Jordan Tower - 2018 Steel Intern Scholar
This summer I had the opportunity to complete my internship at Steel Dynamics, Inc. – Roanoke Bar Division, Roanoke, Va., USA. This was my second internship with Steel Dynamics Inc. Over the course of the summer I was able to work on several different projects. One of the larger projects I worked on was a preventive maintenance schedule for the new reheat furnace and rebar finishing equipment, which also included updating the current parts catalog for the reheat furnace equipment. Additionally, I had multiple design projects where I either altered an existing piece of equipment or designed a new piece of equipment to further increase productivity. I was also able to acquire a hands-on learning experience by working alongside the production and maintenance teams. While working with the production and maintenance teams I was able to learn several things about the equipment and machinery used in the steelmaking process.
The most challenging part about my internship was the design projects where a new piece of equipment was to be fabricated. This was challenging because I have not had a lot of experience in fabrication until this summer. It was difficult because I wanted to design the products to be easily fabricated but also to be lightweight and structurally stable.
I can take away a lot from this summer’s internship at Steel Dynamics Inc. – Roanoke Bar Division. I was able to learn about the equipment and machinery used to produce steel products and further develop my overall knowledge about the steel making process. The internship also has increased my knowledge about the importance of maintenance and the process of maintaining the equipment. The field experience has a direct relationship to the academics in the classroom. This is of most value to me because I learn best with a hands-on approach. This internship will allow for me to relate to real-world scenarios and better understand concepts covered in my future academic courses. The internship has helped reinforce my career choice in the steel industry. It was a great learning opportunity that I plan to use to continue building my career upon in the iron and steel industry.
This fall I will be returning to continue my education at Oakland University, where I will be finishing my B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in business. Upon graduation I would like to continue pursuing my career in the iron and steel industry. I would like to thank the AIST foundation for the several academic scholarships they have provided me with over the past few years. It is a great honor to be a recipient of these very generous scholarships. I would also like to thank Steel Dynamics Inc. and everyone at the Roanoke Bar Division for allowing me to continue pursuing my career in the steel industry and allowing me to be a part of their outstanding team this summer.