Becky Tropasso
	2010
	Nuclear Engineering
	Insitute of Nuclear Power Operations
	Associate Evaluator

What do you do in your current position? As a team member, I evaluate nuclear power plants technical programs to industry standards of excellence for safety and reliability. I also participate on accreditation team visits to evaluate training programs for the National Academy for Nuclear Training. The position starts out in a rotational program where you rotate departments every six months and participate in training and professional development opportunities. There is also a reverse loan assignment to a nuclear power plant once qualified as an associate evaluator to gain experience.

How has your PSU engineering education/experiences helped to get you where you are today? Penn State’s engineering program set me up well to succeed because there are a lot of paths you can take within engineering. Having taken a variety of classes gave me the fundamental knowledge for projects I wouldn’t have imagined being a part of. For instance, taking materials classes helped me understand the basics behind a boiling water reactor vessel internals project that I was a part of only a few months after I started my career. Taking part in three internships during the summer also set me up well for having some experience in the industry during college. I interned at a nuclear power plant and also in fuel design overseas. These experiences were great to talk about during interviews and also day-to-day networking.

How has your experience as an EA impacted your professional life so far? Being an Engineering Ambassador helped me with my communication skills above all else. One challenge that I face often in my career is public speaking in front of senior leadership and colleagues. The last trip I went on, I was briefing the senior leaders, station personnel and teammates the findings of a program for which I was the lead. I have a soft voice, was in a large room without a microphone and the majority of the audience had bad hearing. Trying to adapt to my surroundings, I recalled the time I spoke to an auditorium filled with middle school students as an ambassador. This experience helped me to remember to project and speak with intent because if I could speak to an auditorium I could speak in that room. At the end of my presentation, I received the best feedback I’ve gotten to date. The more opportunities there are to practice presenting and receiving feedback, the more you can grow as a presenter. I also enjoyed talking to young people about engineering and how many opportunities there are out there. An engineer can have any personality type and be still be successful. There are various fields and industries that use engineers and it opens a lot of doors for the future.