Employer and Intern of the Year
EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR Details INTERN OF THE YEAR Details
2025-2026 Winners
Julie Jansen:
2025-2026 Intern of the Year & 2025 CEED Intern Student of the Year Award
Greoffery Agorku:
2025-2026 Graduate Student Intern of the Year
Geoffery Agorku is a doctoral student in civil engineering who interned as a Graduate Civil Engineering Research Intern at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). His work led to the development of an upgraded user interface and an interactive dashboard for closure impact, allowing non-technical users to make data-informed decisions quickly. In doing so, he expanded the organization's analytical capacity. In addition, Geoffery demonstrated academic impact as his paper on this work was accepted for publication, further showcasing the professional quality and relevance of his contributions.
Diego Ignacio Peredo Yshiy: 2025-2026 Cooperative Education Student of the Year
Garver: 2024-2025 Large Employer of the Year
Garver, a multidisciplined engineering, planning, and environmental services firm,
was selected as the 2024-2025 Large Employer of the Year. Garver stood out for its
intentional intern programming, Garver Launch and Ignite, two events that ensure that
all interns receive support and begin to develop a sense of community, while ensuring
that extra resources are diverted to first-year interns who will need a little more
assistance developing their sense of community and confidence. The selection committee
was also impressed by Garver’s streamlined application process, where they endeavor
to get students’ resumes into hiring manager’s hands within 24 hours of receipt. Once
hired, they also enter the “keep warm” pipeline, where key touchpoints keep students
connected to the company between signing and starting.
Crafton, Tull & Associates: 2024-2025 Small Employer of the Year
Crafton, Tull & Associates was selected as the 2024-2025 Small Employer of the Year. Crafton Tull is a civil engineering, surveying, architecture, landscape architecture, planning, and environmental firm that distinguished itself through its multifaceted engagement with the College of Engineering, including not only career fairs but also classroom visits and lunch & learns. In addition to their engagement, Crafton Tull impressed the selection committee with their company culture that supports their interns and full-time employees with from a holistic perspective.
Engineering Career Connections Employers of the Year
Annually, Engineering Career Connections (ECC) recognizes the achievements and excellence of a large and small employer who has excelled in and made a significant impact on the career readiness, development, and support of College of Engineering (COE) students at the University of Arkansas (UA).
The select Large and Small Employers of the Year will be recognized in an Arkansas News article, be recognized in our newsletters to student, faculty, and staff, and have a sign recognizing their accomplishment at the STEM Career Fair for the following year (if attending).
Employer of the Year nominations can be submitted by students, employers, faculty, or staff.
- Submit the nomination form online via https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/fA63NpG2mF
- Deadline: Monday, May 4th at 11:59 PM. The nomination must be received by this date! Late nominations will not be accepted.
- Questions? Email Engineering Career Connections at engrjobs@uark.edu.
Nominated employers must have hired at least one U of A COE student for one or more work terms. Those work terms should be between May 1 of the previous year (2025) and April of the nominating year (2026). This may include interns, coops, part-time hires, and/or full-time hires.
- Details about the nomination form are on the Rating Form. Please use the rating form as a guide when writing a nomination.
- Emphasis is on career readiness, career development, and career education opportunities provided to students, not on the number of students hired or the strength of the employer’s relationship with UA COE.
- If you are faculty, staff, or student nominator, note that the nomination should not be a surprise to the employer. Please work with the employer to secure the best information for their nomination.
Engineering Career Connections Intern or Cooperative Education Student of the Year
Annually, Engineering Career Connections (ECC) recognizes the achievement and excellence of an outstanding undergraduate or graduate student who has excelled in and made a significant impact within an internship or cooperative education (CoOp) experience.
The selected award recipient(s) will be nominated for the Cooperative Education and Internships Association (CEIA) annual Internship Student Achievement Award or Cooperative Education Student Achievement Award. As applicable and at the student’s discretion, selected award recipients will also be nominated for the American Society for Engineering Education’s (ASEE) Cooperative & Experiential Education Division (CEED) award.
- Submit the nomination form online via https://forms.office.com/r/vtW59Q1gGm
- Deadline: Thursday, October 1 at 11:59 PM. The nomination must be received by this date! Late nominations will not be accepted.
Employers/Faculty/Staff: You are encouraged to nominate a student for this award. However, the nomination should not be a surprise to the student. Please work with the student to secure the nomination packet requirements needed.
Students: You are encouraged to nominate yourself for this award. Be sure to complete the nomination packet in its entirety in order to be considered for this award. Please follow the instructions listed above.
