Small Town Roots Lead to Big Challenges as a Transient Analysis Engineer

Fransha Wagner grew up in the small town of Kingstree, South Carolina and had never heard of nuclear engineering before she was approached by the Dean of South Carolina State University. At the time, she was an electrical engineering student looking for a challenge and considering a more diversified path at another university. However, the Dean appealed to her interest in working on a clean energy source, and she enthusiastically joined South Carolina University’s nuclear engineering program.?

Soon after, Fran’s nuclear career began to take shape. She landed internships at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, National Nuclear Security Administration, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). She also served a student ambassador at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), helping to promote career opportunities and internships to students. Fran was quickly making a name for herself among the most prestigious organizations in the nuclear energy industry.

When it came time to apply for her first full-time job, Fran knew she wanted to be at GE. She applied to the field engineering program and became the only nuclear engineer and woman in her class working with a team of mechanical and electrical engineers on customer billed projects performing maintenance on boiling water reactors.

Fran’s perseverance and drive has always been the key to her success. She graduated from GE’s Field Services Technical Leadership Training Program and took on a new role as a lead under-vessel field engineer. She continued gaining experience at GE Hitachi in commodity fulfillment and global sourcing, and now works as a transient analysis engineer.

Fran has always been a genuine and hardworking engineer, and GEH is proud to have employees like Fran who are eager to be inclusive, help others grow and make a difference in the nuclear energy industry.

This article was published as part of a series honoring #engineers during #EngineersWeek.