Driven by a passion to protect others and make a real impact in the field, a Slippery Rock University student turned classroom lessons into life-changing experience through a summer internship. Nathan Thompson, an SRU senior safety management major from Sewickley (Moon HS), spent this summer serving as a site safety intern at Blattner Energy in Buckeye, Arizona.
A significant portion of Thompson’s time in this internship was spent in the field, meeting and checking on crews.
“Visibility as a safety professional is important for relationship building,” Thompson said. “Blattner values safety and has a really caring company culture. Safety posters aren’t just slapped on the walls for show there.”
Relationships kept Thompson accessible to the crews on site, which was important as Thompson was part of a safety team that addressed any injuries and potentially hazardous conditions on work sites.
Thompson said his classes at SRU helped prepare him for this position, but he contends that an internship offers tangible experiences that work in the classroom just can’t offer. For example, in safety management classrooms, simulated conversations are often used to train students to deal with workers and safety issues. The internship gave him real-world practice responding to safety concerns.
“It’s cool because you learn all of the textbook information in class, but you actually get to apply that in an internship,” Thompson said. “There’s a learning curve, but it’s great to get to step up and stand out in that way as an intern.”
Thompson stood out so much that he received a full-time job offer from Blattner upon graduation that he plans to accept.
Thompson identified the internship through a spring career fair at SRU. Thompson approached the representative at the table, was given an interview on the spot, and was offered the position that day. Thompson had other offers for the summer, but upon weighing his options, he found Blattner to be the best option, particularly in the way in which the company cared for their interns.
This position was attractive to Thompson because of his previous work in refractory. He hadn’t yet experienced an energy field, and getting involved in such an environment would give him new learning opportunities.
More information about the safety management program can be found on the program’s webpage.
Watch a video produced by Blattner about Thompson’s internship below: