Alex Peslak

EUROTECH NEWSLETTER FALL 2003

My work experience for Eurotech began at a yearly meeting with the recruiting officer for Siemens. I asked if there were any positions available in the fiber optics field, and that summer I found myself in the Siemens Student Program interning in Boca Raton, FL, in the Optical Communication Networks Department at Siemens. There I tested, analyzed, and researched an Optical Communication System capable of a 3.2 Tb/s data transmission rate. I made great contacts and lasting relationships with several of the employees and other interns there. I actually ended up working with some of them later in Germany.

After this internship, I flew right to the Siemens Research & Development Advanced Technologies Department in Munich, Germany, where I did a coop for 4 months. I tested optical lab equipment and developed drivers and software for obtaining and analyzing data. I also helped other employees with the newly acquired Optical Communication System that I had previously tested and worked with. I met people from all over the globe. I now have contacts in 6 out of the 7 continents (it’s difficult to meet someone from Antarctica).

Not only was my work experience educational and exciting, my leisure time was a blast as well. I can remember one weekend when the whole department went skiing in the Alps near the Austrian border where the snow is unbelievable. I didn’t think that it was possible to have so much fun with your co-workers. I stayed in Germany an extra month just to go snowboarding in the Alps. Another memorable experience was the Oktoberfest. My Irish roommates and I had the times of our lives. I have never seen so many people together at once having a good time. I also visited many of my friends that I had met in Florida. This gave me the chance to see the rest of Southern and Western Germany, Leipzig, and Berlin. I also had the chance to travel to England and Austria. The Eurotech Program provides an excellent international work and life experience, and provides many opportunities after graduation. I graduate in December 2002, and will apply to the Siemens Graduate Program. This is the next step after the Siemens Student Program and will give me more work experience and place me all over the world for the next 2 years, and hopefully longer.