Region IV News

North Carolina State University ESCAPE Camp

On Wednesday, July 28th, two representatives from the HNP/ NCP chapter of Women in Nuclear Shannon Jones, Electrical/ CPU Engineer, and Heather Szews, Mechanical Engineer) attended a luncheon for the Women In Engineering ESCAPE Camp at NCSU’s Centennial Campus.

The ESCAPE camp is a weeklong,residential summer bridge program providing strategies & tips on success in mathematics, building on computer skills, and helping build an identity with the College of Engineering and NC State. The camp is for high school seniors who have applied to and been accepted into NC State University’s Engineering program and is designed to introduce the young women to various aspects of Engineering and provide them a forum in which they can meet other young women with similar scholastic interests.

Wednesday morning, the ESCAPE camp offered a discussion panel comprised of several professional women in Engineering roles or with Engineering backgrounds representing local companies, of which Progress Energy was one. Ms. Tronda Lee, a Senior Business Operations Process Analyst in the Transmission Operations and Planning-Carolinas section provided her perspective on being a female Engineer in today’s industry- the benefits and the challenges.

Following the panel discussion, a luncheon was provided during which Ms. Jones, Ms. Lee, Ms. Szews, and the panel members were seated at various tables with the incoming freshmen students and were able to have a casual conversation about their work/college Engineering experience. The WIN members and other Progress Employees responded to questions that the campers asked and spoke candidly about their day-to-day jobs and what the incoming freshmen could expect in college and the workplace. The WIN members utilized the opportunity with a captive audience to encourage their interest in the Nuclear field.

Several of the ESCAPE camp attendees sought advice on minors, majors, electives, and other activities in which they could involve themselves in college to make them more marketable to companies upon their graduation. The conversation was informal and lighthearted and both the Engineering professionals and the students enjoyed themselves. The students ended the lunch by preparing for their tour of the John Deere Turf Plant in Fuquay-Varina that afternoon.

Thank You From WIN and NA-YGN

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Women in Nuclear WIN) and North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAYGN)would like to thank Browns Ferry employees who donated school supplies last week. All of the donated items went to the Limestone County Department of Human Resources (DHR).

As of yesterday, Limestone County DHR had supplied more than 1,100 children and was expecting quite a few more as the school year begins. Throughout the Limestone communities, people brought in school supplies for families with foster children, victims of child abuse and food stamp recipients.

week to donate, the turn out was remarkable! We really appreciate the generosity of the employees here. They always go above and beyond!”

Oconee WIN Donates Food and Cash

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Oconee Nuclear Station’s Women in Nuclear organization recently collected more than $3,000 in canned goods for the Salvation Army of Oconee County.

Plant employees donated the food during a two-week period in May. WIN also collected $500 in cash donations, which went to Bethesda Ministries. The annual food drive is just one of several community service projects Oconee’s WIN group completes each year.

Executives Network With Women Insight Network, Women in Nuclear

More than 20 executives from the corporate offices joined members of the Women Insight Network and Women in Nuclear in August for an executive speed networking event. Executives rotated among tables of seven or less to answer questions. Executives from several off-site locations kept in touch via the telephone and Nuclear VCON rooms. Here are examples of some of the questions members asked our executives.

Experiences in Rising to the Position of VP:

Did you think you would be in this position when you first started your career?

Tell us about a setback in your career that was difficult to overcome and how you overcame it.

What risks have you taken in your career that resulted in a great payoff?

Career Advice:

Do you believe that in order to progress in the company, an employee should move from department to department? Why or why not?

How often should someone change jobs in order to gain experience?

Leadership Style:

How would your employees describe your leadership style?

How do you manage conflict?

Personal Insights:

Do you have any hobbies?

Where do you like to vacation?

Jennifer Peppers, programming chair, facilitated the VCON discussion, and Crystian Merrill did a great job facilitating the phone discussion. Executives and members both seemed to respond very well and enjoy the session. The event was a huge success.

SNC WIN Learns to “Power the Network”

A dozen Southern Nuclear employees attended the U.S. Women in Nuclear Conference in Seattle last week to network and interact with a diverse group of women (and men) engaged in the nuclear industry.

“Powering the Network” was the theme of this year’s conference. The meeting was co-hosted by Energy Northwest and the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and included speakers and representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, the American Nuclear Society, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Electric Power Research Institute, along with several national labs, vendors, suppliers and electric utilities.

Southern Nuclear leadership was well-represented among subject matter experts. Public Affairs Manager Carrie Phillips led a meeting of Region II attendees and facilitated a panel discussion of new plant construction that featured Cheri Collins, SNC manager of external alliances. Susan Hoxie-Key, SNC nuclear fuel services manager, served as a panelist in a discussion of the challenges on the front end of the fuel cycle.

The conference was especially meaningful to two Southern Nuclear engineering co-ops who really enjoyed the variety of breakout session available. Sarah Jackson says, “I got to learn about the technical aspects of fuel and processing in the session ‘Challenges in the Front End of the Fuel Cycle.’ Also, I heard about other plants that are building new units in the future, along with Vogtle 3 and 4, that I hadn't even heard about. Especially interesting was the session ‘Media Perceptions of Nuclear’ that described what the industry can do to change those perceptions. I was extremely impressed by the number of speakers who are not nuclear employees and how much they back our industry and what we do. It was so wonderful to meet other women in this historically male-dominated industry and have a chance to network and make new friends. This conference made me feel empowered and proud to be a woman in nuclear!”

Another co-op from Farley attending the conference was Danita Lampkin from the performance improvement group. She too was excited to attend the WIN Conference in Seattle. Danita says, “As an active member and officer of the National Society of Black Engineers, I have attended many developmental conferences, and I am very pleased to say the WIN Conference was the first conference I have attended that was female-dominated and empowering. As a female engineering student in a male-dominated field, at times I may feel overwhelmed, but my attendance at the WIN conference was an opportunity where I felt fully equipped and valued. I was able to network and make friends with people I would not have known if it weren’t for this conference. I am very pleased that as a co-op student I was granted the opportunity to make these lifelong relationships."

U.S. Women in Nuclear is the premier network of more than 4,000 women and men who work in nuclear- and radiation-related fields around the country. For more information, visit www.winus.org.