Conducted annually each November, the Florida International University (FIU) induction ceremony is an exciting time for the Office of Legacy Management (LM), its partners, and most importantly, the students.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Fellows program, in which DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) is also involved, has been in place for more than 10 years.

LM site managers Darina Castillo and Jalena Dayvault attended in support of the current fellows, while also showing support for future sponsors and the overall program. “EM and LM representatives attend every year – it’s encouraging to see the complex projects the students are working on and meet the new inductees,” Dayvault said. “FIU wants it to be known how important this program is, as well as the valuable partnership the program fosters.”

A highlight of the multi-day event is the poster section contest. “It was impressive to see the solutions to critical mission problems that the students expertly tackled,” Castillo said. “The caliber of students and the valuable hands-on training they’re getting through FIU is extraordinary, and DOE set them up to compete for technical positions within the DOE or with the DOE Contractors.”

The DOE Fellows program itself is STEM focused, with sponsored students focusing on studies in applied engineering and science that are compatible with the LM mission. FIU’s program for DOE Fellows is highly coveted for students and presents the opportunity to not only complete their education in their focused areas of study, but also provides the pathway to pursue careers in STEM fields with DOE, DOE contractors, and private industry once they’ve graduated.