Tennessee Tech students gain real-world experience at BASF

SPARTA, TN, August 26, 2021 – Four college students spent the summer gaining real-world experience, networking with peers and expanding their skillsets during their paid internships at BASF’s site in Sparta, Tennessee. Interns Cassidy Bereda, Benjamin Headrick, Ha Nguyen and Shelby Penning worked alongside BASF professionals to enhance their capabilities and gain hands-on knowledge working in the field.

Through BASF’s internship program, the Sparta site provides meaningful projects and positions for chemistry, engineering, accounting and humanities students.

“These students will be creating the chemistry of our future,” said Andy Schmitt, Site Director for BASF in Sparta. “From the moment they walk on-site until the end of their internship, we guide them by providing real-world experience and industry knowledge. The detailed feedback these students receive during their internship gives them the tools needed to move forward on their path to becoming successful, industry professionals and members of our future workforce.”

The interns were selected from Tennessee Technological University, where students from a broad range of academic disciplines are prepared to enter into a technologically driven world.

The students were able to connect what they have learned in the classroom with real workforce applications and experiences. Their duties included reducing electricity usage, increasing production rates, developing water balances, conducting safety audit tasks, digitizing manufacturing processes and designing device prototypes to improve performance.

Intern Cassidy Bereda explained how she enjoyed the opportunity to work on increasing production rates and learned the detailed process of developing and modifying industry products.

“I loved seeing my work in action,” said Bereda. “I watched the operators run products at a rate I suggested, and that’s when I knew I was making an impact. I learned so much about the industry and being part of a large company. I now have very high expectations for my future employers.”

For more information about careers and internship opportunities at BASF, visit www.basf.us/TN.

About BASF

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 17,000 employees in North America and had sales of $18.7 billion in 2020. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.com/us.

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. More than 110,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €59 billion in 2020. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. Further information at http://www.basf.com.