She’s practically an astronaut.

Jill Cattrysse, junior in aerospace engineering, has worked on missions for the shuttles Endeavor, Atlantis, Discover, and Columbia. She will be heading back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the fourth time in her ongoing co-op with NASA this summer. And she’s going back there when she graduates.

Cattrysse is one of many ISU students who chooses to participate in internships and co-ops, gaining experience that may someday help them out in a fierce job market.

Although some students spend their summers toiling over a fast-food grill or busing tables for grouchy managers, others work for NASA, Coca-Cola, Proctor and Gamble or National Public Radio.

Cattrysse, who found her co-op through Engineering Career Services, worked on experiments that would be taken aboard the International Space Station.

“I wrote procedures for the experiments that flew in the shuttle and on the ISS. I also tested some of the hardware that was going to fly . and worked with vacuum chambers to test some of the modules for the station. And I worked with stowage and helped pack the racks where clothes, computers, experiments were placed in the cargo unit,” she said.

She worked for NASA in spring 2000, fall 2000, and last summer.

“I learned a lot about the aerospace industry as far as work experience, which was a lot different than the learning done in class. Also, I learned about NASA and how they run. I had to adapt to a new environment, and new people as well,” she said.

Cattrysse’s time at NASA has been valuable to her career, she said. “I am definitely going back, I loved it there,” she said.

In addition to padding r‚sum‚s, internships can be opportunities to travel the globe.

Jennifer Gronau, senior in marketing and international business, was an intern for the Coca-Cola corporation in Sidney, Australia. She worked in consumer affairs, taking calls from consumers about products, dealing with customers and distributors and completing a variety of tasks for the administration.

Her internship helped define her path and expand her horizons.

“From doing this you get to decide whether you like it or whether you don’t,” she said. “Being in Australia you learn a whole new culture.”

She said she wouldn’t want to go back to Australia or take a job with the Coca-Cola corporation, but her internship was valuable.

“I will use the experience to get a job more tailored to what I’m looking for,” she said.

Some students get several internships through the course of their college careers, making connections before their far-off graduation dates.

Bing Howell, junior in management information systems and international business, served as an intern for both Procter & Gamble Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio and Lucent Technologies in Omaha, Neb.

Last summer, at Procter & Gamble, he was assigned the task of putting together a virtual tour for one of its future facilities. At Lucent, he created a database for all of its certificates of origin for online orders and specifications of more than 50,000 products.

Both companies have offered to take Howell back, and Procter & Gamble hinted that he may have the opportunity to work for it in Europe next summer, he said. “This puts more in my repertoire for my marketability when I graduate,” he said.

Some students get to meet and mingle with celebrities during their terms as interns in addition to applying their experience when they come home.

Grant Olsen, junior in journalism and mass communication, spent this past summer working for National Public Radio’s `Talk of the Nation’ in Washington, D.C. He worked with the show’s editorial board and Juan Williams, the show’s host.

Olsen also was responsible for retrieving taped soundbytes from the tape archive to be played on air during the day.

“My job was to go to the program archive, locate the 10-to 30- second tape and load it into the computer,” he said. He also regulated e-mail input from listeners while the show was airing, and escorted the show’s guests throughout the building.

“Among some of the most famous guests I met were Mitch Daniels, director of the federal office of management and budget, and Joe Lockhart, former press secretary for President Bill Clinton,” Olsen said.

He also worked on Intern Edition, a 35-minute radio show run completely by students.

“It was a chance to do something of our own and get some great experience,” he said.

Olsen currently works for WOI radio in Ames.

“The experience I got at NPR is helpful for where I’m working now,” he said.

In order to find his internship, Olsen simply did his research.

“I went to the [NPR] Web site . to find out if there were internships,” Olsen said.

Students can also contact career services to access information from employers seeking ISU students.

Loni Pringnitz, co-op and internship coordinator for Engineering Career Services, said the application process is simple.

“First of all, [students] have to be registered with career services,” she said. “Then, identifying employers through career fairs, and doing on-campus interviews for companies that are looking for people is the next step.”

Now is the time to act for summer internships, she said.

“September and October are prime months for fall semester, but there are also some on-campus interviews in November as well,” she said.

Career fairs are an excellent way to get in touch with companies, Pringnitz said.

“At the most recent engineering career fair, there were 270 employers, and 208 were looking for people to serve in internships and co-ops,” said Pringnitz.

Kathy Wieland, Experiential Learning Coordinator for Business/LAS Career Services, said internships are a good way to get an early stake in the job market.

“About 50 to 60 percent of people who are given offers from intern employers accept overall. Some companies do much better than that, retaining 80 and 90 percent of their interns,” she said.

Wieland said companies look for in several qualities in potential interns.

“Companies look for students who articulate their skills, research the company, communicate effectively, are well-rounded and involved, [and] have a polished and professional image.”