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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Macturk took up an opportunity to work in a design internship with Collins Aerospace. Working mostly virtually during the summer of 2021, he led the development of a patent-pending, spring damper time delay mechanism, helping to fine-tune its design to get it closer to market readiness.

That experience was followed by a third: Macturk is now working with General Electric (GE) Aviation in their supply chain in Boston. He hopes for a total of five work experiences before he graduates, planning those for two more summers. All told, Macturk will graduate in 2024 with four years of academic studies and a full year of combined co-op and internship experiences.

While being away from the Blacksburg campus is a different plan than most students take, he sees a lot of added value for the bonus amount of career preparation he will have.

Once I graduate,I'll have a great idea where I want to endup, and the experiences that go along with it, he said.

Despite being physically located in Boston to work with GE, Macturk still maintains active involvement in student activities, including his role on the Orbital Launch Vehicle Team. This is a true passion project, connected to the fascination hes had with the projects of SpaceX for years. Macturk serves as a structural engineer for the team, working on macro-level projects such as engineering retainment bolts to withstand the G-forces of a launch. His involvement with the team has been virtual during the period of the pandemic, but he plans to maintain that commitment. Since he can do most of his design and analysis on a computer, virtual involvement is much simpler. He works on those projects after his workday at GE.

Education and work come together

The worlds of work and education have converged for Macturk, creating a perspective that would have been impossible from only one point of view. Learning MATLAB programming during his first year in the classroom was interesting work, but it came to life when he used the program at Collins Aerospace. The teamwork and strategy he learned from working with industry professionals flavored his experience as a researcher and a leader in the classroom, he explained, and working with fellow students helped inspire his drive for innovative approaches.

Its a great opportunity to apply some of the things you learn in the classroom, and it gives a purpose to what youre doing, Macturk said. You can speak to what you use in the software, and its not just a class project youve done. Its a project on a team that includes dollar signs and deadlines.

These experiences have also opened up opportunities for return offers and job extensions from the companies for which Macturk has worked, following the completion of a job well done. These possibilities keep him mindful of the future he is building as he goes, connecting with companies that might be a good fit for his career.

Im very happy with the decision I made [to co-op and intern] and the amount of person-to-person interaction I get while working, Macturk said. Now I can apply these lessons from the real world back into the classroom and see why Im learning these things. And of course, the pay you get is pretty nice.

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Student explores the broad engineering workforce with co-ops and internships - Virginia Tech Daily