2026-09-24 –, Hewitt Boardroom (Capacity 35)
Let’s face it, a degree isn’t enough anymore to secure a job. In today’s current job market, career readiness hinges on what you’ve done outside the classroom. University Co-Op Programs, Internships, and taking part in an Early Access Mentoring program are some factors that can propel you forward and give you a real advantage. You might be wondering what this looks like in practice? Luckily, you’re in the right place.
This talk breaks down what that actually looks like. I’ll walk through my experience at Red Hat as a CO-OP, the challenges I faced, what I learned and how mentorship played a huge role – not just from my experience as a mentee, but also from my mentor’s experience as well.
When you leave, you should have a better understanding of the experience opportunities that can help you in your career.
Amy Marrich is a Principal Technical Marketing Manager at Red Hat. She currently serves as the Chair of the CentOS Project, Vice Chair of the Open Infrastructure Foundation (OpenInfra) Board of Directors, and is on the Community Health Analytics in Open Source Software (CHAOSS) projects governing board. In addition, she serves on Red Hat’s OpenStack technical committee, is Chair of the OpenInfra Inclusion Working Group, contributes to several OpenStack projects, and previously served as the Chair of the OpenStack User Committee.
I’m a Computer Science student currently working as a co-op at Red Hat. I’m interested in software engineering and machine learning, and I enjoy learning how to build systems that work in real-world settings. Through my experience, I’ve worked on projects involving development, collaboration, and problem-solving. I like taking on new challenges and continuing to grow my technical skills.