Each year we will consider awarding:
- an Intern of the Year - undergraduate student
- a Cooperative Education Student of the Year - undergraduate student
- an Intern or Cooperative Education Student of the Year - graduate student
Questions? Email robynw@uark.edu
Nominated students must:
- have completed at least one internship or CoOp experience, paid or unpaid, for one or more of their work terms between September 1 of the previous year (2025) and August of the nominating year (2026). Students can nominate themselves for ONE experience per application year.
- be enrolled as a student at the University of Arkansas (UARK) during their listed experience.
- have completed at least one internship or CoOp experience but may be on an additional site at the time of nomination.
Only include these four items (additional documentation will NOT be accepted):
- Completed Nomination Application Form
- Student Résumé
a. one page limit; graduate student resumes do not need to submit a CV (i.e., your resume should not include a list of publications)
b. if you need assistance with your resume before submitting your application, you can schedule an appointment with your Engineering Career Coach - Student Statement
a. if you completed multiple internship/CoOp experiences, only write about ONE that falls within the September 2025 – August 2026 time frame
b. Be sure to write a statement that is impactful, tells a clear story, and paints a clear picture of your experience, contributions, and takeaways. - Employer Statement of Support: Employer
a. must be signed and on organizational letterhead
- Details about the nomination packet's content are on the Rating Form. Please use the rating form as a guide when organizing the nomination packet.
- Emphasis is on reflection and application vs. the nature of the work or the industry in which the student participated.
- If you are a faculty or employer nominating a student, the nomination should not be a surprise to the student. Please work with the student to secure the needed packet requirements.
- Students: The selected student winner will receive a $500 scholarship award, recognition plaque, and a graduation cord and be featured on the ECC’s website and in UARK’s Newswire. Additionally, ECC will submit the winner for the national CEIA award ($500 and invitation to the national conference).
- Faculty/Staff: The faculty nominator of the selected winner will receive $100 towards professional development.
Committee Rating Check List – College of Engineering Intern of the Year
Points Key: 0 – Not completed, 1 – Poor, 2 – Fair, 3 – Good, 4 – Excellent
Application Form
___ 0 (not completed) ___ 4 (completed)
- Form is filled out completely
Student Resume: Format and Style
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
-
Resume is organized, neat, and formatted in a professional and easy to read manner
-
Conveys a comprehensive picture of the student, emphasizing skills and accomplishments
Spelling and Grammar
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
- Utilizes correct spelling
- Utilizes correct grammar and use of punctuation
Represents Internship
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
- Includes internship with nominating employer
- Contains well-defined statements that are descriptive of experience
Describe how the nominated employer ensures that all hires feel welcome and supported in the application, hiring, and onboarding processes.
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
- Form is filled out completely
Student Statement: Learning
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
- Clearly articulates contributions, successes and/or proudest moment(s) from the experience
- Identifies new skills, abilities, and understanding gained from the experience
- Explained how they refined existing skills through the experience
- Shared biggest learning moment
- Details how the experience specifically aligns with academic coursework and addresses how classroom concepts were utilized
- Effectively reflects on contributions to the experiential experiences (projects and performance)
Student Statement: Career Readiness
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
- Details growth in organizational (site of experience) knowledge and social dynamics (interpersonal and professional interactions)
- Explains growth in professional and industry knowledge
- Articulates knowledge, skills and abilities gained through experiential experience
- Indicates how experiential experience prepares self for post-graduation success
Student Statement: Spelling & Grammar
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
- Utilizes correct spelling
- Utilize correct grammar and use of punctuation
Note: Emphasis for the Student Statement should be on reflection and application versus the nature of the work or the industry where the student participated. The judges will be reviewing the Student Statement for examples and descriptions of insights the student gleaned into the company, industry and/or occupation/profession that they would not have had without this specific internship/co-op experience: – How did the student grow from the experience? – Did the experience confirm or shift the student’s intended career plans?
Employer Statement of Support: Experiential Experience Explanation
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
- Explains why the experiential experience is important for the organization
- Effectively describes how student excelled and went above and beyond in experience through their contributions and performance
- Describes student’s growth in soft skills
Employer Statement of Support: Organizational Impact:
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
- Shares specific examples of student’s outstanding work (touches on initiative, creativity, professionalism, and/or original work – related to assigned projects)
- Details how student made a positive impact on department/organization
Employer Statement of Support: Professional Growth::
___ 1 ___ 2 ___ 3 ___ 4
- Provides examples of how student specifically grew professionally throughout experience
Note: Specific examples demonstrating the student’s initiative and creativity in approaching their assigned work tasks/projects as well as commentary on the student’s drive, professionalism or attitude are recommended for inclusion. It will be helpful to include a detailed description of what makes this student outstanding. If the student was bestowed any company/organizational awards/recognition or extended an offer of continued employment (another internship/co-op or full-time employment) with your company/organization, be sure to share that information.