![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/08\/Charlie-Pine-2026-internship-SWR.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nI set myself up for success in the fall term. I have grown more comfortable with the processes around the Powerhouse, and I know that I will be able to accomplish even more in the fall now that I better understand some of the operations. I will be able to hit the ground running with some new projects and continue to do some of my weekly tasks I have gotten better at doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, I learned what it means to BE an engineer. I\u2019ve grown up hearing about chemical engineers and paper engineers, but it is not something that has an easy job-description and it varies from role to role, but being around and learning from our process engineers, I can say with confidence that it is something I see myself doing after graduation.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n
By: Charlie Pine PSE '29<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I just finished my first year of college and am working at Smurfit Westrock in Hopewell, Virginia. I still can\u2019t believe that they let a 19-year-old who has only taken one paper class do what I do on a daily basis! I am working in the Power & Recovery department as a process engineering intern. Some of my daily tasks include performing tests on green liquor samples, calibrating analyzers, and running meetings. I am honored to work with my fellow engineers and operators; they have so much knowledge and are always willing to answer my never-ending questions when they have a spare moment. I enjoy getting to know the other interns who aren\u2019t from NC State and what they do. I also know that I am very fortunate that my boss and my boss's boss went to NC State through the same program as me. I see alumni thriving in the industry everyday. I am extremely grateful that I was able to have this experience so early in my college career, I will be able to take what I have learned in the field and apply it to my classwork.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I reflect over the summer, I realize just how much I have learned, it is more than I can fit into a paragraph. I learned how power and recovery run and got to see operations firsthand. Things like the boiler tripping are events that I learned about in class but being able to be in the control room while it happens and while the team works through it are so impactful. I gained a deeper understanding of paper manufacturing and what it takes to get a reel of paper produced from the back end of the mill. I got the opportunity to build meaningful connections with other engineers, co-ops and operators and there are many people here that I would consider a friend. I developed skills in different applications and software such as PI Vision, Ekhosoft, JDE, and CPro. I used data collection, trending, and analysis for my yellow belt project. These are skills I can take to my next internship or job in the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I set myself up for success in the fall term. I have grown more comfortable with the processes around the Powerhouse, and I know that I will be able to accomplish even more in the fall now that I better understand some of the operations. I will be able to hit the ground running with some new projects and continue to do some of my weekly tasks I have gotten better at doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, I learned what it means to BE an engineer. I\u2019ve grown up hearing about chemical engineers and paper engineers, but it is not something that has an easy job-description and it varies from role to role, but being around and learning from our process engineers, I can say with confidence that it is something I see myself doing after graduation.<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Charlie Pine PSE ’29 I just finished my first year of college and am working at Smurfit Westrock in Hopewell, Virginia. I still can\u2019t believe that they let a 19-year-old who has only taken one paper class do what I do on a daily basis! I am working in the Power & Recovery department…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":274,"featured_media":26343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/274"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26341"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26345,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26341\/revisions\/26345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/fb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/figure>\n\n\n\n