Prince George’s County (MD) Summer Youth Enrichment Program (SYEP)

Virtual · 500 Students · Building Valuable Work Skills · Energy Education

Student
Outreach

“Overall, I like doing all of these things,” Javier said, reflecting on a summer job with the National Energy Education Development Project, a national non-profit. “I had no idea about insulation, and the impact windowpanes and drafts have on home energy efficiency,” he said. “There are practical solutions that students like me can take, around their own homes, their own lives, so they can become more sustainable.”

Javier Fuentes, SYEP Student.
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Exelon Foundation STEM Leadership Academy

The Exelon STEM Leadership Academy is designed to give young women in high school hands-on experience in STEM, energy, and sustainability. NEED is proud to partner with the Exelon Foundation to make this opportunity available to 180 young women each year in Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C./Baltimore.

The experience is designed to engage and prepare students to consider STEM academic & career paths, build STEM knowledge and skills, practice leadership, communication, and presentation skills. The Exelon STEM Leadership Academy provides these young women with access to authentic experiences at STEM institutions and Exelon energy facilities.

Exelon STEM Academy Scholarship

The Exelon Foundation STEM Leadership Academy Scholarship is a supportive and clear pathway from student engagement in the Exelon STEM Academy to entry into the energy workforce, ideally as an Exelon employee. Applicants must have previously attended a summer week-long Exelon STEM Leadership Academy and be enrolling full time in a two or four-year educational institution for the Fall 2022 academic year. Learn more

For 2021, things shifted to a hybrid event.
Participants received hands-on supplies needed for the activities and STEM Academy Challenge, iPads, t-shirts, and of course – snacks! They were engaged in a virtual lineup that included field trips, guest speakers, and Q&A with Exelon President and CEO, Chris Crane.
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Each year, the Prince George’s County Office of Human Resource Management hosts the Summer Youth Employment Program. Youth@Work/SYEP is an award winning, nationally recognized program and has been one of the County’s signature programs for more than 30 years. NEED is honored to be part of this program since 2019 and as the county shifted to a virtual plan in 2020, we continued in 2021 with a virtual path via Zoom. NEED worked with an incredible team of teacher facilitators to pull off SYEP for 500 students and although virtual, it still meant hands-on! Each student received boxes of energy supplies sent to their home for a truly engaging learning experience. Students completed energy and engineering challenges, taught each other about energy conservation and efficiency, and built valuable work skills – like working in Zoom, making presentations, collaboration, and cooperation. We appreciate the support of the Prince George’s County Office of Sustainable Energy making the investment in the county’s future energy workforce.

TEACHER ADVISORY BOARD

ComEd Create a Spark

ComEd STEM Programs are designed to catalyze social change one student at a time by empowering individuals to reimagine possibilities. Through hands-on learning, mentorship, and professional development, ComEd is shaping the leaders of tomorrow and inspiring them to solve present and future problems. The ComEd Create a Spark Program, in partnership with The NEED Project, seeks to supplement 9th – 12th grade Illinois students ongoing education through a fun project-based STEM lesson utilizing real-world examples and mentored by experienced engineering professionals. Students have the opportunity to work with and be mentored by a ComEd engineer, learn to solve energy and engineering-based problems in a team-oriented environment, and engage with ComEd mentors on discussions of career connections. The 2022 program is being held virtually.

ComEd Scholarship

ComEd launched its Future of Energy program and our team at The NEED Project is proud to partner with ComEd and Exelon to expand education and workforce development opportunities to help more women and minorities enter into STEM professions. The Future of Energy scholarship provides Illinois students with scholarship awards ranging from $2,500 to $10,000, which may be used to cover college tuition and related expenses, in addition to the chance to pursue a ComEd internship where students gain direct career experience in the energy industry.

For more information or to apply for the ComEd Future of Energy STEM scholarship, Visit Here.

ComEd Scholars Mentor Program

Each year ComEd selects a group of scholarship winners who become part of the ComEd Scholars Mentor program. These college students work on engaging engineering challenges with ComEd mentors and create a final project and presentation to share with ComEd leadership. The sessions allow students to learn more about ComEd, engage with an energy professional working at ComEd and to do some really cool projects too.

We look forward to the 2022 STEM Academies this summer.
More details here and be sure to check out photos from all of the Academies.