Charles W. Finch – 2020 Steel Intern Scholar
This summer I worked for Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa as the Meltshop mechanical engineering co-op, where I assisted the Meltshop project engineer in his day to day as well as worked on projects independently.
This being my second semester as a co-op at Nucor Tuscaloosa, I was given more responsibility and a larger number of projects to work on throughout the summer. One of my biggest projects was working on a transformer change out plan for our ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF). I was able to go out into the mill and work alongside the electrical engineer and maintenance team to develop a plan that would allow us to change out the transformer quickly and affordable. I also assisted another co-op on his 
dechoker project, where we preassembled equipment and prepared it for installation. Working on projects like this and others, I learned and develop skills like 3-D modeling, working with contractors, welding, machining, equipment operation and time management.
I am thankful to AIST and Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa for the opportunity to work as an intern for the summer semester. I believe that this semester strengthened my passion for the steel industry, and I am excited to see what the future holds upon my graduation.