The TNT Podcast

Megan Culbertson shares how mentorship and determination helped her become one of the first female Senior Reactor Operators at Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 2.

Show Notes

From Ohio State to INPO to the control room - Megan Culbertson took an unlikely path to become one of the first female Senior Reactor Operators at Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 2. In this extended episode of TNT Podcast, hosts Cortez "Tony" Scott and Tom Scott are joined by Megan and guest Contrell Scott for a wide-ranging conversation about careers, challenges, and diversity in the nuclear industry. Megan's story is one of believing in yourself when others doubt you. As a "non-traditional candidate" who started in training accreditation at INPO, she never imagined becoming a licensed operator. But through mentorship from leaders who saw her potential, she conquered the demanding licensing program and now serves as a Control Room Supervisor. The conversation also explores important industry topics including nepotism, career pathways, and what the nuclear industry can do to attract diverse talent. With candid discussions from multiple perspectives, this episode offers valuable insights for anyone in or considering the nuclear field. What You'll Learn: • How non-traditional candidates can succeed in nuclear operations • The critical role mentorship plays in career advancement • Challenges faced by women and minorities in technical fields • The reality of nuclear plant operations and responsibility • How to handle professional dynamics and workplace politics • Strategies for leaving positive impressions throughout your career About the Guest: Megan Culbertson is one of the first female Senior Reactor Operators at Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 2. She holds degrees from Ohio State University and University of Florida. Her nuclear career began at INPO working in training accreditation, then communications, before transitioning to operations at Arkansas Nuclear One.

What is The TNT Podcast?

Tom and Tony Scott

[00:00:00] Cortez Scott: All right, welcome back to another episode of TNT - Tony and Tom. We are going to do this podcast on Nuclear Life. And I have my co-host here, Tom Scott. And I have a couple of special guests. I have Megan Culberson and Cantrell Scott.

[00:01:03] Cortez Scott: We are honored to speak with Megan Culberson who is one of the few African American female nuclear operators in the US. She got licensed and earning this license is one of the most rigorous training programs in our industry.

[00:01:31] Megan Culbertson: I'm Megan Culbertson. I am from Ohio - Newark, Ohio, but most people know it as Columbus. I went to Ohio State University for undergrad and University of Florida for graduate school.

[00:02:11] Megan Culbertson: If you would have told me 10 to 13 years ago I'd be in nuclear power, I would not have ever believed you. And if you would have told me I would have been one of the first female SROs at Arkansas Nuclear One for Unit 2 - not a chance.

[00:03:01] Cortez Scott: So you didn't have any nuclear experience prior to obtaining the license?

[00:03:10] Megan Culbertson: I was considered a non-traditional candidate. I started at INPO working in training accreditation, then went to communications. That's how I ended up getting my first loan assignment with ANO in 2017 during the Unit 2 outage.

[00:06:49] Megan Culbertson: This is where the good mentors come in play. I got to work with some great people who believed in me more than I believed in myself.

[00:09:10] Megan Culbertson: What's the hardest part of the journey? Doing the work is not the hard part. I had to learn humility on asking for help. I've always been the person that people came to for help, so having to learn to need help was one thing.

[00:11:10] Megan Culbertson: The toughest things we dealt with would be the professional acumen - dealing with individuals because we were not the typical candidates. Being a Black female liberal woman in an industry that's not filled with that.

[00:14:06] Megan Culbertson: I'm a Control Room Supervisor. Basically there's five of us in the control room, and I'm the one sitting at the desk helping monitor parameters and observe behaviors to make sure we're running the plant safely.

[00:17:11] Megan Culbertson: The best advice someone gave me when I got my license was: you need to treat everything that you sign like someone's trying to take your license away from you.

[00:33:13] Megan Culbertson: I do feel like there's a piece of me that just wants to be that little speckle that's in the middle of something being like - we're here. There's one, but we're here.

[00:45:15] Megan Culbertson: Greg Ludlam, Rich Anderson, Lois Jordan at INPO, and Adam Heflin - people who believed in me more than I believed in myself.

[00:50:32] Tom Scott: How many plants you've been to doesn't mean anything if you haven't left a positive impression at the plant you were at. Every nuclear power plant I've ever been to, I've always been invited back.

[00:52:01] Megan Culbertson: Thank you for having me. I've enjoyed this.