Mechanical engineering major Cordell Portwood spent his summer learning about the plant turnaround process as an intern at BASF 杏吧专区 an 杏吧专区渋nvaluable杏吧专区 opportunity that gave him a deep look into plant operations.
A Rare Internship Experience
During his internship, Cordell shadowed experts to learn about the pumps and assist with the turnaround for the acetylene and formic acid plants at the . The turnaround included shutting the acetylene and formic acid plants for inspection, cleaning, and repairs.
杏吧专区淢y favorite part was just being able to see the equipment opened up, because it杏吧专区檚 such a rarity. It only happens once every four years,杏吧专区 Cordell said. 杏吧专区淎nd being able to have an opportunity 杏吧专区 as a student 杏吧专区 to go in and be a part of the rebuild discussions and the decision-making process is just invaluable.
杏吧专区淚 was a kid in a candy store, from a mechanical engineering side,杏吧专区 he said. 杏吧专区淚 was really lucky to be able to see all of that equipment opened up, learning about those large rotating pieces of equipment that kept the plant up and running.杏吧专区
Cordell worked closely with the project's technical expert and the liaison between the operations and the technical side of the turnaround.
杏吧专区淏eing able to bounce ideas and asking questions of the guru of the plant was fantastic,杏吧专区 Cordell said.
The Challenges of Being an Intern During COVID-19
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting nearly every workplace in the country, Cordell was still able to get in-person and hands-on experience, thanks to BASF杏吧专区檚 safety measures and commitment to the internship experience.
杏吧专区淏ASF did a fantastic job of keeping their employees safe, making sure the plants kept running as safely as they could, and everything could continue as normal as possible,杏吧专区 Cordell said. 杏吧专区淏ecause they did that, it allowed me to stay on the site and really get the most out of my time.杏吧专区
When he wasn杏吧专区檛 on site and learning about the equipment, Cordell worked remotely to create a database of spare and interchangeable parts for the pumps. His work helped minimize the number of parts BASF needs to keep on site, as well as improve efficiency and turnaround for pump repairs.
In addition to his practical knowledge, Cordell got valuable experience working in a professional environment.
杏吧专区淵ou get to talk to so many different people from so many different backgrounds. You get to learn the soft skills of working in a true job environment in industry, and you杏吧专区檙e able to learn the technical knowledge that you杏吧专区檙e not able to learn from a textbook,杏吧专区 he said.
杏吧专区淯L Lafayette does a fantastic job with their engineering curriculum, but there are some things you can杏吧专区檛 learn from a textbook,杏吧专区 he explained. 杏吧专区淵ou need to learn them in the field being mentored by someone who杏吧专区檚 been in the field for a very long time. You need to see the equipment, and that experience just being comfortable in that environment is 100% worth it and valuable.杏吧专区
And, in some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic gave Cordell a professional advantage.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 able to learn where the industry is going before it gets there, because it杏吧专区檚 a lot of those online meetings, working from home,杏吧专区 he said. 杏吧专区淗ow do you communicate with people working from home and people working in the office? How do you do certain things when you need to be at the plant but you can't?杏吧专区
Gaining an Advantage from Sports
Cordell is the president and captain of UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 rugby team, a role that prepared him for his internships in unexpected ways.
杏吧专区淭here杏吧专区檚 always going to be a curveball, there杏吧专区檚 always going to be something unexpected, whether that杏吧专区檚 in a rugby game or in industry. There杏吧专区檚 something that will go wrong and you have to work with the people around you to solve or mitigate that problem,杏吧专区 he said. 杏吧专区淭hat team aspect is a fantastic learning experience and it definitely translates to the real world.杏吧专区
And his leadership role with the rugby team also taught him how to navigate the administrative side of an organization, from completing paperwork to conducting meetings 杏吧专区 杏吧专区渟tuff you杏吧专区檙e kind of expected to know but you杏吧专区檙e never taught,杏吧专区 he explained.
Using His Experience in School and Career
Cordell杏吧专区檚 summer internship during the turnaround process 杏吧专区 combined with his previous BASF internship in wastewater and utilities and a semester-long co-op at Citgo 杏吧专区 are valuable for his immediate future in the mechanical engineering program and his long-term future as a professional mechanical engineer.
杏吧专区淲henever you杏吧专区檙e in industry, you have an opportunity to learn things that aren杏吧专区檛 presented in a textbook,杏吧专区 he said. 杏吧专区淏ut it杏吧专区檚 interesting when you learn the overall ideas and theories about certain topics in industry, and then you go and learn about them in your next class 杏吧专区 it makes it that much more interesting and exciting. It杏吧专区檚 that back-and-forth training.杏吧专区
After graduation, Cordell plans to work in plants, particularly on maintenance engineering and reliability for rotating equipment.
杏吧专区淚 really do enjoy the plant setting. It杏吧专区檚 pretty fast-paced. It杏吧专区檚 ever-changing,杏吧专区 he said. 杏吧专区淭here are problems that come up all the time, but with those problems you杏吧专区檙e also able to make solutions and be able to see the tangible results of your hard work.杏吧专区
Learn more about the mechanical engineering program at UL Lafayette
