Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership Technical Services Summer Intern Catherine Creekmore, center, applies what she is learning in her internship to characterize materials found in process gas equipment in the C-333 Process Building with Paducah Site workers.
Office of Environmental Management
July 25, 2023
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Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership Technical Services Summer Intern Catherine Creekmore, center, applies what she is learning in her internship to characterize materials found in process gas equipment in the C-333 Process Building with Paducah Site workers Donnie Mathews, left, and Ronnie Walker.
PADUCAH, Ky. – Summer internship programs sometimes evoke images of students filing paperwork or sitting idly at a desk for days on end.
That’s far from reality for summer interns at EM’s Paducah Site this year. For University of Kentucky College of Engineering student Catherine Creekmore, the summer internship program is giving her hands-on experience she never dreamed possible.
“I love what I’m doing now and could honestly see myself doing this for a long time,” she said. “This has been one of the most interesting things I have ever done in my life. It is gratifying to know my work is contributing to things that actually matter.”
Creekmore is working with Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP), EM’s Paducah Site deactivation and remediation contractor. Her mentor is training her on a scientific discipline known as characterization, a process that allows site workers to quantify the types and quantities of materials contained in equipment and facilities being evaluated for future demolition at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
Creekmore’s summer project is to help characterize equipment in the C-333 Process Building, a building so large, its two floors could cover 20 football fields. Work is currently being done to prepare the building for future demolition, which is a priority project for the Paducah Site.
Colton May is finishing his final year as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Ohio. This summer, he is working with the Paducah Site’s technical support contractor, Enterprise Technical Assistance Services (ETAS). He is working with site engineers to quantify and plan for future waste disposal and other important site needs. This internship has provided him an opportunity to apply the lessons he has learned in the classroom to real-life work.
“I was not really sure what to expect from this internship, as I knew nothing about the plant or industry before arriving. However, I would say any expectations I had prior to arriving have been exceeded and this internship has been a great experience,” May said.
Through the internship program, students like Creekmore and May develop lifelong professional skills aimed to aid them in their future career pursuits. The students’ work supports key projects, including the site’s groundwater cleanup strategy, facility deactivation and demolition, utilities optimization and occupational medicine. Interns are also employed to support office personnel in accounting, human resources and public affairs.
Summer internship programs help EM and its contractors recruit next generation leaders to the site’s workforce. Since the program began in 2014, approximately 112 students have benefited from internships at the site.
“The technical skills students obtain during their internships are rewarding; however, of equal value are the connections and interpersonal communication skills with which the mentors equip these students,” Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne said. “It is these things that help students understand how to work as a team, which translates across all industries and disciplines, providing students with many career options when they leave here.”
Site contractors that participate in EM’s internship program include Mid-America Conversion Services, Swift & Staley, ETAS and FRNP. This year, 26 students from schools located across the Commonwealth and one student from Ohio participate in the program.
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