Clarkson Honors Student Catherine Jankowski spent her summer in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is a beautiful place for a vacation, but Catherine Jankowski was visiting the country for a different kind of experience. This summer, Jankowski traveled to the Netherlands for her internship at BASF Forward AM, a 3D printing filament manufacturing company headquartered in Germany. Flying across the ocean for an internship might seem daunting, but Jankowski had someone who shared her Clarkson spirit waiting for her on the other side. Her summer internship was arranged by Clarkson University alum Delfina Da Silva who reached out to Clarkson’s honors program during the Spring semester looking for an intern to join her in the Netherlands over the summer. 

“As a CU alum I knew that we usually need an internship to graduate… Clarkson students have a really good work ethic, a natural curiosity and therefore I thought they’d be a great fit with our company. I was looking for someone that wanted to have their first company experience abroad and [who was] flexible enough to tackle the challenges with a positive attitude.”

 – Delfina

Catherine Jankowski, a Clarkson Honors student and member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society was the one who answered the call. She knew that an internship with BASF would set her apart from her peers and studying abroad was less intimidating with a Clarkson alumni as a mentor. Delfina warned Jankowski as soon as she took the internship that housing would be an issue as schools in the Netherlands don’t provide housing for students and the Netherlands is currently in a housing crisis. Jankowski took the initiative and set up her own housing close to her internship and the city center.  At the beginning of the summer, Jankowski boarded a plane to the Netherlands and set out on her new adventure. 

“I found a place to live with 10 other people ages 20-25 who are working or studying near Emmen. My housing is right near the train and bus stations, making travel super accessible to me, which is really nice. I also enjoy living close to the city center. There’s always something going on there, whether it’s markets, festivals, or live music.”

Jankowski

At her internship, Jankowski had the opportunity to work in GetTec Park, an area with numerous 3D printing and fiber and plastic manufacturing companies. While she spent most of her time with BASF, she had the opportunity to visit some of the neighboring labs and network with the employees and managers at those companies. But her internship wasn’t all work and no play; Jankowski fondly recalls printing fun gadgets for her desk as she experimented with the 3D printers as BASF. 

Delfina and Jankowski were grateful for the connection they had through Clarkson University. As a 2020 graduate, Delfina was glad to hear that while improvements have been made, many of the things she loved about Clarkson have remained the same. An honors student herself, Delfina could relate to the close community that Janokwsi has with her peers and advisors in the program and was pleased to see how the honors program had come through once again to give Jankowski such a unique and engaging experience.  

Clarkson University is known for its rigorous and challenging engineering program that prepares students for success in the industry before and after graduation. Internship opportunities like Jankowski’s, facilitated by Clarkson, are ways for students to boost their resumes and for Clarkson to see how well its students are prepared for the demands of the current engineering workplace.  In addition, they introduce students to current names in the industry and help them build connections they can lean on later in their careers. 

Discover the Clarkson Spirit Abroad

Here at Clarkson, we are both proud and grateful for Alumni like Delfina for reaching out to current Clarkson students and continuing the tradition of an international Clarkson community. We wish Jankowski and all of Clarskon’s students well with their current studies and future careers.