DCPP Coworker Recalls Competing for Team America 20 Years Ago

Diablo Canyon Power Plant’s Paul Terek knows what it’s like to compete at the highest level.

Before joining the DCPP team, Paul was a world-class athlete. In 2004 in Athens, he was a member of Team America and finished 21st in the decathlon, which consists of 10 events (100 meters, 400 meters, 1500 meters, 110-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, discus throw, javelin throw and shotput).

After the Olympics, he was training on the Central Coast when a knee injury during a high jump derailed his athletic dreams.

While sports careers aren’t forever, Paul’s academic background was suited for PG&E. He grew up in a Detroit suburb and earned a mechanical engineering degree from Michigan State (Paul was named this year to the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame). He was hired in 2011 as a nuclear operator and was promoted to his current role as a reactor operator. (See an Office of Nuclear Energy video featuring Paul.)

With the Summer Games beginning Friday, July 26, in Paris, we chatted with Paul to learn about his Olympics background and his career with DCPP to provide safe, clean and reliable energy for Californians.

What was it like competing in the Olympics?

I had worked my entire career to get there, from the time I was a little kid doing local meets, going to high school competitions, state meets, championships. When you finally get to the Olympics, it’s a feeling of all those years and work and sacrifice being realized. I knew there was a chance I could get on the medal stand, but I was a realist. In other events, it’s more open and anybody can win on any given day. The decathlon is different because there are so many events and it's about planning and conserving energy. You kind of know where you stand.

Do you miss competing?

Oh yeah. That was who I was growing up and it didn’t matter what sport it was. I loved healthy competition. For that to be such a big part of my life and then injured and retired and four years later working in the utility industry is a lot different. You satisfy those competitive urges for a while with things like rec league basketball and inline hockey. I’m still 20 years old in my head but my body is like, ‘Oh no, you can’t do that.’

Do your coworkers know you were an Olympian?

The operations crew is like a line crew. They do their reconnaissance when you join. You’ve got 12 hours on a shift, so you tend to be good friends. Everybody was genuinely interested but if I do something clumsy, they remind me that I used to be an athlete once.

Are there any parallels to being a decathlete and working at DCPP?

The decathlon has a lot of transferrable lessons. You’re juggling 10 things at once and you’re training for all these events. They don’t always go your way, but you have to think about what could happen and plan for it while still trying to stick to your goal. That directly correlates to the plant. We get a job, we have a tailboard and I’ve got four or five other things going on but I’m always thinking, ‘What could happen?’ We plan for everything. You have to be fluid and nimble when things change so you can still maintain your end goal.

What’s it like for you when the Olympics are on? Will you watch any of the events?

In 2012 and 2018, I watched to see my friends compete. Today I’m at the point where I know all the coaches and not many of the athletes and I’m mostly cheering on the Michigan State athletes. I’d say it’s easier for me to watch now that’s it been a long time since I’ve been in the Olympics. I forget that my Olympics was 20 years ago. In my mind, it was just a couple of night shifts ago.

What does it mean to you to work for PG&E and be part of DCPP’s team?

It’s funny because what I miss about sports is the team mentality. But you don’t have that same kind of a team bond as a track athlete than if you're a basketball or football player. At DCPP, I get that feeling of being on a team. It’s not like everybody does their own job alone. You coordinate with everyone every day, and we’re all helping each other out. It’s a real team atmosphere to get the job done.