PADUCAH, KY—Seventeen college students recently graduated from a 10-week summer internship program with Fluor Paducah Deactivation Project, the U.S. Department of Energy‘s (DOE) cleanup contractor at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Site.  The purpose of the program is to provide opportunities to outstanding students who may be interested in careers that intersect with needs and positions at the DOE Site.  
  
“The internship program at the Paducah Site offers unique opportunities that introduce students to DOE’s mission and operations,” said Jennifer Woodard, Paducah Site Lead for DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. “Students gain a competitive edge when they combine their college education and their summer experience when applying for future opportunities.”  
  
The interns also participated in community service programs which included delivering 125 backpacks filled with supplies to disadvantaged students in McCracken County, Paducah City, and Ballard County middle schools.  The second project involved interns participating in the site-wide campaign for DOE’s “Feds Feed Families” program.  Interns and employees at the site donated food that the interns delivered to help stock local food pantries.
  
“My second year as an intern provided many new experiences,” said Caroline Washer, a senior studying electrical engineering at the University of Kentucky. “I enjoyed performing many practical engineering calculations, as well as helping to revise and simplify procedures. The intern experience has opened so many doors for me, and I am very fortunate to learn from some amazing people.”
  
“This is an excellent intern program where college studies are applied to real-world experiences,” said Bob Smith, Fluor’s Program Manager. “The interns have a unique opportunity to contribute and solve real problems that face DOE.”

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