Justin Bushneck wont have to go pounding the pavement looking for work when he graduates from West Virginia University this month.

Thats because Bushneck, who will obtain a bachelors degree in mining engineering, has a management job waiting for him at a New Jersey stone quarry where he has worked as an intern the past three summers.

I feel fortunate that an opportunity to apply what I have learned in the classroom has turned into a positive career move,said Bushneck, who will go to work with Tilcon New York Inc. upon receiving his diploma from WVU s College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

Bushneck, 24, hails from Cazenovia, N.Y., about 20 miles southeast of Syracuse. His parents are David Bushneck of Cazenovia and Crystal Boyd of New Woodstock, N.Y.

He enrolled at WVU after earning an associates degree in construction engineering from Alfred (N.Y.) State College.

I decided to come to WVU because Id heard good things about the mining curriculum,he said.I was also impressed with how friendly and helpful the people in the department were when I visited.

Looking to apply what he was learning at WVU , Bushneck advertised three years ago on the Internet that he was interested in summer internships in his area of study. Recruiters at Tilcon New York saw his name and contacted him with an offer. Bushneck accepted.

With more than 1,500 employees Tilcon supplies crushed stone, asphalt and recycled materials for the construction industry in New York and New Jersey. The company, a division of Oldcastle Materials, also provides soil remediation and highway construction services.

Bushneck worked his first two summers in Tilcons engineering department, where what he learned at WVU came in handy.

I did a lot of mine planning and mine reserves calculation, both of which I had already studied at WVU ,he said.In mine planning, you map out the material to be mined, how and where to extract the material, issues of permits and so forth. Mine reserves calculation involves determining the amount of reserves left to be mined.

Last summers internship was more challenging, Bushneck said. He was project manager for a $10 million new processing plant at the companys quarry in Millington, N.J., overseeing the assembly of the facility.

The plant consists of a 150-ton hopper, crushers, two finishing screens and 21 conveyers, he said. A typical day of crushing can produce 10,000 tons of crushed rock for the construction industry.

This was a project that many of my peers or people in my major course of study do not get the opportunity to be involved with in the quarry industry,he said.It was an experience I could not imagine learning in any classroom or out of any textbook.

After completing his internship, Bushneck was offered a position as production supervisor of the new plantan offer he couldnt refuse.

Upon graduation I will begin my new career and new page in my life story,he said.

Anne Poltorak, manager of human resources at Tilcon, said Bushneck has been a good fit for the company.

He has a great head on his shoulders and is good at what he does,said Poltorak, who recruited Bushneck.Hes a good find, and were very pleased.

An offshoot of Bushnecks association with Tilcon is that the company is offering internships to other WVU students.

It is difficult to find people knowledgeable about quarries in the Northeast and just as hard to recruit experienced workers from other parts of the country, Poltorak said.

What were finding with the internship programs is that the students come and work with us in the summer, they get a flavor of what its like to work here, and then we ask them to come to work full-time,she said.

Like Justin, we bring them in at a supervisory level, train them in management, let them grow and develop, and hopefully theyll become a plant manager someday,she added.Because of our large parent company with locations throughout the United States, they can transfer elsewhere.

Poltorak said Tilcon is pleased to expand this program to WVU .

Were in competition with other companies for skilled workers, and not all colleges and universities offer the mining engineering discipline that WVU does,she said.

What is Bushnecks advice for his friends still in school? Go for the internship.

Students need to take advantage of all opportunities and internship programs,he said.Work experience is key for your career and your future.

The mining engineering program at WVU began in 1868 and is one of 15 such programs in the nation. The program is recognized worldwide for its research in the areas of ground control/rock mechanics, longwall mining and surface subsidence. Graduates hold key management positions in all major U.S. coal companies and have played a significant role in the development and operations of the nations coal industry.