Community partners are a big part of what makes YSU STEM so successful. There is always a partner on campus helping out with STEM, and lately, students have been seeing every facet of Nucor Corporation from personal interviews to friendly competition (corn hole in Moser, anyone?). Now, I know what you’re thinking, but Nucor is not like your grandparent’s steel company. With YSU being in the Rust Belt, it’s hard to imagine steel companies as anything but the abandoned factories we see all around Youngstown. “I would say that like many manufacturers, steel and steel products businesses have a problem with perception,” said Ray Napolitan, Executive Vice President of Nucor and YSU grad. “You know, when people think of steel, an image comes to mind that’s basically 100 years out of date. Especially growing up in northeastern Ohio, I know what it’s like.” Nucor is anything but what typically comes to mind when thinking of a steel company. Their mills and fabrication plants are clean, as well as environmentally friendly. “We’re a green company, and we believe we are the largest recycler of scrap steel in the world,” Ray said. “Additionally, Nucor is the largest steel producer in the United States.” Since Nucor and YSU entered a partnership, they’ve hired eight YSU graduates and placed them in five of their different locations. Ray said that what makes YSU students such a great fit for Nucor is that they often share the same core values and beliefs as Nucor. “At Nucor, we have over 23,000 teammates, but less than 100 people at our corporate headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is very unique,” Ray said. “It means we have a very lean and decentralized organization. We have few layers of management, and believe in giving our folks on the front lines a great deal of decision-making authority. If you think about it, the teams actually doing the work are the most qualified to make the best operational decisions. All of this creates a very positive, entrepreneurial, and accountable environment for our teammates to have a very exciting career.” One of the main things Nucor is looking for are students with strong technical and communication skills. “With the advent of Advanced High Strength Steels, steelmaking today is a highly technical process. In our steel products business segments, we use 3D modeling software, and Nucor is a technical leader in both of these areas. As a result, a career at Nucor can be very rewarding from a technology standpoint, but we also look for teammates who can communicate, lead, and mentor.” Ray explained. “With Nucor, your career is truly in your hands. If you invest the time and effort, and get results, the opportunities will be there as we continue to profitably grow our business well into the future.” Nucor has a strong, family-oriented culture where every teammate truly makes a difference, and there are significant advancement opportunities. “At Nucor you really can do almost anything you set your mind to,” Ray said, “if you want to join a company and just be ‘an employee number’, Nucor isn’t the company for you. On the other hand, if you really want to make a contribution and make a positive difference, Nucor is the company for you.” If joining the Nucor team is something you are interested in, make sure to join their College Talent Network. The College Talent Network can be found on Nucor’s website. This will put you in touch with Nucor’s recruiting team, which will turn these networking leads over to the specific divisions that are hiring. Nucor Corporation is a Fortune 150, publicly traded company (NYSE symbol “NUE”). Please visit nucor.com if you wish to learn more about this unique and exciting company.