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Tyrone Wright

Tyrone Wright’s résumé is out of this world. And he hasn’t even graduated yet.

By 2011, however, Tyrone will have earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and have worked three stints at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Tyrone credits FSC’s outstanding business program and caring professors for his success.

Tyrone credits FSC’s outstanding business program and caring professors for his success. He says the School of Business helped him discover his natural abilities and encouraged him to challenge himself.

Tyrone was one of 22 selected from among 1,000 applicants to participate in Johnson Space Center’s highly competitive Cooperative Education Program, which hires students to alternate semesters at school with full-time positions in Houston. “Most people were studying science or engineering. I was one of only four business majors,” he says.

 At Johnson Space Center, Tyrone was assigned to the travel accounting office. During his four-month assignment, he certified funds for authorized projects and helped the agency transition to new travel management software.

Tyrone worked with Dr. Lynn Clements, his faculty adviser, and the Career Center to get the job and to make sure that the co-op nature of the program would work. The Career Center helped him polish his résumé and prepare for a phone interview. Dr. Clements helped him to work in Houston while earning the 12 credit hours he would need to graduate on time.

 “We worked out an agreement for me to keep a detailed work log on Facebook, report through weekly e-mails, and share a presentation on my experiences at Fiat Lux (an annual celebration of FSC scholarship),” Tyrone says. “I wrote 40 pages of research and co-authored a paper with Dr. Clements that has been submitted to a national conference.”

Dr. Clements says she enjoyed creating assignments that balanced academic integrity with realistic expectations and set a precedent for future co-op students. She is quick to credit Tyrone for his resourcefulness and performance. “It was a privilege to be his liaison with FSC and watch him grow through this experience. Tyrone positioned himself to explore opportunities that will lead to a terrific career,” she says.

Now Tyrone looks forward to returning to Johnson Space Center for new assignments this summer and in 2011. “They want to hire me, and I think I want to work for NASA. It’s exciting to be a part of an agency that makes space travel happen. It’s great to feel ready for the job offer I know is coming.”

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