University of Cincinnati’s ‘Coop’ program helping Lankan to build good career path

Wednesday, 25 April 2012 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Rakhitha Basnayake from Veyangoda is benefitting from a unique “coop” program carried out by the University of Cincinnati.

Rakjitha who is a senior Information and Technology student at UC, joined the University from SLIIT, Malabe on 2010.

“I ‘coop’ as a Software developer in the ATM developing section for a leading international bank. I was very fortunate to get this job and after I started Rakhitha Basnayake cooping, I paid my college tuition myself and never took money from my parents. More than that what I appreciate most is the experience I get. As an IT student, the working experience is very important. This job is very challenging and the work load is very high. But still my senior colleagues help me whenever I face a problem. Through this job, I learnt so much about software developing, data security, project management and team work. And also it taught me how to act professionally and how to manage time and money in an appropriate way,” he said.

“It was a very competitive job and it was not easy landing on it. But my cultural background, good academic background, my flexibility and adaptability came up front in my interview and they choose me over many American and international students. They trained me to who I am today and gave me an identity in the software world,” Rakhitha added

Before he started cooping, he thought he has to find jobs on his own.

“Yes, I had to search for companies I like, go to career fairs, talk to company representatives and provide my resume. But UC Professional practice advisers and staff were always behind me. They advised me how to prepare for interviews, what to wear, what to expect and how to behave. They are still with me whenever I face a problem or don’t know what to do. There’s one thing I can tell about UC coop program, you will never be lost. There is always somebody you can seek help at UC Professional practice division,” he said.

According to Rakhitha the UC Coop program is very helpful in building a good career path.

“It is well organised. We get experience in our education field while still being in school. One may be very successful in his academics with good grades, but when he goes to the real world he may not like what he is doing. So by coop program, we get a chance to see what we’ll be doing in the future when we graduate and whether we like it,” he added.

The coop program also helps a lot in getting a full time position, because employers always like to hire people with experience. “You can’t get the degree and the working experience when you graduate unless if you join a university with a coop program,” he said.

“One big reason why I choose UC is because of this coop program. I had only three months to graduate from SLIIT and still decided to come to UC even though it’d take three more years to get the same degree. But I knew it wouldn’t be the same degree with the coop experience. And today I’m not the same person who first came here. Today I can call myself successful and I’m glad to say I achieved it from my own efforts. This is all thankful to UC coop program,” Rakhitha said.