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Trustee Scholar Chris Turano ’04 recently completed an internship at ONYX Environmental Services in Ledgewood, N.J., the second largest hazardous waste service company in North America. Turano completed a number of projects with his mentor, Michael F. Richter, director of health & safety at the firm.
“My internship focused on providing Mr. Richter with help on environmental health and safety issues that were mostly compliance type projects,” says Turano, who is majoring in government and law with a minor in economics.
“Mr. Richter’s boss is ONYX’s chief legal counsel, so I was able to learn an astonishing amount of information about environmental law in addition to becoming OSHA and DOT certified to work with hazardous waste.”
He adds, “My communication skills improved dramatically, as my job duties frequently required me to be in contact with other ONYX employees to perform tasks such as requesting air monitoring data, composing safety reports, and the like.”
Turano’s initiative to gain certification in a number of hazardous materials procedures impressed Richter.
“Chris earned three different certificates in hazardous waste operations and emergency response while he was here. He really wanted to learn something and make a contribution to the company,” says Richter.
Turano decided to try the internship to learn more about environmental law, a field he may pursue as a career.
“This internship differed from other academic projects I have done in that it taught me how to apply my academic knowledge to real world problems,” he says. “It is good to be knowledgeable, but if one is unable to use that knowledge in a practical way, then one’s capabilities in the working world are severely hindered.”
This internship is one of many positive experiences Turano has had at Lafayette.
“I am very pleased with the academic environment at Lafayette with regard to the amount of academic projects it offers to its students,” he says. “Being a small school, alumni and professors are extremely willing to network with students in order to provide them with unique educational opportunities outside the classroom. Such opportunities are also highly regarded by graduate schools.”
Turano has been involved in several activities on campus, including the Building Bridges Through Leadership program, Register To Vote, and Trustee Scholar Day.
A National Leader in Undergraduate Research. Chris Turano ’04 presented his research on contraction in baseball under the guidance of Thomas Bruggink, professor of economics and business, at the 18th National Conference on Undergraduate Research.