Each year, Energy Northwest hires between five and 10 interns — recent graduates or current college students who are interested in learning more about careers in clean energy. EN offers several types of internships — including year-round and summer programs.
This summer, EN has four interns working in Maintenance, Facilities & Commercial Engineering, Finance and Engineering. Three additional students are currently employed in year-round internships in Energy Services & Development, Human Resources and Environmental & Regulatory Programs.
Meet the interns
Jose Contreras, Facilities & Commercial Engineering summer intern
Education: Civil engineering major, Washington State University Tri-Cities.
Why were you interested in an internship at EN?
I was interested in pursuing an internship at EN because of its great reputation for developing outstanding engineers in a nuclear environment. Upholding and maintaining the best of standards was something I was already familiar with due to serving in the Army for four years. I am glad I can transfer over discipline and skills smoothly with this organization.
What do you hope to learn during your internship?
I hope to get familiar with the engineering process, from planning and design to the actual construction of projects. My long-term career goal is to achieve a master’s in civil engineering and be able to work on large scale projects.
Jadah Fellows, Human Resources year-round intern
Education: Bachelor of Science in general business administration, Central Washington University.
Why were you interested in an internship at EN?
I was interested in pursuing an internship with EN because it has allowed me to apply my knowledge from my degree to the real world. It has also allowed me to work hands-on and gain experience that I can apply to a career.
What do you hope to learn during your internship?
During my time at EN, I am hoping to gain more knowledge of the real-world perspective of how a corporation works in the manner of business, management and recruiting. I would also love to learn who and what kind of people work for EN to maintain a professional relationship to help my progression in building my career, because as many of us know, a big part of building a career is about who you know. My long-term career goals are still in the making but I am in the stage of my life where the world is my playground and I am enjoying my time here at EN as an intern and looking for opportunities to apply for a permanent position. During Refueling and Maintenance Outage 25, I worked as a tool crib attendant and hope to do that for R-26.
Shannon Hostetler, Design Engineering summer intern
Education: Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering, WSU
Tri-Cities.
Why were you interested in an internship at EN?
I was interested in an internship at EN because the company’s mission aligns with my personal and professional values. Another reason I pursued an internship is I want to learn more about nuclear energy. It’s a unique opportunity to work at a nuclear power plant in this part of the country.
What do you hope to learn during your internship?
I’m hoping to learn more about the various industry software we use and get some hands-on experience solving engineering problems. My long-term career goals are to help make the power industry safer, more reliable, sustainable and economical. Over the next year, I anticipate finding which specific department in engineering best fits my interests and skills. I also plan to apply for graduate school in the next couple of years and possibly take the professional engineer (PE) exam down the road.
Editor’s note: After providing information for this article, Shannon received a full-time position at EN. Congratulations!
Azuka Osokogu, Maintenance summer intern
Education: Energy management and economics major, CWU.
Why were you interested in an internship at EN?
So far in my internship journey, I’ve explored the numerous sides of the energy world. I’ve experienced the business side where I helped design and create products that connected buyers and sellers to renewable projects. I have experience in the finance side where I traded energy on the CAISO market. I also have experience in development, I gained knowledge on what goes into making a successful renewable project and the steps to achieve it. Here at EN, I hope to gain insight on the generation of energy.
What do you hope to learn during your internship?
The company has multiple sources of clean renewables and during my time here I’d like to explore how these systems operate. Energy has so many opportunities for careers it’s hard to choose just one I want to focus on. Ultimately, I would like to end up working with energy storage. I think improving and developing new batteries will be key to transforming our current energy infrastructure to a much cleaner one.
Payton Sample, Environmental & Regulatory Programs year-round intern
Education: Ecosystem and environmental science major, WSU Tri-Cities.
Why were you interested in an internship at EN?
Interning at EN presented the chance to be a part of a company committed to being environmentally responsible and focused on multiple kinds of carbon-free energy.
What do you hope to learn during your internship?
I am excited by the opportunity to gain a wide range of knowledge and skills outside of the classroom. The ERP group is involved with so many important projects and it gives me the chance to learn about waste generation, emissions, water quality and so much more. As cliché as it sounds, the main goal I have for my career is to make contributions (no matter how small) to improving the quality of the environment for future generations. I also plan to eventually pursue my master’s in a related field.
Tegan Smallwood, Accounting & Budgets summer intern
Education: Bachelor's in Accounting, WSU.
Why were you interested in an internship at EN?
I grew up in the Tri-Cities and knew I was interested in nuclear, and wanted to gain more experience in finance.
What do you hope to learn during your internship?
I am learning from experienced and admirable people in my field and hope to learn to emulate their qualities and how I fit into a working team.
Gabe Smith, Energy Services & Development year-round intern
Education: Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering, WSU.
Why were you interested in an internship at EN?
Internships provide great opportunities to test out career fields while also gaining experience. The networking opportunities from working for EN, which has strong relationships with local utilities, was appealing.
What do you hope to learn during your internship?
I want to develop my soft skills and increase my ability to effectively communicate in a professional setting. Being around professionals who clearly demonstrate the safety culture that EN has is something that I’ll take with me no matter where I go. Eventually I’d like to become a PE. I’m studying for the engineer in training exam right now, and then once I pass that exam, I will need four years of professional experience before taking the final PE exam.
Learn about Energy Northwest’s student programs or visit our Careers Page to view and apply for open positions.
