It’s official. Eric has accepted his offer from Parker Hannifin to work a two semester internship, or co-op in Fort Worth, Texas. I’m SO excited for him, but kind of bummed that I won’t see him on a regular basis for basically a year. If you are confused about this, go back and read my post about the future, called Decisions, Decisions. It explains it all, and it’s really a huge long story and my fingers are kind of tired. Sorry. ::shrug::
So, Eric will be working and living in Fort Worth, Texas until December, working his little heart out at Parker Hannifin, and HOPEFULLY this might lead to a job offer after his
graduation NEXT December . . . which would be AWESOME. 
That is the point of internships for Engineers, in case you never hear this, I’ll tell you a secret. You intern to work in the Engineering world- hiring companies want validation that an employee will be beneficial and profitable to the company, so they tend to hire within their well and their own trained flock, for lack of a better term. So in order to work for a company as a salaried position, one must first have an internship or some sort of experience with that company. Just like my grandfather [the parents I live with], he went to Iowa State for Engineering and had to stop school for a year to work and get money, so he worked as a draftsman for Rockwell Collins, and sure enough, after he graduated, they offered him the job of a lifetime in Richardson, TX, and as they say, the rest is history!
So anyway, back to Eric, hah, after my major tangent, he will be in Fort Worth, living in Hawks Creek Village. This place is terrible! It has a pool, workout facility, a CAR WASH and DETAIL center IN the complex, gated communities, a golf course, a running/walking/biking paved trail around the entire course, and SO much more. He’s excited to have a one bedroom apartment for the first time in his college/education experience. When he moved to Minneapolis, he had a roommate, so this will be his first time on his own.
Don’t worry, I’ve already run to Borders Books and bought him a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I’m on top of it.
It looks like a great opportunity, a great place to live, a lot of interesting things to do [because let's face it, if you're around Dallas/Ft. Worth, there's really no limit to what you can fill your days doing!] and he will be about an hour from my parents! What a perfect opportunity to get to know them better!
In all seriousness, I really do admire him for the strength and courage to undertake such change, after being back at school for only a semester. He’s such a driven individual, and I love him for that. He’s good at what he does, and he’s motivated and determined to achieve his goals. I’m proud of him, I’m just going to miss him. 
But on a happier note, yep! He’ll be a Texan soon enough! It’s funny, because he’s been asking me about Texas A&M individuals, since he found out he will be working with five other interns from A&M College Station. We’ll see how he fares.
So until next time,
I will be packing him into oblivion,
Seanna
Tags: Co-Op, Dallas, Forth Worth, Internship, Iowa State University, Parker Hannifin
