NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 21 number 3 - Spring 2001

By Honora Nerz, Textiles Library

The NCSU Libraries received a grant from the Ford Motor Company to establish a one-year internship for an undergraduate student in engineering. In May 2000 the Ford Motor Company Engineering Information Internship was awarded to Meghan Wutkowski, a third-year student at NC State double majoring in chemical engineering and textile chemistry. This pilot program is designed to expose NC State engineering students to applications of information technology in a real-world setting. It provides them with a working knowledge of the literature of their field and the superior information skills necessary to be successful in both the academic and professional arenas.

Wutkowski, who has an outstanding academic record and is also heavily involved in campus leadership activities such as the Student Leadership Consultant program, received a thorough introduction to how libraries work and how to do research in a large academic library during the fall 2000 semester. This spring she will begin working on special projects. In assessing the internship, Wutkowski says, "Thus far, I'm very pleased with this program. I plan to go to graduate school, and the research skills I've learned here will really help me with that." In June Wutkowski will begin the last phase of her internship, during which she will work at the Ford Motor Company's Research Library in Dearborn, Michigan.