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Jeremy Forster

Student Profile

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Jeremy Forster

Lutron Electonics Co., Inc., Summer 2005 and Spring/Summer 2007
Physics

I knew when I applied to PSU that I wanted to be a physics major. However, I had no idea what I was going to do with it. So to keep my options open, I stopped by the co-op table at the Eberly College of Science Open House in the spring. The team gave me lots of information and helped me decide that I absolutely wanted to do a co-op. My main motivation was to try as many things as possible to see what I like or don't like. So until I was eligible to co-op my sophomore year, I looked for a job on campus (and thoroughly enjoyed my freshman year). I found a math peer tutoring job with the University Learning Center . I absolutely loved the job and held it through my senior year.

Then when the beginning of my sophomore year rolled around, I met with Cindye Rudy and filled out all of my application information for the Co-op Office. The same day that I signed up, Cindye mentioned that Lutron Electronics was coming to perform interviews at the end of that week. So for nothing else than interview practice, I signed up to meet with one of their recruiters. The interview went well and in a few weeks they offered me a position for the summer.

Lutron is a lighting control company. They produce everything from simple wallbox dimmers up to entire building or stadium wide lighting controls. At Lutron, I joined an engineering team that was redesigning an existing product. I aided them in a variety of areas including distributing test sites, analyzing returns, and performing qualification testing.

Lutron is an amazing company, but during my junior year I joined some physics labs. I tried computer programming in a lab.but quit after two weeks. Programming wasn't for me. I worked in a few other labs throughout the spring and summer. I decided that physics lab work and physics grad school wasn't for me. So I spoke with Lutron again and lined up another co-op for the spring and summer of my senior year.

Currently I am working in their window shades department and it is going great. I am actually going to graduate in August after my co-op is over. I will be applying for a full-time job with Lutron. I've spent some time exploring different parts of the company and I would enjoy a position that is heavy on customer-interaction. I've spoken with employees in the Commercial and Residential Applications and positions in those areas look promising. No matter the outcome, doing a co-op was one of the best decisions I have made during my time at PSU.