IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – As interns prepare to go back to college after spending the summer at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Jenna Abbott will be staying put at the EM site.

After graduating from Idaho State University this past spring, Abbott leveraged her intern experience from this summer and last into a full-time job with EM INL Site contractor Fluor Idaho.

The 22-year-old graduate with a bachelor’s degree in workplace training and leadership started her job as a training specialist at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) earlier this month. She said the internships at the Idaho Cleanup Project gave her the necessary skills to fulfill the job description requirements.

“The internships were instrumental in providing me the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform within a training specialist role,” Abbott said.

As a training intern in 2020, she accompanied instructors to the INL Site to learn about operations at facilities there. That internship helped her recognize a possibility and capability for expanded virtual training for employees.

Abbott was given additional responsibilities for her internship this summer. She was tasked with developing a training session for instructors, instructional technologists, training coordinators, and INL Site schedulers. She also helped expand virtual training across many site facilities.

“Reaching more participants over a larger area is the main goal,” she said. “It is within that session that I spoke about a few engagement techniques to keep learners better engaged while delivering instruction virtually.”

A spring 2021 graduate of Idaho State University, Jenna Abbott has been hired by Fluor Idaho as a training specialist following two summer internships supporting EM at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.
A spring 2021 graduate of Idaho State University, Jenna Abbott has been hired by Fluor Idaho as a training specialist following two summer internships supporting EM at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.

Abbott looks forward to furthering her experience in training as a Fluor Idaho employee.
“I like the ability to connect with people,” she said. “I like to hear about people’s experience in operations.”

She credited her intern supervisor, Cindy McCormick, with giving her the training experience necessary to become a Fluor Idaho employee.

“She gave me the chance of a lifetime and here I am just starting my career,” Abbott said.

Ironically, McCormick was an intern herself 20 years ago. She’s now the training manager in charge of several trainers who educate more than 1,800 Fluor Idaho employees.

“It’s been so great, and I’m so grateful for everyone,” Abbott said of McCormick and her training colleagues. “I’ve received an outpouring of support from the training department.”

In addition to starting a career supporting EM, Abbott also just got married. She and her husband, an electrician, live in Ammon, adjacent to Idaho Falls.