Meet Troy Kinne, apprentice construction electrician, from Valparaiso, Indiana. He has been with NIPSCO for two years.
What is your background and what brought you to NIPSCO?
I have a carpentry background. I worked for 15 years in the carpentry union before coming over to NIPSCO. I started out in residential carpentry and then went into the industrial side. From there, I got into commercial carpentry and then my brother, Construction Electrician Seth Kinne, was telling me about what NIPSCO does. After hearing about the company and knowing what my brother does, I thought that I could see myself doing that.
Describe your day from the first coffee on.
As I’m starting my day I always drink Dunkin Doughnuts 100% Columbia. My day depends on where we are working. As of recently, we have been driving to Reynolds, Indiana. That’s all part of what construction can entail. We have to drive around a bit, get to our reporting location, check emails, do a safety briefing and then head to the jobsite.
What is one thing that surprised you about your job?
I would say the amount of different situations that you can encounter in a day.
What is your favorite part about working here?
The company cares about our well-being and safety. Another thing that attracted me to the job was that I have more time with the family outside of work and there is a consistency to having work.
How do you continue to grow and develop at NIPSCO?
Coming from a carpentry background and not originally an electrician, I’m always learning, and I pay attention to what’s going on and to what Construction Electrician Mark Savarese says.
When you reflect on the time you have spent working at NIPSCO, what is something that makes you beam with pride?
I enjoy the people that I work for. Out of any of the jobs that I’ve had in the past, the people here are much more enjoyable for me to work with. The leadership and attitudes are better.
What does safety mean to you?
Safety means going home at the end of the day. I have a lot to live for outside of work. Work is a part of life but is not life itself. I work to support my family. Every day I have this picture in my head of my girls running up to me, hugging and kissing me as soon as I get home from work, and my boys wanting to wrestle. I’m fortunate enough to be able to work where my wife doesn’t have to. She homeschools the kids. If something happened to me safety-wise, what would happen to my wife and kids? That is why safety is so important to me.
What do you like to do during your free time?
I enjoy hanging out with my wife and kids. We play basketball, go for hikes and take care of yard work and work around the house. I have two boys and two girls, ages: 9, 8, 5 and 3.
What are two fun facts about you that not many people know?
I married the high school valedictorian from my high school and two years ago in August, I went on a Missions Trip with my church to Kenya and helped to rebuild a dormitory for an orphanage.
To learn more about NIPSCO and current job opportunities visit nipsco.com.