Y-12 Blog
In late winter, Roane State Community College partnered with Y-12 to develop a new Cybersecurity Summer Camp for middle and high school students. What started as an in person camp to be held Roane State’s Oak Ridge Branch Campus will now be a virtual camp due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
“Y-12 is pleased to be able to sponsor two technology camps and provide students a high quality remote instruction experience with a professor from Roane State Community College,” Waldschlager said. “This virtual Cybersecurity Camp is the perfect way to sharpen STEM skills and bond with new friends in the comfort of their home.”
The high school camp session planned for June filled up quickly when registration opened in March, but a few spots remain for the middle school session to be held in early July.
"Technology camps expose students to skills beyond academics, allowing them to apply what they learn at school in a different context or environment, and developing them as well rounded adults. While we wanted to have an in person camp, offering this camp virtually adds to the excitement of the topic and should be engaging to students,” Waldschlager said.
A recent Roane State news release stated, “Roane State is working with Y-12 to inspire students — our next generation workforce — to develop their cyber skills and talents.”
Topics of the camp include digital forensics, IP scanning, data reconnaissance, and more. While the sessions have switched from in person to virtual, campers will still be expected to honor the time commitment as planned. Roane State professor George Meghabgha is teaching the class. He and Waldschlager were featured on a WATE news segment in March.
In March, Roane State professor George Meghabgha (center) and Y-12’s Kristin Waldschlager visited the set of WATE and talk to anchor Bo Williams about the Cybersecurity Summer Camp.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees from both Y-12 and Pantex have become “mask makers” using their skills and talents behind a sewing machine to make masks for their friends,
neighbors and coworkers.
Pantexan Charlotte Thomas and her husband Brian Thomas |
Pantexan Charlotte Thomas has made more than 250 masks, along with the help of her husband Brian Thomas, Potter County Sheriff. He wanted to make sure his people working in the fields and those working in the jail had masks, but like everyone else they couldn’t order any. So Charlotte reached out to a friend from Sunday school who sews and asked for help. The friend directed Charlotte to a YouTube site with a 15-minute mask. On that first day they didn’t even complete one mask, but before the weekend was over they had finished 5 and by the next weekend they’d completed 25. Masks were distributed to their daughter who is an RN working in home health, River Road ISD, and others along with the Potter County Sheriff’s Office.
Charlotte said “Once the picture got out of Brian learning to sew – he had several people call and offer to make masks for him so he very graciously said thank you. And now it is not such a frantic chore to hurry up and finish them. But when you have a family that is comprised of a first responder, a nurse, and a teacher – you learn from the start to give back to the community – they work in those professions because they love serving and that is why we love them. So you help them in any way you can.”
Fellow Pantexan Lauri Minton has also been busy making masks for friends, family, and people in the medical field to wear over their N-95 masks. After her teleworking day ends and on weekends she has made more than 115 masks and a few surgical style hats for a neighbor who is a nurse practitioner in a local pediatric clinic.
Lauri said “I made some for the IS&S folks at Pantex who were issuing laptops and tokens so that many of us could telework; I think having the masks available helped ease their anxieties about exposure risks.”
Y-12er Jennifer Lawson has lost count of how many masks she and her sister have made, but estimate they’re up to around 100.
Jennifer said making masks is a way she can feel like she’s helping people during this scary time. “They at least have the protection of a mask, and in a fabric they chose,” she said. “I view it as a service project and a way to pay forward all the blessings I have. I still have my job, and am able to work from the safety of my home. Also, lots of people don’t know how to sew, and sewing machines are scarce, along with elastic, fabric, and thread.”
Jennifer and her sister don’t accept payment for the masks they make, because she says the joy come from the giving.
“If people insisted, we asked them to find some way to help someone else or make a donation,” she said. “That way, we keep it going. Plus, people have been sending photos wearing the masks they picked out and seeing those just makes my week.”
Another Pantexan Terri Woodruff has also made masks for friends and coworkers. To date she has made between 150-175 masks and continues to make more as people request them.
Lauri also said “most of us are not doing this for the attention or for recognition – I am personally doing it because I feel called to do it (as a Christian). I have been blessed with MUCH, and ‘to whom much is given, much is expected.’”
We salute these and ALL of the “mask makers” of CNS for their contributions to their family, friends, coworkers, and our communities at large.
Former Y-12 employee Sheila Gideon and her family wear masks made by Jennifer Lawson and her sister.
Pantexans and Y 12ers are making masks for coworkers, family members, and friends.
Two electrical distribution system projects at Y 12 include an unlikely trio: grandfather, father, and son. Edward, Justin, and Justin, Jr. Cagle work on 13.8kv Electrical Distribution System Installation for 2nd and 3rd Streets where the linemen — all three of them — are replacing and installing utility poles and electrical conductors.
Edward, the elder Cagle, said, “At about 14, my son told me he was going to be a lineman. My grandson started showing interest at about 9 or 10 and got his own set of climbing hooks and body belt, which he loved to play with.”
Justin, Edward’s son and Justin, Jr.’s father, said, “My dad has taught me so much. The industry has changed drastically over the years with the equipment available. Sometimes it’s not feasible to build roads in order to use it [today’s equipment], so we have to go back to the old ways of constructing/maintaining the lines. I’ve gotten complacent on how I do things and learn a lot from my son who has a fresh way of thinking.”
