How would you describe your LETU experience?

April Paul of Wichita, Kansas, earned her electrical engineering degree at LETU in 2015 and got her “dream job” right out of college. She went to work as an electrical engineer in the electromagnetic effects laboratory at Textron Aviation, an aircraft manufacturer that builds projects ranging from single engine Skyhawks, like LETU pilots train on, to twin-engine turboprops and small and midsize business jets. 

“As a test engineer, I subject airplane parts to various hazardous environments like lightning, radiation, heat, and vibration, to ensure they are robust enough to operate safely in the field,” she said. “I get to irradiate, explode, shake-the-stuffin’-out-of, and incinerate test articles for a living! If that isn’t gratifying, I don’t know what is!” 

She said she knew it was her dream job after interning there as a college sophomore and junior. 

“When I interned my first year, I was asked to help design and build an ion gun for some tests the lab wanted to run. With the help of a fellow LETU intern and a full-time Cessna engineer, we built a tool suitable for the task.

“During my second internship, I made a few more generations of the ion gun and presented my work at a year-end Intern Report Out. After the presentation, the CEO approached me and offered me full-time work at the lab. As I thanked him and wholeheartedly accepted my dream job, my three apartment mates who also attended the event caught my eye and congratulated me. We all tried conceal our glee; we three had all received job offers that day too, and mine completed the set!

“Being able to work a dream job directly following graduation was phenomenal.”