Meet the 2024 DEC Interns!

This year, Delaware Electric Co-op welcomed two interns as part of our Summer Internship Program – Victor Sopourn and Thomas Weeks. On June 3, both Thomas and Victor began their internships in DEC's engineering department.

As an Electrical Engineering major at the University of Delaware, Victor says what originally interested him in his field of study was the fact that everyone uses electricity, which made him curious to learn more about it. After researching companies in the area that had engineering programs, Victor says he decided to look further into the Co-op, recognizing it as a good fit for him that would help expand upon what he was learning at college.

“What I am enjoying most about my internship is getting familiar with the different software DEC uses, getting to go out and see how different developments are designed for electricity and getting to know a lot of good people,” Victor says.

According to Thomas, it was his interest in science and math, as well as building and creating things, that informed his decision to pursue engineering as a career path. But it wasn’t until he began his college career as a University of Delaware Electrical Engineering major and started getting deeper into his studies that he learned about the distribution aspect of the utility field. His father suggested looking into DEC as a potential employer following his time at school, since it offered work within his field and was local. Upon doing some research, Thomas found information on the Co-op’s Summer Internship Program, and based on his interests – and the recommendation of a friend and former DEC intern – he applied for an internship position. So far, Thomas says what he has enjoyed most about his experience is learning about the industry in a real-world environment.

“I really like seeing how a Co-op works, and how utilities work in general,” Thomas says. “There are a lot of things you don’t really get to touch on in a classroom, but you can understand what you did learn in the classroom better when you get to see it in action, in the field. Seeing how the Co-op works has been really interesting, and so is getting to meet all the people who work here and learning how they got to where they are. A lot of them have taken some really interesting paths to get where they are today.”

DEC is proud to offer college students the opportunity to explore their career interests, and encourages those who may be interested in participating in the 2025 Summer Internship Program to be on the look out for when our online application opens for next year's submissions.