Search
Insights > Power Principle: A Conversation with Pilgrim's Katie Woods
Power Principle: A Conversation with Pilgrim's Katie Woods
07/17/2016
Katie Woods is an engineering supervisor at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She worked as a college intern and then joined the Pilgrim full time in 2009. She lives in Plymouth with her fiancé, Alex. On weekends, you can find the couple at the beach kayaking or enjoying the farmers market. They both love to travel; they just came back from a trip to Iceland.
Katie’s Power Principle
My power principle is to continuously learn because having an open and curious mindset allows us to learn faster and become a better version of ourselves. And learning through doing is my favorite way to learn. Several fellow employees have taught me a tremendous amount and helped me develop important skills, whether it is technical knowledge or how to interact with people. It’s amazing what one can learn by just asking questions and listening.
Nuclear runs in the family
I come from a nuclear family. My mother and father met while working at a nuclear facility. My father is still in the industry. Additionally, I have an identical twin sister who works at Seabrook Nuclear Station. Needless to say, some dinner conversations turn to the subject of nuclear power and the rest of the family is lost listening to us.
What a day in her life looks like
My day starts at sunrise, walking along Cape Cod Bay into Pilgrim Station. I typically have a morning meeting, then a team meeting after that to discuss plant status and tasks for the day.
An ideal day continues with a few hours of deep, focused work.
If I’m being good, I’ll eat a healthy lunch from home. During the day I almost always sneak at least one piece of chocolate from my famous candy jars.
In the afternoon, I have one-on-one meetings with my teammates and attend other plant and task-related meetings. This helps ensure engineering is represented at meetings and provides input when making plant decisions.
I typically end my day with a run through downtown Plymouth or a soccer game with friends.
Her proudest moment
Before Pilgrim’s closure was announced, I volunteered to speak at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s public meeting for Pilgrim Station. It was an opportunity for me to talk to area residents and press about nuclear power and my proudest moment since starting at Entergy.
It’s important for our communities to understand that Pilgrim generates about 15 percent of the energy in Massachusetts; the majority of the state’s sustainable energy. The plant provides more than 600 jobs. Many of the employees at the plant live in Plymouth and surrounding towns. Safety is our number one priority since we live and work here.
Where the missing 15 percent energy will come from is currently unknown. There’s discussion of importing the energy from Canada. While I am disappointed in the closure of the plant and the loss of jobs and energy to the region, I’m extremely proud of my time here at Entergy. Everyone at the plant is working hard to leave a positive legacy for Pilgrim Station.
The best work-related advice she’s received
After the closure of Pilgrim was announced, I was in near tears from the news. One of my friends at the plant could see I was having a hard time. He came by and wrote on our white board, “Attitude is everything.” Even though the saying is somewhat cliché, we later had a conversation about attitude in work and life.
Throughout your day, things happen, many of which are out of your control. When bad things happen, getting through it is often a function of your attitude and mindset. I always try and remember this advice on some of my toughest days.
