Meet the Interns

Each summer, Duke Energy offers select engineering students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the nuclear industry as interns.  The intern program challenges college students with meaningful work, exposing them to a career in the energy industry and helping their transition from school to the workforce.

This year, Duke Energy is hosting about 80 interns across our nuclear fleet and five have volunteered to share their experience in a series of blog posts. This first post introduces the interns you will hear from over the next few months.

Neal Dev (left) and a fellow intern at McGuire Nuclear Station’s EnergyExplorum last year

Neal Dev

My name is Neal and this is my second summer interning with Duke Energy in Nuclear Generation. I would describe myself as one who likes to take problems or issues and do whatever it takes to solve them. One thing people may not know about me is I love trivia of all sorts, and was even a member of my university quiz bowl team.

As a student at the University of Michigan, I am studying Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences. I am currently an intern at McGuire Nuclear Station in the Reactor Engineering group. Right now I am working on a procedure to outline the receipt and storage of new fuel. I applied for an internship because in school I was learning about the systems of a nuclear plant, and this piqued my curiosity. I wanted to see a plant firsthand and gather industrial experience in the process. So far this summer has been a great experience and I can't wait to see how the rest of my internship goes!

Brunswick Nuclar Plant intern, Charlotte Mader, in her Wolfpack colors

Charlotte Mader

I am Charlotte Mader and a senior studying mechanical engineering at NC State University. One thing people might not know about me is I am fascinated by lighthouses.  I have seen three of seven of the North Carolina lighthouses and  can’t wait to venture over to Bald Head Island this summer to visit “Old Baldy.”

I am currently interning at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant in Components Engineering. As seen in the picture below, we have a large and awesome group of interns. The primary role for interns during the summer is to become completely immersed within the company and interact with many different types of people – operators, engineers, maintenance, supervisors. This allows us to learn more about what it’s like to work at a nuclear plant from the employees’ perspective.
 

I applied for an internship at a nuclear plant because of my interest in energy. Understanding the fundamental impacts of energy on the economy is important for shaping the future of our society.  Although I was not too familiar with nuclear energy, I grew up near the McGuire Nuclear Station and went there for field trips.  I took a leap of faith in pursuing the internship with Duke Energy last summer and it definitely worked out for the best.  I am looking forward to what this summer holds and my future in nuclear energy. 

 

Michael Tuten at the Duke Energy Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Michael Tuten

I’m a rising junior mechanical engineering major at the University of South Carolina, and am planning on studying nuclear engineering in grad school. I’m also minoring in business. A lot of people question that decision— even my academic advisor said, “Why business? You’re going to be an engineer!” But, in my mind, the two disciplines go hand in hand. A background in business allows an engineer to make smart decisions when considering both design and the bottom line.
I’m working at the Charlotte Corporate Office in the Emergency Preparedness (EP) group. Currently, one of the group’s main tasks is to unify some of the EP processes across all six of Duke Energy’s nuclear plants. The goal is to have all six sites using the same procedures across the fleet. To “deliver the nuclear promise,” the industry needs to reduce costs while maintaining or improving performance, and delivering a common, fleet-wide set of EP procedures will help Duke Energy do just that.

I think nuclear is an exciting field to begin a career in. Nuclear power is carbon-free and always-on, a powerful combination for an electricity source. Nuclear has an advantage as the world pushes for safe, reliable, clean energy for the future. 

 

Stephanie Teo showing her Texas A&M Aggies pride

Stephanie Teo

My name is Stephanie Teo and I am the Radiation Protection intern at Harris Nuclear Plant this summer. I am from Austin, Texas, and am a rising senior attending Texas A&M University. I am a quirky, creative, hardworking, and fun-loving girl currently majoring in Radiological Health Engineering and minoring in Business Administration and Mathematics.

Why Radiological Health? Because I am very interested in learning how such tiny particles can have such a large impact on the human body and can potentially change the chemistry within us. What about business and math? I believe that business is an imperative aspect of the engineering world, regardless of where you’re at and what position you have. So I have taken it upon myself to learn a bit about how the business world works in hopes it will aid me in my engineering career. Also, mathematics is extremely essential to engineering, so taking additional classes will play a big part in helping me understand the concepts within this field.

I applied to a nuclear plant this summer because I received multiple recommendations from friends, family, and school advisors that this would be a great opportunity to learn more about the nuclear industry and fall in love with my major. I am thankful to Duke Energy for this opportunity to represent my school at Harris this summer! 

 

McGuire Nuclear Station intern, Matth Humphrey

Matt Humphrey

My name is Matt Humphrey and I am a senior electrical engineering student studying at Clemson University. I am currently working at McGuire Nuclear Station with the Engineering Support team.  Last summer, I had the opportunity to intern at McGuire with the Electrical Design team and I enjoyed my experience enough to return for a second rotation.

I originally applied to work in the nuclear power industry after a co-op at a chemical plant in Louisiana. While there, I got to work with an engineer who had extensive experience in the nuclear industry.  He recommended I branch out and diversify my internships, so when the time came for me to apply to jobs I would be well informed.  I took his advice and applied to work with Duke Energy.  I am now on my second rotation with Duke and can honestly say that I am hooked.