Prairie State Generating Company is excited to welcome Jacob Parrish as a mining intern for the summer of 2017.
Parrish is a recent graduate from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale in mining engineering. Parrish currently resides in Carbondale, Illinois, but is originally from Kingston Springs, Tennessee which is a small town just outside of Nashville.
This is Parrish’s first internship, but he has visited several mines and quarries to get a feel for what it is like to work underground.
“What appeals to me about Prairie State is the opportunity to get practical engineering experience,” he said. “After speaking with interns from previous years, they told me that this is a great place to work.”
At Prairie State, Parrish is working with the mine safety team and has helped out with the compliance team as well. He has already spent some time underground and spoke about finding a miner’s dollar while drilling in the mine.
In his leisure time, Parrish spends time canoeing, kayaking and hiking. He likes to read and play video games to unwind. He also loves to cook and said it is becoming one of his passions.
Following his internship at Prairie State, Parrish will start graduate school at the University of Nevada, Reno where he will continue to study mining. The university’s progress on mine ventilation is what draws Parrish to the program. He plans to write his thesis on air conditioning to help cool deep, hot metal mines in the American west and Canada.