Office of Professional Practice students advance national security through Coast Guard internships
An unmarked, unknown boat approaches the U.S. coast. What can the Coast Guard do to identify — and stop — the craft?
For 14 weeks, students worked to help the Coast Guard Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) program executive office (PEO) to answer that question. The internship combined experience with artificial intelligence systems, data processing and robotics skills to make strides at the service of national security.
The five-person 2025-26 cohort was the inaugural class of RAS interns, four of whom were Purdue University students who learned about the experience through Purdue’s ongoing collaboration with the NobleReach Foundation.
NobleReach is a partner to the College of Engineering, notably through a partnership with the Office of Professional Practice (OPP) providing an Industry Knowledge Certificate in Innovation for Public Service available to Purdue engineering students. The certificate is one of three available through OPP.
“Our partners at NobleReach shared this opportunity with us, and we immediately distributed it to our students,” said Sue Bayley, OPP’s public service co-op and internship manager. “The strength of this partnership lies in the exceptional awareness it provides, enabling us to connect students with meaningful opportunities in the public service space in an expedited timeframe.”
Ishaan Buddharaju (computer science), Mitch Davis (electrical engineering), Michael Lamiman (ECE) and Anthony Tan (CS) were the four Purdue students in the inaugural cohort.
“Working in public service enables you to have unparalleled impact,” said Buddharaju, a sophomore. “The problems that come across your desk on any given Monday morning directly impact hundreds, thousands or sometimes millions of people. I never had to dig deep to see how my work connected to these communities.”
From Co-op to Coast Guard
Mitch Davis was taking a risk.
But the opportunity that OPP emailed him was too good to play it safe: When else would he get to work for the U.S. Coast Guard as an intern, in the country’s capitol?
Curiosity drove Davis forward. It’s what had him joining both the Co-op Program and on a spring break trip to Washington, D.C. with OPP. It was how he ended up in ENGR 10300 (Engineering for Public Service), taking the course just for fun. It was there that he was introduced to the Industry Knowledge Certificate in Innovation for Public Service.
An introduction that changed everything.
Davis is always looking for a new adventure. So being accepted into the first RAS program internship with the Coast Guard was an exciting opportunity. It also provided Davis with a mentorship connection through NobleReach, which led to his change in career trajectory
“Getting to work with Mitch throughout his internship as his mentor, I saw a real shift in how he thought about his career,” said Taylor Moran, manager of academic partnerships for NobleReach. “He came in curious, but like a lot of students, he just hadn't seen a clear path into public service. By the end, he was thinking about where he could make the most difference. That's exactly what NobleReach is built to do.”
For the 14-week duration, Davis worked in process automation and, to his surprise, became an integral part of the Short Range Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sr-UAS) and Logistics Management teams.
Davis was an intern. But when officers and career civil servants looked to him for insights and answers, Davis felt like a professional engineer. It was amazing — and a little intimidating. But Davis, now completing his sophomore year, hopes the internship foreshadows a fulfilling engineering career in public service.
"NobleReach is helping to make more opportunities like this available to students at Purdue," said Joe Tort, OPP’s director.
Without learning about the certificate and easily adding it to his degree plan, he would never have had the chance to connect with the Coast Guard and spend a semester in an entirely new professional setting. Davis returned to Purdue in spring 2026, ready to take his new experiences into on-campus research projects and leadership in his fraternity.
And as a TA for the course that changed his career trajectory: ENGR 103.
“I initially wanted to pursue a career in engineering because it offered a link between challenging problems, STEM focused education, and financial security,” said Davis. “I realized in my public sector experiences that innovation for public good can provide exposure to even more interesting problems and impact, without sacrificing valuable stability.”