From Flint to Frankfurt
Engineer finds meaningful work at home, and across the globe.
As an engineering student at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, I worked a co-op job as part of my required curriculum. At Kettering, students go to school for 3 months, then work full-time for 3 months, continuing that pattern throughout their collegiate career. It’s a concept I found incredibly helpful since you graduate with both a degree and practical experience.
In January of 2008, I was a co-op student with the company, and a major project came into our Systems Engineering Team, so I was quickly moved to this department. No joke, 10 minutes into working with this new group and I was designing fixtures and bracketry to complete an important job that was due in two months. At STANLEY®, I quickly learned to expect to be given demanding but rewarding assignments.
The opportunity to be part of the Breakthrough Innovation Team and to create the next generation of great products is every engineer’s dream, and an absolute honor.— Paul M. GianferraraMechanical Engineering Lead, Breakthrough Innovation
STANLEY® Engineered Fastening
I had five job offers at graduation. I decided on STANLEY® because I knew I could use so much of my education here. You go to school to become an engineer, so you want to apply that knowledge in a real way, a meaningful way. I knew I could be creative here, wear many hats, and diversify my experiences however I wanted. I could be the engineer, machinist, and service technician all in one day.
In less than 10 years, I’ve gone from working as a co-op student at STANLEY® near my hometown to being the Mechanical Engineering Lead for Breakthrough Innovation in our office outside of Frankfurt, Germany. The opportunity to be part of the Breakthrough Innovation Team and to create the next generation of great products is every engineer’s dream, and an absolute honor.
At STANLEY® each person is encouraged to branch outside their role and flex into other areas. Too many times we want to only focus on the work sitting on our desk, but here at STANLEY®, we all learn to stretch and be boundaryless. The company believes that good ideas can come from anywhere in the company and the more we broaden our individual areas of knowledge and break down barriers, the better we will be as an organization.