TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Andrea Pope of Northport, a student in The University of Alabama's Cooperative Education Program, was named "Co-op of the Year" by her co-op employer, G.E. Plastics of Mt. Vernon, Ind.

Pope is a junior at UA majoring in chemical engineering. She received a cash prize and attended an awards ceremony in Crotonville, N.Y., which recognized each G.E. division's best co-op student.

UA's Cooperative Education Program, in the College of Engineering, is an academic program in which students alternate periods of full-time study with periods of full-time employment. The program offers work related to the academic major or career interests of each student, greatly enhancing the student’s employment prospects after graduation.