Energy consortia across the country are busy making plans for activities revolving around Careers in Energy Week, which takes place October 17 – 22.
At least 12 state consortia are working on or have already succeeded in securing proclamations from their governors declaring October 17–21 Careers in Energy Week, with several of them working on additional activities on and around those dates to raise awareness of energy careers among students and potential applicants. The states include Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Washington.
In Washington, four separate events will engage students in activities that raise awareness of energy careers, Yvonne Chase, Program Specialist for the Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy, a Centralia College partnership, said.
At the Regional Education and Training Center, Satsop Campus, a never-fueled nuclear plant in Elma, more than 100 high school students will participate in hands-on activities. Students will learn how to do an energy audit, take a tour of a nuclear power plant, and see a nuclear power grid simulator.
At Gonzaga University in Spokane, 100 Girl Scouts in grades 6–12 will take part in a program called Expand Your Horizons. This STEM-related event will include activities related to discovering careers in math, science, engineering, and energy at Gonzaga’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.
“There’s not a lot of women in the energy industry,” Chase said. “To get more than 100 Girl Scouts together and talk about energy, I think that’s wonderful.”
Another event in Ione, north of Spokane, will involve a plant tour of Seattle City Light Boundary Hydro Project and discussion of K–12 energy apprenticeship opportunities with the Washington State Labor Council. This talk will be given twice–at Ione as well as at Avista Utilities Jack Stewart Pre-apprentice Line School in Spokane, where counselors will be given the information to share with students at their home schools, Chase said.
~Get Into Energy Update/CEWD at http://cewd.org/newsletter/October2011.htm#5