MARIETTA, OHIO—Washington State College of Ohio (WSCO) Student of the Month Braden Rine will conclude his first year of college with a summer internship. While it’s a stipulation of his academic scholarship, as a hands-on learner, he sees it as an opportunity to put to work all the skills he learned thus far in the classroom.
Rine is pursuing a degree in industrial technology, a technical program that’s a natural fit for people who learn by doing. “I learn more effectively like that,” he replied. In the classroom his interests are inclined more toward maintenance. In fact, his demeanor came alive as he described an assignment that required him and his classmates to take apart centrifugal pumps and write a program on assembly and disassembly. Once completed, another student would attempt to follow the instructions to repeat the process. For Rine, this assignment was in perfect alignment with his learning style.
As a resident of Tyler County, Rine said he opted to make the daily two-hour round-trip to Marietta because, “WSCO has a great program in the field of study I’m interested in, which is Industrial Technology and Industrial Maintenance. WSCO also does an amazing job of combining hands-on learning with classroom learning to provide an exceptional learning opportunity in many fields of study.” He added that, “I also really like the atmosphere and teachers on campus.”
A 4.0 student, Rine is the recipient of the Elmer Michaels Family Scholarship. It’s one of only 10 full-ride scholarships that were awarded in 2020 by the WSCO Foundation. Of the expectations of the scholarship, Rine is required to participate in an internship related to his field of study. After meeting with his scholarship’s donor, Rine said he learned, “he’s big on hard work and sees the benefit of internships,” an ideal that the donor and Rine both share. He said this internship will give him some prerequisite job experience before he actually starts a job.
At the conclusion of the semester, Rine will begin his internship with Technical Compliance Solutions based out of Salem, WV. The company specializes in natural gas engine technology, state emissions testing, engine overhaul, reciprocating compressor overhaul and repair, driver and compressor alignment, compressor valve rebuilds, and repair work related to natural gas processing and production.
“This internship will give him invaluable experience and has the potential of a continuing job opportunity after schooling,” confirmed Industrial Technology instructor Chris Carpenter. “The company intends to run Braden through each section so he will have a broad experience.”
Carpenter went on to describe Rine as a self-starter. “He doesn’t wait around for instruction and is always asking for the next project. He is the type of person I would want to hire for my organization. It is obvious he has a very strong work ethic.”
Rine anticipates graduating next spring with his associate degree in Industrial Technology and is considering continuing his education to earn a bachelor’s degree.
