Two student interns at the Xcel Sherco plant in Becker gave presentations Thursday afternoon detailing the experiences that they had working at the plant for the past three months.  They spoke to a large audience of co-workers and mentors, plant staff, family and friends and representatives from the Becker School District.

 

Engineering intern Emma Schreifels is a 2015 graduate of Becker High School, and will be leaving shortly to begin her studies in electrical engineering at North Dakota State University. She was also a member of the robotics team, where she held several leadership positions, the National Honor Society, and she played volleyball during her high school career.  Maintenance intern Alex Stang will be a senior at BHS when classes resume next month.  In addition to robotics, he is also a member of the trap shooting team, and is active in the Civil Air Patrol. 

 

Both were active members of the BHS Robotics Team, and Stang was able to put his mechanical skills to work at the Sherco plant this summer, creating drive shafts for prototype robots the team developed over the summer.  Xcel Energy is a continuing sponsor of the Becker team, and Xcel Energy Business Support Manager Cindy Shore credited the team with being part of a notable increase in the skill level of student interns like the two being honored this year.

 

Schreifels was the first presenter of the afternoon, and she detailed a very busy summer of working in the area of plant engineering services, which included working in data analysis to make predictions for plant needs in the coming year, learning to use monitoring equipment, touring a number of Xcel plants, including the nuclear facility in Monticello, and experiencing a fully-realized mock-up of the control room there.

 

She recounted a nervous first few days when she was being overwhelmed by the many acronyms that are part of the plant language that is a mystery to newcomers, and said that she had learned the management of Microsoft Office® for her work in project analysis.  She also learned a great deal about plant safety, and a great deal more about the processes employed at Sherco to remove contaminants from the material leaving the plant through the stacks.

 

She also enjoyed “electro fishing” in which fish n the Mississippi River are shocked electrically and then measured and studied before being released to help measure the effects the plant has on nearby wildlife.  Learning not to play the queen of spades on the first hand in a lunchtime game of hearts was also memorable, and she also learned the importance of graph paper in making a product plan.

 

One of her final projects was a “survival guide” for high school interns coming into the program.

 

She thanked her mentors and Xcel for their support of the program, and said she had especially enjoyed the atmosphere and her co-workers during her internship.

Stang’s maintenance duties gave him the chance to sharpen his mechanical skills, he said, including learning a great deal about the proper safety gear and procedures and the importance of appropriate gear such as welding clothing and chemical protection suits.

 

The internship gave him a chance to practice welding, a particular interest of his, and took him into the nuts and bolts of plant maintenance, working on disassembling and repairing sludge pumps, changing seals and gaskets and sandblasting parts on the potable water system pumps and working on maintenance projects on the cooling tower array, among a wide variety of other experiences.

 

Stang also said he enjoyed the “electro fishing experience, and also had the chance to join a group of military veterans on a fishing expedition to Clearwater Lake during his internship.  He said that he had learned a great deal about plant operating systems, the importance of safety on the job and gained invaluable practical experience.

 

“Some things can’t be taught in school,” he said, stating that hands-on experience is sometimes the best way to learn a procedure as he thanked his mentors at the end of his presentation.

 

The mentors of both interns  praised for their work on the program, citing them for their intellect and the high level of ability each brought to the program.

 

In her comments, Shore also cited the intelligence and professionalism of the two interns, stating that she believes that the BHS robotics team has played a major part in giving students the ability to work with technology at a much higher level.  She also complimented the Becker School System for the work they do in producing high-grade students, and the parents for instilling excellent work habits in their children.  “Good kids don’t happen by luck,” she said in closing.

 

Plant Director Rob Brevig also cited parents and schools as the source for interns of this quality, which he called the “cream of the crop.” Of the 300 employees at the facility, 75 are in a position to retire right now, Brevig said, which makes the development and recruitment of highly qualified young people the future of the company. “We would love to have both of you back,” he said.

 

Following the presentations and speeches, refreshments were served and family members were taken on a hard-hat tour of the facility by the interns and other staff members.

 

In addition to family and co-workers, the audience included Becker Supt. Dr. Stephen Malone, BHS Principal Sandy Logrono and Asst. Principal Mark Kolbinger.