Photo By Noe Gonzalez | As an electrical engineer, Hedine works with motors, generators, power transmission,...... read more read more
Growing up, Eric Hedine loved science and pictured himself becoming a biologist. However, his plans shifted when he discovered electrical engineering.
In high school, Hedine, a Walla Walla native, enrolled to study at the Southeast Area Skills Center (SEATech) in Walla Walla, Washington, which collaborates with local schools to provide training and hands-on experience for students interested in technical career paths.
“I went [to SEATech] my senior year to learn how to be an electrician,” Hedine said. “The final project for that class was building a DC electric motor and that really fascinated me. I decided to pursue the technical side of that more, and who does that better than engineers, right?”
After that experience, Hedine decided to pursue engineering in college. He learned about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and decided to apply for an administrative internship, according to Hedine, “just to get my foot in the door.”
In 2015, Hedine was hired, becoming an administrative student intern with the USACE Walla Walla District as part of the Pathways Internship Program, a program designed offer current students paid opportunities to work and explore federal careers. However, he only spent a summer in that position. Once his supervisor learned he was going to school for engineering, she helped Hedine move into a Pathways engineering internship in electrical design.
“I think the coolest part about interning and going to school at the same time was getting to see the books come to life,” Hedine said. “Having the real-world applications as part of engineering is so valuable.”
A year later, Hedine applied for the SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program. This program provided a full-tuition scholarship for his last two years of college and stipends covering housing, food and textbooks. It also allowed him to continue in a paid internship over the summer, similar to the Pathways Program, which would turn into a job after graduation.
When Hedine graduated in 2020, he began working full time for the Walla Walla District. Now he was a Department of the Army Intern, part of a program for recent graduates now known as the Army Fellows Program. In this program, Hedine spent two years rotating between different departments within the Walla Walla District to learn about USACE operations. Hedine also rotated to the Kansas City District and the Hydrological Design Center (HDC) in Portland, Oregon.
“You get to experience what it’s like to work in all the different sections, so you have a much better idea of how they all play together in the end,” Hedine said. “And it gives you an idea of career development and where you might like to go in the future.”
In 2022, he completed the two-year program and returned to work full time in electrical design. As an electrical engineer, Hedine works with motors, generators, power transmission, and electrical controls systems. His work involves modelling how circuits and components fit together, and how energy might move through different systems.
“We also do arc flash studies. It’s a huge part of our job,” Hedine said, referring to the practice of identifying potential electrical hazards within facilities. “It’s life safety, so it’s pretty critical. Each dam and navigation lock gets its own arc flash study every five years. That involves modelling what’s called ‘incident energy,’ or how much energy is able to be produced at certain equipment at a defined distance.”
This work helps protect employees by identifying hazardous points and making changes that both reduce the danger and improve the effectiveness of protective equipment.
Over the last few years, cybersecurity has also become a significant part of the electrical design field. Hedine has gained much knowledge on this front, and recently received his CompTIA Security+ certification, a requirement for programming networked control systems.
During his time at the Walla Walla District, Hedine has worked on many different projects. One of his favorites, he says, dealt with the Tainter valves at Walla Walla District dams.
“I think it’s my favorite because it was challenging,” Hedine said. “It was a huge multi-dam project, so it involved coordination with people from all the different dams. I also got to utilize some of the newer advanced modelling software that’s coming to our district.”
Hedine was recognized for his work on the Tainter valve designs. His supervisor spoke to his achievements, saying:
“Over the last year, [Hedine] has proven his technical and leadership capabilities by completing tasks such as the Tainter valve designs for Ice Harbor and Lower Monumental and pioneering the use of advanced modeling design tools like AutoCAD Electrical and Revit for the section. Eric’s dedication and hard work, including developing industrial controls and electrical distribution systems, meeting project deadlines, and improving design quality, have been instrumental in the success of these projects,” Levi Van Stedum, chief of Electrical Design for the USACE Walla Walla District, said.
His coworkers also recognize him as a valuable and innovative member of the team.
“Eric is competent, knowledgeable, and easy to get along with. He has been leading Electrical Design in incorporating new software and tools into our available repertoire for years and he always makes time to mentor new employees and help peers despite his heavy workload. I’ve worked alongside Eric for nearly a decade, and I can honestly say he’s easily the best of us and we’ll be lucky to hang onto him for as long as we can,” Hillary Smith, a fellow electrical engineer for the Walla Walla District, said.
Hedine has proven himself as a talented engineer, but his career has not been without challenges. “I think the biggest challenge, honestly, is just communication,” Hedine said. “It’s sharing ideas or solutions clearly so everyone is onboard early, because if you fail to communicate, that can snowball and become quite an issue later on.”
Between his different internships and his time after graduation, Hedine has worked in electrical design for over seven years. In the future, he hopes to become a regional technical specialist in either arc flash or cybersecurity.
“Or maybe I could do something in Operations, and get a little more hands-on experience,” Hedine said, “like testing and being more in the field. But, right now, I just want to get really good at my job.”
For students interested in the electrical design career field, Hedine recommends exploring it before committing to college courses. “Start experimenting with either programming or learning basic electrical concepts just to see if you’re really hooked,” Hedine said. “Because if you’re not, it’s going to be a long fight. There’s no easy way. Someone could explain it to you, but you’ve got to live it to know if you’re going to like it.”
For Hedine, his introduction to the field came through hands-on experience and internships. “Summer internships lead to full-time jobs like 99% of the time,” Hedine said. “Even if you don’t want to work [with USACE], it’s a great experience.”
For more information about federal opportunities for students and recent graduates, visit https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/students
For more information about careers with the Walla Walla District, visit https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Careers/
| Date Taken: | 07.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2024 14:30 |
| Story ID: | 477367 |
| Location: | WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Finding the spark: One Walla Walla native’s drive to become an electrical engineer, by Hannah Mitchell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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