SPRING 2026
ELPE NEWS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT
Biannual Publication of the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering
CO-OP/INTERNSHIP | GLOBAL | CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Q&A Co-op and Global Programs
Alanna Howe, Mechanical Engineering Graduation: December 2026 Co-Op Experience • Summer 2023: Honda (Marysville, Ohio) – Welding Department, Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) • Summer 2024: Honda (Marysville, Ohio) – Market Quality, North American Quality Center (NAQC) • Spring 2025: BMW (Munich, Germany) – Assembly Process Planning, Forschungsund Innovationszentrum (FIZ) • Global Experience: Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX) • Student Extracurriculars: Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Club Swim What inspired you to choose your engineering major and pursue the ELPE co-op program and our global program? My parents joked that they always knew I would become an engineer, but I didn’t know that until middle school when I started participating in FIRST Robotics. Mechanical Engineering was the obvious choice for me – I thrived in the design and manufacturing aspect of FRC and it allowed for flexibility while I decided on what industry would fit me best.
I wanted to study in Germany since high school, but the pandemic and struggle to find the right program prevented me from going. It wasn’t until I got an email about CBYX from my German advisor that I seriously considered studying abroad. After learning of my acceptance to the program, I involved the ELPE and Swanson’s Global Office to make my dream of living, studying, and working in Germany a reality. I also decided to enroll in the Co-op Program to earn academic credit and retain enrollment, while abroad. Tell us about your co-op with Honda, what were your favorite projects or tasks? What challenges did you have to overcome and how did you learn from them? How has your experience at Honda helped your growth professionally, and advance your academic and career goals. I spent two summers working at Honda. My first was at Honda’s Performance Manufacturing Center, with the welding department, while Honda’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell CRV was in its preproduction phase. I’d never welded in my life and had very little real-life engineering experience, but I learned so much from it – both about continued on next page > > >