- Major: Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
- Company: Olin
- Graduation Year: May 2021
- E-mail: ntidwel5@vols.utk.edu
Profile
I completed two rotations with Olin in Freeport, Texas. Olin is a chemical manufacturing company which specializes in Chlor Alkali products as well as epoxy and vinyls. I specifically worked in a chlorine gas plant. I worked on projects to improve daily production as well as improvement projects to help with safety and data collection.
I took advice from friends that had already completed a co-op.
I learned a very valuable lesson from the production leader at my plant. When advising me on a project I was working on he gave me the advice to "trust but verify". I was spending a lot of time working on solutions based solely on the opinions of my coworkers. He taught me that it is good to gather opinions and trust input from coworkers but you must always verify the solution for yourself based on data and what is really happening in the field.
My co-op experience provided me with so much real world knowledge. This includes interviewing experience, social interactions in the workplace, public speaking, safety training, and hands-on engineering in the field. These are just a handful of the leanings I had, as the list could go on much longer. These experiences took my professional skills from basically zero to a place where now I feel extremely confident in job interviews and ready to hit the ground running at the start of my full-time employment.
I grew so much as a person not only professionally but in all aspects during my time working in Texas that I consider it one of the most valuable experiences I have ever had.
I enjoy fly fishing, brewing, hiking, and playing/watching any and all sports.