Happy National Intern Day! Today we celebrate the interns who have dedicated their summer to gaining hands-on work experience and making valuable contributions to the Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS) mission through the 2026 Student Programs.
See what some of our interns learned and experienced this summer with the NNSS.
Jessica | Enterprise Risk Management
A U.S. Navy veteran and a current insurance and risk management student at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas, Jessica also serves as a student board member for the Nevada Chapter of the Risk and Insurance Management Society. This summer, she developed a specialized AI prompt to help risk integrators draft and refine risk descriptions quickly and used it to audit individual risks. She presented her findings and trained staff to use the prompt and AI to speed up their workflows.
Steven | Electrical Engineering
Steven is a first-year NNSS intern studying biomedical and electrical engineering at the University of Nevada – Reno. He hopes to intern with the Department of Energy (DOE) again next summer and continue advancing his career in defense or bioinstrumentation as a research and development engineer.
Todd | Strategic Operations and Response Support (SOARS)
Todd is a returning Student Program intern and has exemplified true passion for maintaining the safety of the nation. He interned with Human Resources in 2025 and returned this summer to help develop Continuity of Operations with SOARS. He recently graduated with a degree in homeland security and emergency management and will start the emergency management graduate program at the University at Albany – State University of New York this fall.
Alex | Global Communications
Alex joined the 2026 Student Program as a Hiring Our Heroes fellow. After serving 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, Alex is transitioning away from active duty and has newfound confidence in his ability to apply his experience to a civilian career.
Abigail | Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
Abigail is a PhD candidate at Michigan State University. This summer, she’s spent her time creating workflows to incorporate 3D velocity models into the daily earthquake relocation routine. Additionally, she is responsible for establishing a workflow to allow for the daily generation of earthquake focal mechanisms. Together, these tasks help us better understand the fault geometry and motion at depth within Rock Valley at the NNSS.
Thank you to all 90 interns for their hard work and contributions this summer and for bringing their energy, sharp minds and fresh perspectives to the NNSS. Learn more about the NNSS Student Programs.
Note: Some responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.