Students at Otterbein University are learning real world occupational health and safety skills through Dianne Grote Adams’ instruction. This semester, Dianne is teaching Intro to EH&S with Gary Carlin, Safety, Health and Emergency Response Program Manager at Battelle and Toxicology and Industrial Hygiene with Ryan Moon, Senior Industrial Hygienist at Battelle.
Many Safex consultants have been guest presenters in the class. Safex Environmental and Health Specialist Kim Shapiro taught a session on environmental regulations. “As an Otterbein alumna, I especially enjoyed being back in the classroom,” Kim states. “I like sharing why we have the regulations we do, because they have an interesting history and are usually tied to a workplace or natural disaster,” she adds.
Industrial hygienists, Beth Angus, Ashley Griesenbrock, Nick Grisso, and Irene Wang facilitated an industrial hygiene lab, in conjunction with instructor Ryan Moon. Irene shares, “Holding industrial hygiene equipment for the first time can be intimidating, especially when you’ve only seen pictures of it during lectures. I was excited to be a part of the hands-on learning lab and to help students stress less and learn more.”
Because many of the students are majoring in environmental health or sustainability, Safex consultant Mike Yakhnitskiy, shared his passion for sustainability and how it relates to the health, safety, and environmental field.
Plus, Safex connections allowed students to have a tour of Worthington Steel and Worthington Cylinders. They met Safety Managers at each location and had guided tours. Students were very engaged as the staff discussed environmental permitting requirements, their hazard recognition program, and how they control employees’ potential exposures to noise and chemicals.
The semester is wrapping up now, and the Safex team is grateful for the opportunity to teach the next generation of health, safety, and environmental professionals.