Y-12 Blog
Karissa Sampson
Karissa Sampson is the 2020 Y-12 recipient of the Jackie Kelly Award for Administrative Excellence.
Karissa was nominated by her supervisor Kevin Corbett, who is director of the CNS Quality organization.
“Karissa has demonstrated her dedication to learn since she arrived several years ago. She came to CNS without any Y-12 experience and immediately immersed herself into understanding our mission, supporting the organization, and her follow employees,” said Corbett. “Additionally, Jackie Kelly, the person this award was named after, worked for me just before her passing. It took me a long time to hire someone who I felt could carry on as professionally as Jackie did, but with Karissa, we hit the jackpot. She embodies all of the same beautiful attributes that Jackie did, as well as her work ethic.”
CNS established this award three years ago in honor of Jackie Kelly, who met every challenge head on, including the cancer that ultimately took her life. Nominees are evaluated by five Pantex and Y-12 leaders on these criteria:
- Dedication: to the mission, their organization, and their fellow employees;
- Conscientiousness: to the quality of their work;
- Caring: building relationships and a concern for other’s success;
- Can-do attitude: “never say no” approach and helping to make a difference; and
- Capability: aptitude in roles, responsibilities, authorities, and accountabilities.
An Alarm Response Training instructor helps facilitate distance Alarm Response Training, or dART, to Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center during a class.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Radiological Security (ORS) Alarm Response Training provides participants comprehensive training to understand and protect radioactive and nuclear materials in civilian facilities, like hospitals and research institutions. The specialized training is conducted at Y-12 and prepares participants to return to their work locations better equipped to handle the potential threat of radioactive and nuclear theft by applying training objectives.
As successful programs continuously improve, the ART team wanted to go the next step and develop innovative strategies to maintain relationships with sites that had previously attended classes. Distance learning was one of those suggested tools, so dART — distance Alarm Response Training — was born.
Program Manager Dan Romano said, “We were already researching distance learning when COVID-19 hit and caused a travel ban. But with the pandemic and lack of travel, it became more important for us [NNSA’s Office of Radiological Security and Y-12] to remain engaged with ART alumni sites and present awareness concepts to sites that yet had attended ART.
“The pandemic brought an unexpected shift in our nation’s situation, and the ART staff looked at this challenge and developed, demonstrated, and ultimately executed dART in about two months,” Romano said.
Thanks to the group’s dedication and teamwork, dART classes offer previous ART trainees, and those wanting to learn how to protect radioactive and nuclear materials, continued engagement and awareness.
“We have held three dART classes so far. Attendees were the University of Arkansas Medical Center, North Carolina State University, and most recently Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center,” Romano said. “Our week long ART sessions will return once our nation returns to pre-covid status, but dART will remain as an integral component. We plan to hold at least two dART courses each month.”
With the creation of dART a new partnership was developed with Roane State Community College. “We store our asynchronous materials on Roane State’s Learning Management System, and we conduct our instruction at the Oak Ridge facility,” he said.
dART offers a condensed version of ART and covers all ART learning objectives (minus the drills), but instructs at a lower order (less intense) of learning — this works as both a refresher for previous ART attendees and radiological security awareness for those yet to attend. dART also offers partner sites the option to “customize” according to their needs.
Since 2009, Y-12’s ART has conducted more than 200 classes for almost 7,000 participants from 48 states and 19 countries. Last April, Y-12 celebrated its 10th anniversary and is a program developed and maintained through NNSA’s Office of Radiological Security.
L. Holt, former DOD Skill Bridge Program intern, is a full time Pantexan who is “able to put the knowledge from my degree to use! I was not able to fully bring my environmental background to use in the Air Force because my career field was focused in occupational health.”
Consolidated Nuclear Security offers an opportunity to our nation’s service members transitioning into the civilian workforce. In conjunction with the Department of Defense, CNS is serving as an approved location for the DOD Skill Bridge program.
This program is a pathway for service members to gain valuable civilian work experience through specific industry internships during the last 180 days of service, connecting them with industry partners in real world job experiences.
Currently, there are two interns: B. Matthews (Y-12 Safeguards and Security) and J. Toliver (Global Security and Strategic Partnership). Two previous interns, L. Holt (Pantex Environmental Compliance) and Z. Trujillo (Organizational Development and Training) are now CNS employees. And while 2020 has been a questionable year in terms of normalcy, it’s a positive year for Diversity and Inclusion Specialist Sundi Wright since CNS participates in this mutually beneficial partnership that will grow our robust veteran population at CNS.
B. Matthews, DOD Skill Bridge Program intern and Air Force officer, said, “The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is to listen to prior experiences and learn from the good and the bad to pave a better way for the future.”
“This is a chance for CNS to benefit from early access to qualified, potentially cleared, mid career employees who are familiar with highly regulated environments such as those at Pantex and Y-12,” Wright said. “Some come with nuclear experience while others have extensive leadership experience. I am very passionate about this project and was happy to be able to get it going here at CNS.”
The interns, current and former, are fans of the program, too.
