To Whom it may concern,

I’m writing to show my interest in the engineering intern position available at Lockheed Martin. I am currently enrolled at Stony Brook University where I am pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering. As a freshman, I have taken courses in Physics, Calculus, and Electronics, and my major GPA is 4.2. At Stony Brook, I have gained experience with hardware, circuit board, data processing, and sensors. I am very interested in the design and production of aircraft and have a relative who has retired from Sikorsky. I enjoy designing circuits and experimenting with new technologies, and the opportunity to do so at Lockheed is exciting.

Over the past few years, I have worked at Advanced Lighting Corporation as the production floor manager. During this time, I have developed the ability to be a leader in the workplace and have become very good at time management. I have lots of skills with hands-on work and am sufficient in building circuit boards. At Stony Brook, I have gained experience with hardware, circuit board, data processing, and sensors. I believe I will be a good candidate for this internship since I have a genuine interest in aviation, am a self-motivated hard worker, and am very good at working with others. I believe by applying these skills will be an asset to this position and I would be thrilled to learn alongside your team of innovators.

I am excited to have the opportunity to intern at Lockheed-Martin and to be alongside some of the leaders in aviation technology. My enclosed resume expands on my academics, campus involvement, and off-campus work. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Recently, the town Montclair in California has made it illegal to cross streets while talking on the phone, texting, and listening to the music with buds in both ears. Clyde Haberman, a journalist for the New York Times, addresses this topic in his article, “Do Not Read This Editorial while Walking.” In the article, Haberman discusses the new laws in places like Montclair and Honolulu which have made it illegal to cross the streets on the phone, with fines ranging from $100-$500. Haberman supports the new laws being passed and thinks it’s time for every local government to crack down on distracted walking, as many deaths could be prevented by pedestrians being more aware of their surroundings. Distracted driving is also mentioned, and Haberman condemns those who do so. Haberman goes on to discuss how distracted walking and pedestrian deaths have increased over the past few years, even though safer cars and road designs have resulted in a decrease in traffic deaths years before. Haberman refutes his points with the idea that inattentive driving can be deadlier than walking, and another idea that states with legalized marijuana have had a notable increase in pedestrian deaths. The article ends on the note that many teenagers and young adults approve of this idea and that it can possibly save lives.

In the article, Haberman uses lots of facts to back his argument and create logos with the reader. He brings the issue to the reader’s attention talking about how pedestrian deaths are rising, and how, “There were 5,987 of them [deaths] in 2016, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration” and expectations in “2017 will end up with a toll at least that high. That’s a rise of 22 percent from the 4,910 registered in 2014” (Haberman). The author uses these facts to show the reader that pedestrians are still in danger and are in more danger than ever in the modern age. He also appeals to the logos of the reader by refuting his support for the laws by the way these laws will be enforced, and how there would need to be a police officer at every corner. Also, Haberman talks about how many more pedestrians have died in states with legal marijuana, and how these laws may have no effect if most of the deaths.

The topic I chose for my argument paper is if hands-free phone devices in cars are really safe. While driving and using a phone is illegal as it should be, driving while having your phone attached to your dashboard for use is legal. The justification being that you should have both hands on the wheel. On this topic, I’m going to take the side that hands-free devices are safer to use but are not completely safe from no distractions at all. The reason why I’m picking this topic is that I was recently involved in a traffic stop due to phone use… in a parking lot. When we were stopped the officer informed us that we need to have a “hands-free device” when talking on the phone. This got me thinking if hands-free devices are really safer because they allow the driver to have access to their phone at all times. I think it is important to discuss this topic because distracted driving can result in very bad accidents and has proven to be deadly, and in some cases, very bad tickets.

The main argument I’m going to make on my position is that there is no way to stop a person in a car from picking up a phone. This means that people are always going to have the option to pick up the phone, and nothing can be done, unless a police officer is following everyone around. I’m going to argue that using a hands-free device does reduce some of the risks of distracted driving, and as a result should remain to be legal. But, this can still result in accidents, shown by some of my sources. I’m going to use evidence of traffic stop and accident statistics written within articles to back my claims. Counterarguments that I’m likely to face is that phones and distracted driving can potentially cause deadly accidents and they should be completely banned behind the wheel and hands-free devices should not be an option.