[MUSIC]
>>After their second year,
students start doing co-op.
So what it means is that
students go to work in industry
or in research labs with faculty.
And so by doing this, they get
to learn what it's like to work
in the real world.
They get to learn about what
they want to do for their
permanent career after graduation.
>>It just gives you a ton of
opportunity to figure out what
you like and what you don't like.
And it also gives you
really good real-world experience
that you can then apply back
in the classroom.
And it also helps you realize that
what you're learning in the classroom
is very applicable to industry.
>>We have a large number of
employers who we partner with to
help our students find
meaningful co-op jobs in an
environment where they have
structure, they have support,
and everyone in the companies
understands that these are
students that are learning.
>>This is practical, hands-on
experience that the students
gain while they're students.
A lot of students go to other
schools, they graduate, they
have a wonderful degree, but
they're missing that experience,
and that is critical in terms of
your career and getting started.
>>A lot of other schools, they
might have a career fair but
their career fair is definitely
not as big as RIT.
And you just get all this great
access to all these companies
that are coming right to you.
And I think that's really great.
It definitely helped me get my
first co-op, and I think that's
critical, especially now with
all these companies that are
asking for you to come in with
one or two years of experience.
And without this "in,"
how are you supposed to get that?
>>They get paid.
They don't pay tuition during
the co-op.
And they're getting great
experience, and they frequently
get job offers, which is tremendous.
Most people don't graduate with
their college degree without
knowing where they're going to work,
and lots and lots of our students do.
>>I had this great opportunity
working with Zeiss at the Marine
Biological Laboratory.
I got to see a whole different
world of things that I was not
ever exposed to before.
It was just a really wonderful experience.
It was also in Cape Cod, so it
was really great to just be
there for the summer as well.
>>I had a co-op for Yamaha Music
in Hamamatsu, Japan.
That's right next to Mount Fuji.
I really want to design and
build new instruments to join
engineering and music together.
I also got my own project there
that I could design something
and I could call it my own and
start something from beginning
to end.
>>I've done five co-ops,
actually, since being here.
I really wanted to try
everything I was interested in.
So my first co-op was at Unilever.
I was doing personal care
research, specifically with
shampoo and conditioner.
And then my next co-op, which
was completely different, was
working at Crane Currency, and
they actually make US currency paper.
So it's pretty cool when I was
on co-op and I was telling people
that I worked making US currency.
And then even switching gears
after that, my next co-op was
down in Chile doing research in
a zeolite synthesis lab.
In the future, one thing I did
really learn from that is I do
want to pursue a career related
to sustainability, and RIT in
particular is a great place to
pursue that interest.
>>There's a lot of stuff that
people don't talk about,
in terms of being prepared for
life after college.
Things like understanding how to
pay your bills and pay rent and
things like that.
And weirdly enough, the co-op
program is fantastic at that.
I had to deal with finding my
own apartment and, effectively,
living on my own for six months
after my second year of college.
So RIT offered a lot of help
there, but it was still a
situation of, OK, I have to
learn how to be an adult.
And it prepared me fantastically
for my full-time job.
I'm super excited to go there.
I feel genuinely ready to move
on to the next step, and it's
really going to be a good experience.
>>So students that have these
varied skills and have the
opportunity to gain some work
experience while at RIT can
really hit the ground running
from day one.
>>They start their careers with
amazing experience.
They have just a leg up on the
competition, and this shows in
our great placement rates and
the great salaries.
>>I think all my friends right
now who are graduating have a
job lined up or are close to
securing a job for after
graduation, so definitely I
think RIT really prepares you
for that.
>>There's just so much
opportunity here.
And you do have to work for it.
It's not like co-ops are given
to you.
But there's just so much you can
do with it, and it helped me get
into the best chemical engineering
grad school in the country.
So what more can I say?
It's just been absolutely great.
[Tiger Roar]
[MUSIC]