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Dawson Blakeslee: Discovering opportunities in energy

Dawson Blakeslee, an electrical engineering intern at the CHS refinery at Laurel, Mont., says his internship experience has helped him envision a career in the energy industry.

An electrical engineering major at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D., Dawson Blakeslee spent his summer 2024 internship at the CHS refinery at Laurel, Mont.

The Billings, Mont., native says he chose CHS for his internship because of the company’s diversity in energy and agriculture, plus the opportunity to work with other interns and an experienced engineer mentor.

Citing the chance to work with data and documentation, lead safety meetings and support engineering design and specification, Blakeslee says his experience at the refinery has helped him discover a new range of career opportunities in the energy industry.

“One of my favorite parts of the internship has been some of the design work. To see it [put into place] tangibly in the refinery has been really cool.”

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