, and they’ve been friends and confidants ever since. They recently chatted with one another about mentorship and the transition from co‑op to career.

Hannah Schulze: You’ve been in an engineering role for a few years now. What do you remember about the transition from co‑op to full-time employee?

Abbie Peterson: It was April 2020, so just as the world was shutting down, I’d accepted a job transfer to California. I stayed at the same company, but I shifted to a different team at an office almost 3,000 miles away. 

Before graduation, I was trying to wrap up part-time co‑op work, finish my capstone, and prepare to relocate. It was a really overwhelming time. In all honesty, I should have done a better job of reaching out to my mentors because they could have put things in perspective. I think that would have probably helped me wrap my head around everything a bit better.

Hannah: How did you go about finding those mentors as a co‑op?

Abbie: I had an informal mentor during my first co‑op, but I didn’t recognize it as mentorship until we started scheduling regular meetings. When I started full time, I realized that I was fortunate to have that relationship early on. They were interested in my projects, connected me to conference opportunities, and reviewed my resume. When I reflect on that time, it reminds me that mentorship isn’t always formal. We benefit from both formal and informal influences.

Hannah: Transitions present a lot of unknowns and new challenges. How can we, as professionals, help support students through these times?

Abbie: From co‑op to career, the scope of work changes because your impact level is higher. That can be really daunting when you’re used to four-month co‑ops. You’re moving from short projects or projects that aren’t necessarily on a critical work path to projects that could last years, depending on the company and the industry. It’s reasonable to expect more responsibilities as you move up in the company, but the weight of those expectations is a career-long conversation. Mentors and managers need to set their new employees up for a reasonable learning curve.

Hannah: What does mentorship look like for you now, as a full-time engineer?

Abbie: Mentorship is meaningful at all levels because there’s always that hope to grow, improve, and frankly, keep up. Chances are, there’s someone out there who’s felt the way you feel about your life and career at one point or another, and you can learn from them if you’re open to it. I’m still figuring out what drives me, and my mentors help me identify goals and move forward in that exploration.

Hannah holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Wentworth and a M.A. in technical communication from Texas Tech University. She currently works as a technical marketing writer, serving clients in engineering services, embedded design, and test/validation. Hannah does her best thinking on a good walk, so she’s keen to get outside.

Abbie holds a B.S. in electromechanical engineering. After graduating from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2020, she joined Teradyne’s California office as a hardware engineer working on signal delivery solutions. After two years of exploring local hiking trails and national parks, she relocated to Teradyne’s Boston office. In her current role as an RF systems engineer, she is responsible for ensuring that products meet customers’ technical specifications. Back in Boston, she enjoys running on the esplanade and cuddling with her cats.