A summer internship on a ConocoPhillips oil rig has taken one U. Oklahoma petroleum engineering student to the middle of BP’s disaster in the Gulf.

Kayli Eckert, petroleum engineering junior, left Monday for her second two-week stay on the Magnolia, an oil rig 160 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

An offshore internship offer is rare; Eckert is one of two engineers the company chose for the internship, she said.

Waking up at 5 a.m., Eckert learns the daily process of working on an oil rig.

“I’ve only been out there once so far, but I have already learned a ton,” she said.

With the Gulf oil spill the topic of conversation, Eckert said she and the rest of the workers watch CNN every day together. Each morning, the crew meets for a safety meeting, going over safety procedures and what is happening in the news that could affect Magnolia.

“I have learned that ConocoPhillips is superb on safety,” Eckert said. “They pay attention to mistakes being made around them, not just their own developments, so that they can prevent future occurrences.”

Eckert said the rig has not been drilling since January and the oil spill has not harmed the rig she lives on. She said Magnolia would be affected if the moratorium, which will halt deep-water drilling, gets re-instated.

Eckert’s family and friends worry about the possible dangers she could experience while living in the middle of the ocean. But, she said the image of it being a rough life on a rig isn’t true, and even her position has a say.

“Even as an intern, I have the power to stop myself or stop someone else from going further in a task if I feel there’s risk of danger,” she said.