Jamalco scholar Chase Knight (left) listens to instructions from his supervisor Terece Muir, process engineer in the precipitation department at the Clarendon-based alumina plant. Knight worked at the company during the summer. - Contributed

Chase Knight, the 2004 Alcoa Scholar for Jamaica, has received valuable experience on his journey to becoming a chemical engineer. The Clarendon native, who is entering his third year at Florida A&M University, spent two and a half months working in Jamalco's Clarendon alumina refinery this summer and says the experience has been invaluable.

"I've been able to put things I've learned to good use. Sometimes you learn something and you understand it, but it's only when you use it that you appreciate it," he says. "And there are other times when a project puts me ahead of what I'm learning. Then I have to read ahead."

Summer internship

Chase has wanted to be a chemical engineer for a long time, and courses at Florida A&M University, along with his summer internship at Jamalco, have confirmed this career choice for him.

Chase attended Glenmuir Preparatory School and then Glenmuir High where he gained eight distinctions and one credit in the CXC CSEC examinations. He recalls that while in sixth form at Glenmuir, his guidance counsellor told his class about several scholarships that they should investigate, including the Alcoa Scholarship being offered through the company's Campus Partnership Programme. This was developed by Alcoa to support its commitment to build a workforce that exemplifies the qualities of leadership, excellence and diversity in partnership within a group of select universities.

"At first, when she told us about the Alcoa scholarship, I didn't understand it, but I did some research and my teachers encouraged me to apply," Chase relates. The important thing is that he met several of the criteria required by Alcoa. One key requirement was that the applicant should have already taken the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT); the other was that the awardee should be from Clarendon or Manchester. He was one of the few students from these parishes who had already done the test and so he applied, was interviewed and was selected in 2004.

Valuable work experience

So far, his experience at the university located in Tallahassee, Northern Florida, has been "great," says Chase. "It's a college town, so it's quiet and there are not many distractions." Although maintaining a 3.9 (out of a possible 4.0) grade point average, he also finds time to be involved in the Caribbean Students' Association and is its president for this new academic year.

Chase is one of 80 university and college students who gained valuable work experience at Jamalco. Each summer, the company gives students the opportunity to gain on-the-job experience while getting financial assistance to continue their education.

Jamalco is owned 50 per cent by Alcoa Minerals of Jamaica, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alcoa Inc, and 50 per cent by the government of Jamaica, with Alcoa as the managing partner.