Partnering with Amarillo College to inspire students
Pantex Amarillo College interns with their mentors and institution leadership. Left to Right: Denese Skinner, Amarillo College Interim President; Graham Sample, Fire Protection Engineering, Joe Bill Sherrod, Amarillo College Vice President of Institutional Advancement/Executive Director of the AC Foundation, Claire McKinney, Mechanical Engineering, Clinton Williams, Manager Project Engineering, Katie Schilling, Austin Foster, Electrical Engineering, Jesus Marquez, Adan Sanchez.
Amarillo College engineering students Jesus Marquez, Adan Sanchez, and Katie Schilling made history as Pantex’s first two-year community college engineering interns. The intern program has previously only hosted students from four-year programs.
“These AC students knocked it out of the park,” said Dr. Zuleyma Carruba-Rogel, performance improvement specialist. “What compelled this partnership was the need to build strong long-term talent pipelines in hard-to-fill areas such as engineering.”
Both Sanchez and Schilling are from Dimmitt, Texas — about an hour and a half from the site.
“Coming from a small town, I never knew the plant even existed,” Sanchez said. “I moved to Amarillo and started working for a commercial heating and air construction company and had a few projects on-site. From there I was exposed to how important the mission is, and I knew that Pantex was a place I would love to work for.”
During their time at Pantex, interns experience hands-on, meaningful work.
“I did not think that I would get the internship, but I was pushed hard to get out of my comfort zone and start networking,” Schilling said. “I was finally able to see what engineers do out in the field and the kind of work that I can expect to do in the future. It solidified exactly what I want to do in the future and why I chose engineering.”
Sanchez and Schilling agreed that going to Amarillo College allowed them to save money during their first two years working towards their degree. While the other interns at Pantex attended four-year universities, the two noted how important it is for community college students to participate in opportunities such as this internship.
“It really pushed me to finish my degree,” Sanchez said. “I can't wait to get out in the workforce and apply my knowledge to different projects.”
When asked to give advice to community college peers, Schilling detailed how students should shoot for the stars.
“Apply knowing that you do have a chance, but if your chance does not come, keep trying,” Schilling said. “Do not belittle yourself just because you are from a community college; you have as much potential and drive as anyone going to a university.”
After graduating this year, Sanchez plans to attend Texas Tech University to complete his mechanical engineering degree. Schilling is planning to attend West Texas A&M University to continue her studies in mechanical engineering after graduation this December.
Pantex has already established partnerships with Texas Tech and West Texas A&M, and has many alumni from both universities working at the plant. Adding Amarillo College to the list of higher education partners is important to the mission.
“We see incredible potential in a strong relationship with Amarillo College (and other educational institutions) and Pantex Engineering for the greater benefit of Pantex as a whole,” said Clinton Williams, project engineering manager.
Making these partnerships with students while they are still in school is vital to the development of future Pantexans.
“We wanted students early in their education to see Pantex as their career goal,” Carruba-Rogel said. “Not as a wish or a dream but a tangible goal that they could work towards.”