Andrew Bates ’16 selected as state’s outstanding co-op student

Andrew Bates

Andrew Bates, ’16 mechanical engineering, was recently recognized as the state of Alabama’s 2016 Outstanding Co-op Student of the Year. 

The award was presented by the Alabama Association of Colleges and Employers during its annual conference, which was held recently in Gadsden. Bates was a co-op student for three semesters with Rheem Manufacturing Co. in Montgomery, starting in 2012.

“I am hugely honored to receive the co-op student of the year award from the AACE,” Bates said. “It is great to see how Auburn’s cooperative education program partners with other organizations to bridge the gap between academia and the workforce.  I know my co-op experience with Rheem Manufacturing has given me exceptional professional development and clarity on my future.”

Earlier this year, Bates was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and will spend the 2016-17 academic year studying and conducting research at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

Offered since 1937, Auburn University’s cooperative education program allows students to alternate semesters of full-time coursework with semesters of full-time paid work in their field. This is the seventh consecutive year that an Auburn Engineering student has won the statewide award.