This year, Becker High School graduates Devan Maruska and Brandon Pearce were the two students selected for the prestigious internships after what Xcel Business Support manager Cindy Shore described as a “rigorous interview process.” This year was somewhat different, she said, in that two of her long-time staff members, Kristy Ahlbrecht and Bill Wilts, conducted the interviews and made recommendations for the final selections.

 

Shore commended the parents of the two interns and the Becker school system that produced them, calling them “two wonderful young men” and marveling that the school district “continues to hit it out of the park” in providing the high quality of individuals who apply to the program each year.  She also cited Xcel employees Dan Ellis and Darren Schottler for taking the time to mentor the two interns over the past two months.

 

Pearce led off the prepared presentations with a photo of Wilts’ pet lizard, which is apparently lost somewhere in the walls at the facility.  He went on to describe his summer in a “police blotter” style report that included the facts of the “case” and the “usual suspects” who had mentored him and worked with him during his internship.

 

His focus was on engineering, and he was exposed to all of the major elements of the plant operation, including learning countless acronyms, mastering (sort of) spread sheets, exploring “financial tagging” and computer programming, doing the research in stacks of manuals to piece together needed information, as well as tracing hot steam leaks and working with boiler cameras.

 

He said he enjoyed the openness of the working atmosphere in the plant, especially the free flow of information that came whenever he asked one or more questions.  The experience always provided “a new thing every day,” he said, and reaffirmed his decision to pursue an engineering degree at St. Cloud State this fall.

 

Maruska spent much of his summer on the maintenance and operations end of the facility, and his presentation reflected that with photos of the massive coal dumping facility that empties railroad cars by tipping them mechanically, the coal stacking machinery and the crusher, which pulverizes the western coal into a powder finer than sugar, “which I thought was cool,” he said.  The motto “Safety First” is the mantra at the plant, he said, and it was drilled into his head every day.

 

He also had a chance to drive the watering truck which keeps coal dust down, and operated a truck-mounted crane and a road grader at levels of efficiency that surprised some of his mentors.  The work also included cleaning parts, working with a “water jet” metal cutting device and working on the rigging crew, moving large parts into place inside the facility.  His last two weeks involved replacing fan blades and working on the gearbox in the cooling towers, which looked impressive in the photo presentation as well.

 

Maruska plans to immediately apply for a full time job at  Sherco and said he will also continue to work with his father on the family farm, raising cattle and corn.

 

Ellis commented that it was a “tribute to the parents” of the interns that they had proved to be so responsible and to have such positive attitudes and enjoyment of working that they displayed during their time at the facility.  Schottler said “the world needs more engineers,” and that these interns had demonstrated the skills and dedication to succeed in any aspect of life they choose to pursue.  Though he also hopes they will continue to think of engineering and technology as they plan their futures.

 

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, 68 are in position to retire very soon, he said, making highly qualified young people the future of the company. “We would love to have both of you back, in any capacity you choose.”

 

Brevig brought the intern program with him when he took over the Sherco facility six years ago, and he plans to keep it going into the foreseeable future.  The Xcel plant produces electricity for 1.9 million people he said “which is not insignificant.”  Of the interns he said: “This is our future, right here.”

 

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

 

In addition to grandparents, parents and siblings, the audience included Becker Sup. Dr. Stephen Malone, BHS Principal Sandy Logrono and Asst. Principal Mark Kolbinger.