This summer, University of Akron student Sam Sottosanti of Brunswick, Ohio has been making Montana safer. For his internship with NorthWestern Energy, Sottosanti has been traveling across the Montana mountains updating security for a number of hydro-dams and gas transmission plants.
“NorthWestern Energy is working on changing the attitude of employees and spending more money to update security measures,” Sottosanti says, “but they are very behind in Montana versus some energy companies that are back home in Ohio.”
Sottosanti has found purpose in this discrepancy. “That’s why I am here — to give new ideas and complete projects to improve the security at their facilities,” he states.
After a summer internship in Montana, Sam Sottosanti will return to campus for his senior year with a wealth of experience to share with classmates.
There is great value in internships like Sottosanti’s, which will assist with his studies in UA’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security program. Beyond the obvious work experience, students also have the opportunity to network with people and companies. Sottosanti acknowledges his new connections with government agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
NorthWestern Energy is dedicated to providing sustainable and affordable energy to more than 718,300 customers. More than 60% of the company’s electricity comes from renewable water, wind and solar generation.
Sottosanti, who is stationed in Butte, Mont., is responsible for a diverse set of duties — from updating procedures to comply with new government regulations to traveling across the state for facility inspections. His favorite part of working for NorthWestern Energy, however, is visiting the dams. He enjoys the “fascinating” technology, as well as what he calls the “remarkable views.”
Cochrane Dam, located in Great Falls, Mont., on the Missouri River, is one of the sites visited by Sam Sottosanti during his internship with NorthWestern Energy.
In addition to the skills learned during the internship and his studies at UA, Sottosanti gives credit to his fraternity, Pi Kappa Epsilon or “Lone Star,” for helping him improve his people skills and networking ability. “I learned how to work with people to get a goal accomplished and how to work with people much older than me,” he remarks.
Sottosanti says he never realized just how much he learned from UA’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security program until he got the chance to do real-world work.
UA boasts the first accredited Emergency Management and Homeland Security program in the country. Sottosanti already loved his studies, but now, he will return to Akron for his senior year with a more thorough understanding of emergency management.
“Emergency management is important to me because disasters are occurring more frequently and more intensely,” Sottosanti says, “I would like to help in as many ways as I can to save our infrastructure.”
► Story by Madeline Myers
► Media contact: Lisa Craig, 330-972-7429 or lmc91@uakron.edu