This past summer, I worked as a nuclear analysis intern for GE Hitachi (the nuclear division of General Electric) in Wilmington, NC. My summer was absolutely incredible from both a professional development and social aspect. My project focused on using a computer code to analyze a specific type of accident scenario to determine thermal limits for the nuclear fuel that GE manufactures for one of the Swiss customers. The coolest part about my project was that my mentor was one of the original code developers. The amount of knowledge I took away from our meetings was incredible. As one of 34 interns, I had a chance to meet so many wonderful people from all over the country. There were over a dozen schools represented, with Penn State being a minority (although, myself and the only other Nittany Lion intern were treated to lunch by our alumni...the only school who can say that!).Overall, I certainly met many life long friends
during the summer. It helps that Wilmington is a port city located between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean! We planned many different events to take advantage of the gorgeous location we lived in for ten weeks. We went on a day-long kayaking trip to Masonboro Island, which is only accessible via boat. We took weekend trips to Myrtle Beach, Topsail Island, Raleigh, and Carolina Beach. Half of the interns registered for a SCUBA class to get their certification. But the best part of the summer by far was our skydiving trip along the Coastal Carolinas. Ten of us jumped out of a perfectly good airplane a fell 2 miles in the sky at a top speed of 130mph. What a rush! Wilmington was an amazing place to live for a summer and I hope to have an opportunity to go back soon!-Kimberly Harrison
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