Patrick Munson shivered against the bitter May winds of North Dakota, staring out onto the barren fields and wondering what the next six months away from the warmth and familiarity of his life in Austin would look like.

“I was questioning whether I made the right choice or not,” the civil engineering sophomore said. “Eventually, I realized that my choice didn’t matter. Whatever I did, I had to make the most of it.”

This past spring, Munson enrolled in the six-month undergraduate Cooperative Engineering Education Program, in which UT engineering undergrads take a semester off from school to work in a company that coincides with their respective major. Students in this program apply their classroom knowledge and gain hands-on experience in a company setting, while still earning college credit. For many students who work these extended internships, leaving the familiarity of campus life comes with both a new set of opportunities and challenges.

Despite the challenges that come with being alone in a new state, Munson said he was drawn to the idea of using his time away from UT and the traditional college experience as an opportunity for personal growth and reflection.

“I just thought that six months alone by myself with no friends would be a very good time to reflect and see what I should change (about) what’s going on in my life,” Munson said. “I figured that being so isolated would help me focus on those things (without) having any other things to worry about.”

Munson said his experiences working as a construction materials technician in North Dakota for two semesters made him realize he doesn’t want to pursue a similar career in the future. However, Munson said he feels gratitude for the skills and knowledge he acquired through the program.

“I’ve learned a lot about being able to communicate, about engineering (and) construction, and I learned about the people here and how they got to where they are,” Munson said.

Chemical engineering fifth-year Arshaan Ali, who participated with the program last spring, said he thrived in the fast-paced environment that came with working as a process engineering intern at Tesla in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“This really just affirmed my belief that I really do enjoy my major,” Ali said. “In terms of outlook on my future career, this really showed me what type of (company culture) I want to go into.”

However, Ali said taking his senior spring semester off to work at Tesla came with mixed feelings.

“It was definitely bittersweet because it was my dream job,” Ali said. “But at the same time, I missed out on my senior spring with my friends. It’s something that we always looked forward to for our entire college careers.”

While spending six months in Houston for the internship program, mechanical engineering senior Arrash Setayesh designed underwater robots with a military contractor to help mitigate pollution. Despite missing out on time with his friends from UT, Setayesh said he doesn’t regret participating in the program because he learned more about himself and his priorities.

“There were times where I did get a bit depressed about being so far away from everyone,” Setayesh said. “(But) it made me realize that I shouldn’t take my youth and my college experience for granted.”