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Both roles were character-building and pushed me outside my comfort zone. They provided a chance to really develop those soft skills that a module can’t teach, such as meeting and working with people from different cultures and backgrounds, living independently, and travelling around Europe.

Andrea shares with us how her path to her current role, although vastly different to her placement, was influenced by her co-op experience. 

Tell us a bit about yourself. What course did you study at UL, and what has your career looked like to date?

I studied European Studies with a focus on Public Affairs, graduating in 1995. My career initially followed the European Institutions trajectory, working in Strasbourg at the Council of Europe and in Brussels at the CEN (European Committee for Standardisation). When I returned to Ireland in 2001, I had to readjust with some initial difficulty, especially with no experience in manufacturing and the aftermath of 9/11. I started in a Customer Service role at Transitions Optical in Tuam, where I discovered Supply Chain as a profession. I then joined a sister company, Essilor, in Ennis, initially working as a Planner, then as a Master Planner, Team Lead, and finally as a Supply Chain Manager. Throughout this time, I continued to use my languages (French and German) and travelled regularly back to France. In 2022, I made a leap from Medical Devices to Pharma, joining Regeneron in Limerick as part of their Raw Materials Inventory Management Team. I love working in Supply Chain; it offers so much diversity and scope of work. No two days are ever the same, and I’m constantly learning.

Tell us a bit about your co-op placement. What organisation did you work with, and when did it take place?

I had two placements! In 1993, I worked as a Campsite Courier in L’Ardeche, France with Eurocamp, and in 1994, I was a secretarial assistant in a retirement home (Residence Harmonie) in Moret-sur-Loing, outside Paris. Both roles were character-building and pushed me outside my comfort zone. They provided a chance to develop those soft skills that a module can’t teach, such as meeting and working with people from different cultures and backgrounds, living independently, and travelling around Europe. My second placement, while initially more challenging as I was living in the Residence on my own in a very small, quiet town where nobody spoke English, was certainly the one that stood to me the most. It gave me the fluency in French that I needed, without which I wouldn’t have had the professional opportunities in Strasbourg and Brussels.

What piece of advice would you give to students going on co-op now?

Use your time on co-op to learn not just about the job position you’re in but also to get exposure to other departments and areas within the company.