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Home : Media : News
NEWS | Aug. 3, 2018

NSWC Crane uses DON Student Pathways Program to Grow Workforce

By NSWC Crane Corporate Communications

August 3, 2018

CRANE, Ind. – Every year, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) welcomes students into its Department of the Navy (DON) Student Pathways Program. At this time, NSWC Crane has over 170 interns, the largest pool in the organization’s history. As part of the program, students give out briefs at the end of the summer, an opportunity to speak with senior leaders.

“It lets our student employees know that their time, work, and development is important to NSWC Crane leadership and to Crane as a whole,” said Tony Ranard, a Human Resources Specialist with Recruiting & Student Outreach.

Ranard said these students are not here to fill temporary positions. Many students go on to start careers at NSWC Crane, becoming leaders in their respective fields. In fact, Ranard started as a student intern before becoming a full-time employee. 

“We want these young professionals to know that they are integral in Crane’s goal to develop the future workforce to support the next generation of Warfighters,” said Ranard. 

The DON Pathways Student Program requires students to work a set number of hours in their position, and then offers the opportunity to convert full-time upon graduation from an accredited university. High school students, undergraduate students and post graduate students are all welcome in the program. 

“Being an intern in the component engineering branch at NSWC Crane has allowed me to combine the knowledge I've gained at Purdue with new skillsets I've learned from my mentor and coworkers,” said Megan Brown, a Pathways intern and Aerospace engineering student. “The environment at Crane is incredibly welcoming and made me feel like I was a part of the mission from day one.” 

As the summer wraps up, many students will be returning to classes in the fall. Human Resources uses these briefs and the time between summers to continuously improve the program. 

“Student briefs are a great way to ensure student receive meaningful work and have an opportunity to meet and engage with various managers within their divisions,” said Marisa Durcholz, a Human Resources Specialist with Recruiting and Student Outreach.  “They were well received last year and we hope that NSWC Crane receives valuable feedback again this year to improve the experiences of student employees.” 

NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electronic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi-spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today’s warfighter.