Holt said, “Many of the skills I attained in the Air Force directly transferred because they are similar in nature. The plant follows the same regulations, so it made for an easy transition all around. The internship gave me the opportunity to learn how to use what the Air Force has graciously taught me in order to continue to serve. It is a bittersweet ending to a chapter, but I feel this opportunity has given me a great chance.”
J. Toliver, DOD Skill Bridge Program intern and an Army Special Forces officer, is often found in the Jack Case Center sporting an orange and white checkerboard mask and will respond if you say, “Go Vols.”
Current intern Toliver said, “I’m learning how to speak a new language: the language of the Nuclear Security Enterprise. As an Army Special Forces officer, I studied Arabic to better understand the culture of my partner forces overseas. Learning the language and culture of the NSE and CNS/Y-12 is priceless as I join this dynamic team.”
By providing service members the opportunity to participate in career and skill training programs, companies improve the service members’ employment options upon their transition from active duty. The internship also allows them the chance to see comparisons between military and civilian jobs while providing networking functions essential to successful careers.
Matthews said, “Although DOE and DOD are different, they are also very similar. As part of the Air Combat Command, my daily missions involved large volumes of highly sensitive information. That said, one of our main priorities was to protect that information. With a background of protecting the integrity of national security, I foresee a huge benefit of that experience here.”
Z. Trujillo asks coworkers: “As a country we can trust 24 year olds to lead 40 soldiers between the ages of 18–30 in a foreign country in combat while representing the interests of the U.S. I ask my coworkers at CNS to consider this: Why wouldn’t you want to hire individuals who are accustomed to and capable of such large responsibilities?”
New Y-12er Trujillo said, “In the Infantry, we are a results-driven organization that accepts nothing less than excellence because at the end of the day, the ability to appropriately plan and train will either negatively or positively impact survivability in combat and has third and fourth order effects. So what I bring to the table is an in depth and rigorous knowledge of planning processes to increase efficiency, mitigate risks, and achieve results that was cultivated by years of leading, training, coaching, mentoring, and developing soldiers for combat.”
These four employees may represent different branches of the military, but there is one topic they agree on: Pantexans and Y-12ers are helpful.
Holt said, “Everyone who I have met and trained with has been very helpful and have freely shared their knowledge with me. It has been a great experience, and I will promote the internship program to any member who is transitioning!”
Similar sentiments were shared by Trujillo and Matthews. “Everyone in my organization has been so awesome and helpful; they definitely made the transition to the civilian workforce feel welcoming,” Trujillo said.
“My favorite part has been meeting everyone and hearing everyone’s experiences,” Matthews said. “Every single person I’ve met at Y-12 has welcomed me with open arms, willing to help in any way possible. As a transitioning active duty member, I couldn’t ask for a better situation. I’m blessed that CNS has provided me this opportunity, and I hope to lead future Skill Bridge interns.”
Toliver wrapped everyone’s thoughts up by saying, “In spite of the challenges we all face with COVID-19, the people are just fantastic. Everyone has been so welcoming and supportive; it really lets me know that I’ve picked the right team to join at the end of my active duty military service.”
Due to support from the CNS Community Investment Fund, Keystone can still provide for their participants at home.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 5 million adults in the United States, at least 65 years old, suffer from dementia. In spite of its life-altering affects, the Keystone Adult Day Program is active against the disease. For 32 years, the program has dedicated itself to provide support for caregivers and individuals living with dementia. While there isn’t a cure for dementia, maintaining social connection and activity has been found to reduce the symptoms and isolation felt by the disease.
One of the core missions of the program is to provide purposeful and meaningful activities and engagement for those living with dementia. Based on the Y-12 Community Investment Fund’s contribution of $3,000, the program was able to deliver their mission, help fund activities, and impact its individuals before and during COVID-19.
“Pre-pandemic, we utilized grant funds for a variety of activities which routinely encompass a participant’s day at Keystone,” said Phyllis Spangler, executive director of Keystone Adult Day Program. “Engaging participants in a full range of activities drives our daily schedule. From the moment the first participant arrives until the last participant has departed, activities are generated and sustained. This engagement helps decrease anxiety and agitation and helps promote a sense of wellbeing and security. Additionally, when participants return home after a full, active day, they are tired and routinely sleep better, which is significantly helpful for their caregivers.”
Before the pandemic, in-person activities for the participants ranged from cooking projects, arts and crafts, weekly music therapy, visits with dogs through the University of Tennessee’s Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee program, seated exercise, games, music, singing, and hosting special programs for individuals in the Oak Ridge community. As a part of the special programs, Y-12’s Day of Volunteering event partnered with Keystone in October 2018 and gave employees the chance to meet participants and experience the program in a Hawaiian-themed event.
“We played games, painted, and enjoyed the party,” said Ashley Harris, Y-12 Communications. “The smiles on the participants’ faces were priceless. I know the Y-12 volunteers enjoyed the day just as much as the participants did, it felt very much like a family.”
However, as events postponed and facilities closed around the nation in precaution of COVID-19, Keystone was also forced to restructure their community and concerns.
