Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health

SWCOEH IH trainee Steven Mills lands “dream job” with KBR for NASA

HOUSTON (May 18, 2023) – Steven Mills, a NIOSH Trainee in Industrial Hygiene for the Southwest Center for Occupational & Environmental Health (SWCOEH), has accepted a position with KBR as a Safety Professional with NASA. Mills graduated from the SWCOEH with an MPH in Industrial Hygiene in May.

“I am thrilled to say this is my dream job,” Mills said. “I am proud to have achieved it by setting ambitious goals and reaching them so that I can see the stars, pun intended.”

KBR is contracted by NASA & the Department of Defense, and Mills will work directly in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

“My job description includes teaching occasional safety and health courses to company and contractor employees and reviewing, revising, and writing safety, health, and environmental procedures. I must champion a Zero Harm safety philosophy and calibrate industrial hygiene monitors and similar gas monitoring field equipment. I will participate in safety and health inspections and assist laboratory personnel with compliance with the chemical hygiene plan, bloodborne pathogen program, environmental compliance rules, and biohazardous waste requirements. Finally, I will advise science research employees in safety, health, and environmental areas.”

Mills is one of three NIOSH Industrial Hygiene graduates from the SWCOEH in May 2023. Mills studied alongside Shelley Forse and Catherine Turlington, and all three trainees landed jobs before graduation.

“When pursuing your dream job, perseverance and ambition are essential qualities to cultivate,” Mills said. “It is important not to give up on your goals and to remain steadfast, as you never know when an opportunity will arise.” 

“I have the privilege of safeguarding the health and safety of an extraordinary group of individuals - those who possess some of the world's most advanced degrees and expertise. These individuals are not your everyday workforce, and it is my honor to ensure their health and safe return to their families after each job.”

The SWCOEH provides graduate-level training opportunities for occupational and environmental health professionals through our industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental medicine, occupational epidemiology, and Total Worker Health^®.