By SHELLEY HANSON

WHEELING — For 21 years, Juliette Hill, chief of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s Approval and Certification Center, has worked to keep miners safe.

“Our center’s work is focused in two main areas. The first is evaluating for approval mining equipment and products for use in underground coal and gassy underground metal/non-metal mines,” she said. “The second is to provide technical assistance to MSHA Enforcement and the Industry in support of MSHA’s mission to prevent death, illness and injury from mining and to promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners.”

As chief of the center, Hill, 52, manages a staff of about 60 employees in five different divisions.

“On a typical day I may participate in meetings to address technical issues with applications for approval, discuss budget priorities with our management staff, meet with an applicant/manufacturer, or discuss the technical assistance we need to provide to an Enforcement District,” she said. “As with many industries, it is not uncommon for an issue to occur that requires us to shift focus and priorities. One of my main objectives is to manage our resources as efficiently as possible so that we provide excellent technical service in all that we do.”

Hill said when she originally applied to attend Virginia Tech, she knew she wanted to be an engineer of some sort, possibly civil or mechanical. But that changed when she learned more about mining engineering.

“I worked my way through college by working at Consol’s Buchanan No. 1 Mine, which is an underground longwall mine in southwest Virginia, and took a job with them when I graduated,” she said. “After a few years there I changed jobs to work for Frontier-Kemper Constructors, a heavy mining construction contractor, in southern Illinois.

“I was always interested in a career with MSHA, and when my husband William and I moved to this area, I applied for a position with the A&CC’s Quality Assurance and Materials Testing Division.”

Hill believes one of the bright spots in the Ohio Valley is the services and amenities available for families.

“Being a transplant to West Virginia, I have always been impressed with the opportunities for children in the area,” she said. “As a working mother, I was grateful to have wonderful options for child care, from Orchard Park to Holy Family to before and after care at Woodsdale Elementary.

“As a parent I could choose from either public, private, and Catholic school systems to meet the academic needs of my children. Both of my kids have been able to participate in numerous academic, athletic and music programs throughout school.”

She said, for example, that Sandra Wiseman, media teacher and librarian at Woodsdale Elementary, implemented the Technology Education for Kids program.

“She volunteered her time after school and the students got to participate in activities that ranged from launching rockets to working with Arduino robots,” Hill added. “Over the years my kids took numerous AP classes, played baseball and softball, were on the swim team, and had the opportunity to participate in the Wheeling Symphony’s Viennese Winter Ball.

“I have been amazed at the breadth of the activities available in the Ohio Valley.”

Hill’s philosophy on life is that nothing is more important than family.

“We live hundreds of miles from our families and have learned from the wonderful people in this area that ‘family’ doesn’t necessarily mean you are related by blood,” she said.

Hill and her husband William have been married 24 years. They have a daughter Rosalyn and son Max.

“Our daughter Rosalyn is a sophomore at WVU and is double majoring in neuroscience and psychology. Our son Max is a senior at WPHS and plans to attend WVU in the fall to major in biochemistry,” she said.

“William brought our dog Lucky home from a mine site in Illinois over a year ago. He’s proven to be a master escape artist so we’re thinking of renaming him Houdini.”

Regarding her philosophy on work, Hill said, “Whatever your job is, do it with integrity.”

One valuable lesson she learned in life and work she learned early on while still in college.

“I learned as a college student working in an underground coal mine to listen more than you talk, and not to judge by appearances,” she said. “I could tell a thousand stories, but I’ve learned that you will get much farther by listening and asking than you will by talking and assuming.”

Hill sees the role of women increasing in her field across the valley and country.

“I’ve had the opportunity to get to know many girls and young women through my children and through my work with MSHA,” she noted. “When I started at the A&CC more than 20 years ago, I was one of two women engineers. We now have seven women engineers on staff, two of whom are supervisors.

“The Pittsburgh Safety and Health Technology Center has seen similar changes in that there are several more women in technical and supervisory roles than there were 20 years ago. It is also more common to encounter women engineers as representatives of the manufacturers, mine operators, etc. that we work with.

“More broadly I am aware through my children’s peers of an increasing number of young women who are pursuing STEM careers. Like the mining industry, the A&CC has seen a significant turnover in employees.

“The demand for STEM majors combined with the education and activities available to young people in the Ohio Valley provide great opportunities for anyone interested in a technical field.”

Hill advises young girls and women who are interested in engineering to explore the many options in the field.

“There are lots of engineering disciplines and many different aspects to the mining industry. If you find you are interested in a particular field, be curious,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to fail, and learn from your mistakes.”

Hill noted that in her life she is most proud of her family.

“Our kids were born and raised here, and they have thrived,” she said. “They are good kids and hard workers, and they happen to be nice people, too. We’re very proud of them.”