“Once we closed our door in mid-March, our primary concern was the wellbeing of those we serve, given their pursuant isolation,” said Anne Leitnaker, administrative assistant at Keystone. “The task of caring for someone living with dementia is a 24/7 proposition. Our caregivers were suddenly without the relief our program provided and our participants found themselves without the social connection, engagement, meaning, and purpose that being a part of the Keystone community offered.”
With a need and drive to sustain the Keystone community’s activities and keep safety measures in place, Keystone’s staff used their creativity to package at-home activity totes. Keystone activity director, Alex Sands, worked with staff to generate ideas for the totes and carefully customized items in the kit for each participant’s level of functioning and interests. Each activity is individually bagged and includes supplies and instructions to make it easy for both the participant and caregiver.
“We are dedicated to preserving the lifeline we extend to those we serve and to remain in relationship with them. We are also developing ways to connect virtually with our population and will be using activities in that venue as well,” Spangler said.
As a resource, the Keystone Adult Day Program is also able to offer subject matter expertise on dementia and reach beyond their walls. In support of the local community, Keystone will begin offering generic totes to provide for the local population living with dementia.
“We want our participants and caregivers to know how much we care for them and long for the day when we can reopen our doors and welcome them back. Maintaining this connection is vital to the future of our program,” Leitnaker said.
By working with the East Tennessee Foundation, the Y-12 Community Investment Fund has provided opportunities for employees to award grants benefiting nonprofit organizations like the Keystone Adult Day Program in its 20-county service area.
Y-12 employee, Ashley Harris, volunteers at the Keystone Adult Day Program on the 2018 Day of Volunteering. (Photo taken before the COVID‑19 pandemic.)
Keystone Adult Day program participants enjoying the Hawaiian-themed event on the 2018 Y-12 Day of Volunteering. (Photo taken before the COVID‑19 pandemic.)
Care companion, Sharon McFadden, and activity director Alex Sands work on the contents of the bags for the at-home packages.
Keystone executive director, Phyllis Spangler, gives a Keystone Activity tote to participant, Rob, while his wife Lynne looks on.
What began as a summer internship for Joseph Bell six years ago led to valuable research for CNS, a master’s degree, doctoral study, and — on August 3 — the offer of a permanent job at Y‑12.
Joseph Bell, a sixth‑year intern in the NNSA’s Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program, has forged key relationships with future collaborators and made lasting friendships.
Now in his sixth year as an intern in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program, Bell is pursuing his Ph.D. in physics by researching new types of radiation detectors and how they can be applied in nuclear nonproliferation.
Pantex and Y-12 have taken part in the program since 2013, and this summer hosted eight MSIPP interns at each site. NNSA designed the program to build a sustainable pipeline between Department of Energy sites/labs and minority serving universities and colleges in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines. Six DOE national labs and two national security sites participate in the program. (Pantex and Y‑12 are considered one site under CNS. Kansas City National Security Campus is the second.)
Dr. Ashley Stowe, a manager in the Engineering Technical Operations Group, has directed the program for CNS since 2014.
“The MSIPP is a workforce development program that works with minority‑serving colleges in order to help build their campus infrastructures and curriculums to ultimately create opportunities for their students to get NNSA STEM jobs,” Stowe said. “We use the program as a way to target critical skill needs at both Pantex and Y‑12.”
The consortium‑based teams focus on STEM research areas and is funded through NNSA grants to the universities, which choose the consortia focus in needed areas. Stowe said the consortia have changed through the years, as have the participating higher education institutions. This year the areas of research include electrical engineering and sensors, lithium and uranium additive manufacturing, explosives technology, laser-based spectroscopy, composite materials and sensors, radiation studies and cyber.
Stowe said he feels deep pride when mentoring the interns and talking about their successes. A number of former interns now work at the sites, including Maxx Jackson, who joined CNS the year after his internship and now conducts research in materials science at Y‑12. Next summer, Bell will begin his full‑time employment after he completes his doctorate this school year.
“I have a lot of passion for this program. We’re creating opportunities for these talented young people, and making sure we support them to become the best young scientists and engineers,’ Stowe said.
Several interns have returned for multiple years, but Bell’s six years is a record. Stowe first met Bell at Fisk University in Nashville when he was beginning work on his master’s degree. Bell’s research project that first summer was so successful it became his master’s thesis. That goal met, he moved on to pursuing a doctorate through the Fisk‑Vanderbilt Bridge Program.
Bell said in addition to science and research, he has forged key relationships with future collaborators and made lasting friendships.
”MSIPP/CNS has given me the opportunity to pursue high-level research in both an academic setting and a government facility. A setting like this allows me to see the effects of my work on a much larger scale,” Bell said.
Texas Tech rising senior Danica Ruiz is completing her first MSIPP internship at Pantex. The chemical engineering major has spent her summer in Pantex’s gas lab, working with nondestructive evaluation.
“Working as an intern has brought my education to life,” Ruiz said. “I have seen the real‑world applications of reaction engineering. Pantex has offered me an invaluable experience, even in the midst of these uncertain times.”