This summer, 147 Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and Savannah River National Laboratory interns are developing their professional experience while bringing new ideas to the Savannah River Site.

SRNS recently hosted an “Intern Meet and Greet,” where interns were able to meet executives while connecting with other young professionals.

“Enthusiasm for the internship program has spread tremendously throughout the ranks of the company,” Nate Diakun, SRNS intern coordinator, said. “The goal for our interns is to provide an environment that encourages impactful contributions, and we do so by ensuring managers and mentors facilitate work on meaningful projects and peer to peer interactions. We believe unique internship experiences provided in many of our facilities help make SRNS and SRNL compelling places to start a career once students receive degrees and become eligible for full-time employment.”

Attending the event was SRNS engineering intern Lauren Rapp, a rising sophomore at Clemson University who is working in H Canyon facilities. “Our system helps support the Canyon as it runs its processes. I’ve been working on a spare parts project with two other interns to be able to create a list of parts we recommend should be purchased in 2018,” Rapp said. “Being an intern at the Savannah SRNS interns and executives pose for a group photo during the third annual Intern-Executive Drop-In at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. During the event, interns were able to meet managers and executives while connecting with other young professionals.

River Site has been a great experience. It has enabled me to learn more about my college major and has given me great networking opportunities. Overall, I believe it is preparing me for the future.”

The summer interns are current college students or recent graduates and come from as far as Puerto Rico. They join 30 year-round interns for a total of 173 interns at SRNS/SRNL representing 51 colleges
and universities. The University of South Carolina, Clemson University and USC Aiken claim the largest number of interns represented; however, there are interns representing schools from all over the United States.

Stuart MacVean, SRNS President and CEO, addressed the interns during the reception. “We’re currently
in the process of hiring approximately 500 employees this year to prepare for an expected increase in employee retirements over the next several years,” MacVean said. “As a full-service company, we offer career opportunities for scientists, engineers, accountants and project management, among many other areas. We really appreciate what all our interns bring to the table, and we hope they have a meaningful experience that provides a strong foundation in their future careers.”