By Flynn Espe

Dozens of employees from Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure (H2C) visited the Washington State University Tri-Cities campus Wednesday, sharing career advice, industry insights and networking opportunities with students during a special H2C Day event.

Throughout the day, WSU Tri-Cities students had the opportunity to connect with professionals working at Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure (H2C).

The day began with a series of classroom visits, in which H2C employees spoke to students about their own professional journeys, as well as new and emerging career pathways related to students’ fields of study. Students then gathered in two locations for a trio of panels centered on artificial intelligence in the workplace, engineering innovation at H2C and tips for entering the professional workforce. Other representatives, meanwhile, chatted with students about jobs and internships during a free networking picnic outside the Student Union Building.

H2C is one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s prime contractors at the Hanford Site north of Richland. With a workforce of roughly 2,500 employees, the company is responsible for the safe retrieval, treatment and eventual disposal of radioactive and chemical waste stored in Hanford’s underground tank farms.

While students gained many insights about H2C’s workplace culture, company values and large-scale environmental cleanup efforts, much of the career advice that permeated across the various panels and presentations applied to a wide range of industries and job types.

In the panel on AI and emerging technologies, H2C panelists touted the importance of entering the professional workforce with curiosity and courage to ask questions.

During a panel on career navigation, students got to hear directly from managers about organizational structure, leadership, collaboration and building a successful career.

“One of the most valuable assets is curiosity. We undervalue being curious, and the benefit of being young in your career or just starting out is you don’t know everything,” H2C Business Services Director Corey Chun told the audience. “Somebody coming in and asking a simple question — ‘Why?’ — can really transform how we look at things and how we ultimately do things.”

After attending the panel on engineering and innovation, student Kolby Smith, a senior environmental and ecosystem sciences major, said he appreciated the opportunity to not only ask specific questions about hiring tips and resume-building advice, but also to learn more about the wide range of work happening at H2C.

“One of the things they highlighted that was impactful was the scale of innovation that they do, from something as small as changing the color on wrenches so they can be easier to see through a camera to large-scale management of fluid systems — or even policy,” Smith said. “It can be something as small as a wrench to something as grand as how we govern safety with nuclear waste. That’s cool, and seeing that scale of innovation is inspiring and encouraging for somebody who wants to go into that field.”

Wrapping up the day’s events, H2C President Ken Langdon joined Executive Vice President for WSU Statewide Campuses Sandra Haynes in Collaboration Hall for a moderated discussion about leadership and career success, in which the two speakers drew from their own personal histories and life lessons.

“At WSU Tri-Cities, we are proud to serve as a bridge between education, industry and our community. Our students come here not only to earn degrees, but to prepare for meaningful careers and meaningful lives,” Haynes said in her opening remarks. “That mission is strengthened when organizations like H2C invest their time, expertise and energy in engaging directly with you, our students.”

H2C President Ken Langdon (left) and Executive Vice President for WSU Statewide Campuses Sandra Haynes (right) closed H2C Day with discussion moderated by ASWSUTC President Romeo Ross (center).

Langdon, who also met with students during a special lunchtime meet-and-greet, said he welcomed more opportunities to engage with students to grow their understanding of the career opportunities available at the Hanford Site to help support the cleanup mission.

“We have an important task ahead of us to continue innovating to safely clean up the Department of Energy’s largest environmental challenge so that we can transform the Hanford Site for a new mission,” said Langdon. “There are tremendous opportunities for today’s students as the workforce of tomorrow to take Hanford into a new era.”