Between the three of them, they have more than 55 years of experience, and that’s something the youngest Cagle is glad to have. “I would have never thought that we would all ever be on the same job together. We love this trade.”
The Cagles enjoy working together. Edward said, “I love seeing them daily using the skills they have acquired and taking advantage of every opportunity to learn their craft.”
For more than 10 years, the Y-12 Apprenticeship Program has been in business, training employees for professions in trades like pipefitters, electricians, machinists, and ironworkers. The program, restarted in 2008 as a cost savings proposal, allows hands-on training for key positions within the site.
Will Farmer of Y-12 Infrastructure said, “We’re at a junction where a significant percentage of the skilled craft personnel supporting vital activities are retirement-eligible or will be retirement-eligible within the next five years. The Apprenticeship Program allows us to address this issue by developing a strategic staffing approach that focuses on attrition projections.”
Apprentice graduate and now apprentice supervisor Zach Yost said, “The program is important to CNS and Y-12 because there is a need for skilled craft workers in our current and future mission scope. The apprentices won’t just learn the skills to become a Department of Labor–recognized journey worker; they will also be uniquely qualified to perform their skilled trade within the compliance-driven environment of Y-12.”
Infrastructure works with the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, Production, and Human Resources to develop a five-year look-ahead staffing plan to meet the resource demand in critical-skill craft positions.
“Currently, we have 21 apprentices in three types of apprenticeships that range from three years to five years,” Farmer said. “Our partnership with the ATLC provides selected candidates the opportunity to learn a skill trade through classroom learning and hands-on experience with Y-12–specific equipment, systems, and processes that support our country’s national security initiatives. Through the program, we’re enabling personal growth for the candidates while ensuring continued Y-12 mission success now and for the future.”
Chris Drinnon, a fifth-year pipefitter apprentice who will finish in September, recommends the program. “With the rising cost of college tuition, apprenticeship programs are a great alternative. Plus, America is experiencing a major shortage of qualified trade workers, and apprenticeship programs are a solution to this ongoing problem.”
During 2019, Y-12 began educating tomorrow’s workforce about the opportunities available in trades by holding educational outreach events that focus on the various trades careers available. At the events, students interact with electricians, carpenters, insulators, painters, and machinists. ATLC members share career plans and the advantages of being an apprentice and “earning while they learn.”
Katie Mead is a first-year apprentice as an outside machinist and agrees with Drinnon. “It is a great opportunity to further your education, learn a new skill or trade, and avoid having the large amount of student loans that come with traditional schooling.”
Drinnon said, “Aside from apprenticeship classwork, gaining knowledge out in the field of building processes and systems has been vital. Currently, apprentices work three-month rotations in different workshops throughout Y-12. By doing this, it allows each apprentice to gain valuable knowledge in multiple areas.”
“Hands-on training, company training programs, Red Vector training modules, and school offer a wide range of educational tools and information,” Mead said. “By combining all of the knowledge obtained in these programs, I feel like that is what is helping to mold me into being the best outside machinist I can be.”
As most of us know, reaching a goal often takes a little stretching to accomplish it, and being an apprentice is no different.
“The hardest part for me has been the late nights getting home from class. For nine months a year and two times a week, 18-hour days are tough, especially as a 48-year-old with a family,” Drinnon said.
Mead expects the toughest part to be the group rotations. “You only have a short amount of time with each group, so it can be tough having to adjust each time.”
Drinnon offered advice to Mead and other new apprentices: “There will be tons of information thrown your way throughout this process. It can be overwhelming. Be patient.”
The apprentices’ dedication and experience can also help them become tomorrow’s leaders. Yost said, “Based on recent history, the individuals going through the apprenticeship are also the future leaders within Maintenance Execution and other organizations.”
Monte Branstetter, left, a pipefitter apprentice, and Chris Drinnon, a fifth-year pipefitter apprentice 
Alexandra Phillips, an ironworker/rigger apprentice
Katie Mead, a first-year apprentice as an outside machinist
Scott McAlister, an apprentice electrician
Matthew Hutzler, an electrician apprentice who works on cranes/elevators at the site
Chelsea Adkisson, an electrician apprentice
Y-12ers have stepped up to support one of our own, Y-12 Engineering’s Tony Grappin, whose son was diagnosed with leukemia. |
In 2018, Tony Grappin of Y-12 Engineering shared that his son Alex was diagnosed with leukemia. In October 2018, Y-12ers stepped up to have the best turnout for a MEDIC blood drive, all in honor of Alex.
Tony shared the following:
In April 2019, Alex entered maintenance, which is when we were supposed to be able to breathe easier. Life would be returning to normal. Two days after the maintenance milestone, though, he suffered a reaction from his chemo that caused inflammation in his white matter. He’s still recovering from this 10 months later, and he still has a good way to go.
Every year, the Knoxville chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society chooses two children to spotlight. Alex was chosen as Boy of the Year for 2020! I would be extremely grateful if you would like to help us meet our fundraising goal of $25,000. So far, we’re over $5,000. If you would like to donate, please visit Alex’s page at https://pages.lls.org/mwoy/tn/knox20/agrappin.
For more than 15 years, Y-12 has supported the LLS Light the Night walk held in October each year. For 2020, Y-12 has two ties to the LLS person/child of the year with Alex Grappin as the 2020 Boy of the Year, and Y-12er Tony White is in the running for the Man of the Year.