Inside the internship

Many UM-Dearborn students spent their summer diving into a career-defining internship, packed with growth, learning and a bit of adventure. From working in another country's government to reporting on severe summer storms, four Dearborn Wolverines — one from each college — shared how they made every moment count. 

They share their stories in today’s and Thursday’s issues of Reporter.

Zeinab Zeine

College of Engineering and Computer Science
Software engineering senior
DTE Energy

When the power stays on during a Michigan thunderstorm, most people don’t think about software code. But behind every steady grid and restored power line sits a complex digital system. And since high school, senior Zeinab Zeine has wondered about it.

A friend’s older sister — who studied software engineering at UM-Dearborn and worked at DTE Energy as an intern — told Zeine about the opportunities available at the university. “That inspired me,” says Zeine, now a senior majoring in software engineering. “I dreamed of following in her footsteps. Now that dream is a reality.”

Zeine, a software engineering intern on the grid modeling and analytics team at DTE, applied to DTE several times during her college career — but she needed more experience on her resume. During her junior year, she got that through a practice-based learning project in computer and information science lecturer Khouloud Gaaloul's Software Engineering II course.

She says the course pushed the students beyond theoretical concepts, tasking them with navigating a full software development lifecycle — from early design diagrams to coding, testing, and deployment. She also learned SQL, a programming language used to organize, search, update and manage information stored in databases.

“I got the experience I needed to boost my resume,” Zeine says. “When I went to the university’s career fair, I found the DTE booth and gave my resume to the recruiters. The first thing they did was ask me about the software engineering project, and they circled SQL. I could tell they were interested.”

She also says the CECS Career Success Hub — in particular, Katie Dunn, director of student engagement for career success — helped her reorganize her resume, analyze job descriptions to understand the skills they were seeking and practice for the DTE interviews.

Zeine, who started at DTE in May and was asked to stay on as an intern until her graduation in April 2027, works in DTE’s Electric System Operations Center.

She likes that DTE has a supportive workplace that prioritizes hands-on learning and professional development. In her role, she helps build and optimize tools that help operators route power, automate manual workflows and access real-time data efficiently. She also helped update DTE websites.

“I wasn't just observing or doing small tasks. I was able to contribute to real projects, work with stakeholders, share ideas, and see how my work could make an impact,” Zeine says. “That trust helped me grow both professionally and personally.”

Zeine says her DTE team members were welcoming from day one — just like the faculty and staff she’s met while at UM-Dearborn.

“I never felt like just another student at UM-Dearborn. I always felt like there were people who knew me, supported me, and genuinely wanted to help me succeed,” Zeine says. “I am thankful to everyone who helped me reach my dream of working for DTE.”

Alejandro Albarracin Gonzalez

College of Arts, Sciences and Letters
Microbiology senior
Canada’s House of Commons

For senior Alejandro Albarracin Gonzalez, science doesn’t live solely inside a laboratory. The microbiology major sees medical advancement as a collaboration that requires strong relationships, communication and diplomacy.

Born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia — a rare condition that left him with one lung — Albarracin Gonzalez spent much of his childhood in hospitals seeing specialists and undergoing routine checks. He plans to become a medical researcher for rare diseases, and he wants to better understand political systems to help him see how he can best bring future advancements to the public.

Albarracin Gonzalez chose UM-Dearborn based on the opportunity to conduct undergraduate research. He also liked its proximity to Michigan Medicine’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. “That’s one of the few hospitals in the U.S. that treats congenital diaphragmatic hernias,” says the international student from Spain.

Seeking a perspective on the ways science and public policy interact, Albarracin Gonzalez participated in the Ottawa Internship Program over the summer. The six-week internship, which UM-Dearborn has run for more than 40 years, gives students the opportunity to work in an office of a Canadian senator or member of Parliament. Professor of Political Science Dale Thomson helped guide Albarracin Gonzalez through the program application. 

Albarracin Gonzalez found a match for his interests and secured a position working alongside Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, a member of Parliament from the Bloc Québécois who served as vice president for both the Health Committee and the Research and Science Committee.

The role placed Albarracin Gonzalez at the center of critical legislative discussions, with his primary focus centered on policy research regarding pesticide regulation and public health safety. “To bring medical advancements forward, it’s helpful to see how different governments work,” he says. “I was able to have a first-person view through this internship.”

When a controversial omnibus bill proposed granting Canada’s health minister authority to bypass scientific committee reviews under the banner of "economic health," Albarracin Gonzalez helped analyze the implications. His office also collaborated with national public health bodies, including the Canadian Cancer Society, to prepare researched talking points for national television interviews.

Albarracin Gonzalez says the experience reinforced his belief that policy literacy is essential for his future in clinical research.

“Scientific integrity must guide policy, not the other way around,” he says. “I was able to spend a month and a half learning about a country that’s different from my home country and different from the country where I am studying. This opportunity at UM-Dearborn is not offered anywhere else in the country. I’m grateful for the learning experience.”

Stories by Sarah Tuxbury