A REVOLUTION IN STEEL

ETHAN GREEN: My father and my grandfather were industrial electricians, and my dad actually works at the Nucor-Yamato steel mill. So, I did have a pretty good idea., I just wasn’t sure how I was going to get into it. I heard about the steel tech program at Arkansas Northeastern College, and I decided to do that. I landed an internship and here I am.

BP: Did you do any advanced training when you were still in high school knowing you wanted to get into electrical work? Or did it all start in college?

ETHAN GREEN

Industrial Electrician, Nucor Steel Arkansas

Hometown: Gosnell

Age: 21

Years with Nucor: 1.5

EG: Not so much electrical. I was taking some welding classes at the college, but that was it. I just kind jumped into electrical when I got into the steel tech program.

BP: How did you combine what you learned in the classroom with what you were learning on the job?

EG: I worked with the day guys and the shift guys seeing what their job roles were. They would help me with questions I would have from school, and I would get to work alongside with them and troubleshoot, go on calls and kind of see what was going on and what life was like at the steel mill.

BP: What are your job responsibilities, generally speaking?

EG: My responsibility as a shift electrician is to take care of the line, make sure it stays running. We do anything from wiring all the way to the programming.

BP: How have you, as a new employee, gotten up to speed quickly?

EG: Working alongside my teammates and just putting my hands on the equipment were the biggest things. I get to work with mechanics and other electricians and production folks, and we work as a team be really effective.

ASHLEY KROLL Environmental Coordinator

Management Rep/Nucor-Yamato Steel

Hometown: Manila, AR

Age: 30

Years with Nucor: 12

BLUEPRINT: You started with Nucor at a pretty young age. How did that come about?

ASHLEY KROLL: I started when I was 18 in a two-year steel industry technology internship with Nucor, a month after high school graduation. An engineer from Nucor came to talk to our physics class during my senior year. I was undecided about what I wanted to do, and when she told us about the internship program, I was like, sign me up.

BP: Was college an option for you at that point?

AK: I was definitely not looking forward to racking up debt. I was struggling to figure out how I was going to make college work. I wanted to have a good career and start my life.

BP: How did that internship help you make that happen?

AK: I worked part time while I was going to college. The internship required that you had to keep good grades, to be at work on time, to have a positive attitude and most importantly, to make sure you were following the safety rules and doing your job duties as well. At the end of the two years, they offered me a full-time job.

BP: Did you have any experience in manufacturing or the trades prior to getting this internship?

AK: No, and honestly, I did not know a thing about the steel industry. When I stepped foot out here for the first time – and this place is huge, a lot of moving equipment, so many cranes and Taylor forklifts – I was just astonished and a little intimidated. It was amazing.

BP: You must be very proud of what you accomplished.

AK: I am extremely proud. And I’ll tell you this: I think Nucor is proud too. The teammates I work with, I think they’re proud of where I started and how far I’ve come. A lot of them have helped me along the way. I would say my hometown of Manila, AR, is very proud to have produced a young woman from that small town and that small high school who has accomplished so much.