As a senior mechanical engineer at General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS), Gina DeOliveira ’21 M.Eng. ’23 focuses on design and development of complex mechanical systems for critical customer mission requirements. She also mentors Stevens students, helping guide engineering design projects that mirror real-world challenges — often related to advanced defense systems.

“A lot of the tasks the students get now, I’ve done on previous or current [work] projects,” says DeOliveira, noting such experience provides early exposure to engineering problems, professional expectations and collaboration.

“Just knowing how much General Dynamics has done for me, I appreciate being able to give students that real-world experience.”

– Gina DeOliveira ’21 M.Eng. ’23, Senior Mechanical Engineer, General Dynamics Mission Systems

GDMS has supported Stevens senior design teams for roughly a decade, providing mentorship through design reviews, resources for builds and direct student engagement with engineers like DeOliveira. Those experiences reflect the intentional design of Stevens’ engineering curriculum and the value of long-term industry partnerships, says Kishore Pochiraju, chair of the Department of Systems Engineering in the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science.

“The strength of a Stevens engineering education is its eight-semester design spine, culminating in senior design,” Pochiraju says. “Having a corporate partner such as GDMS provides contemporary challenges for students, which is critical to Stevens’ ability to deliver high-quality design education.”

“Having a corporate partner such as GDMS provides contemporary challenges for students, which is critical to Stevens’ ability to deliver high-quality design education.”

– Kishore Pochiraju, Chair, Systems Engineering Dept., Schaefer School of Engineering and Science

While studying mechanical engineering at Stevens, Leigha Capra ’23 discovered systems engineering through research and project work emphasizing the lifecycle of engineering challenges. Seeking a role on a hardware-focused systems engineering team, Capra joined GDMS as a systems engineer and found her broad engineering education eased the transition.

“It’s really understanding the intent of a project or deliverable, and not only how you design that deliverable to meet its expectations, but how you ensure that that deliverable is interfacing both technically with what it needs to inter-face with, and then also from a business financial standpoint,” says Capra.

Today, she works as part of a multidisciplinary team developing and integrating complex systems where coordination across specialties is essential. “I think it definitely is a contribution to a larger endeavor,” she says.

Capra’s experience reflects how partnerships like GDMS connect classroom learning with real engineering work.

“Working with industry mentors helps students build the skills that con-temporary engineering roles demand, including communication, accountability, time management, collaboration and technical depth,” says Pochiraju.

– Charles O’Brien