Energizing Student Potential
Energizing Student Potential (ESP) is a free STEM program designed to help educators bring energy into the school and to provide all the tools and resources necessary for students and educators to learn together, explore energy together, and teach their local communities about energy.
The program brings together standards-based curriculum for use by library media specialists, classroom and afterschool teachers. Energizing Student Potential is a collaborative educational initiative designed to empower students to explore opportunities in STEM fields and help them discover their own path to innovation through a variety of classroom subjects.
Teachers receive hands-on training, curriculum materials, and resources to help bring STEM into their classroom or OST Programs.
Students host community energy fairs, engage in educational energy audits of their school building, and master energy concepts to teach their peers.
Beginning in 2016, the Exelon Foundation, ComEd, Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, and BP America, in partnership with the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, sponsor the Illinois and NW Indiana Energizing Student Potential Program for grades 3 – 12 within their respective customer regions.
Pepco and the Exelon Foundation, in partnership with NEED, sponsor the Energizing Student Potential Program for grades 3 - 12 in Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) MD, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) MD, and District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) for use by classroom teachers, library media specialists, and afterschool program leaders. The program became available in 2017 to District of Columbia Public Schools and in 2018 expanded to include PGCPS and MCPS.
In 2021, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) and the Exelon Foundation, in partnership NEED, launched the Energizing Student Potential Program for grades 3–12 serving schools across the BGE service area. The program is also well-suited for youth advocacy organizations offering afterschool or weekend programming.
In 2022, NEED expanded the program through a partnership with the Exelon Foundation and Delmarva Power, bringing this STEM-focused energy initiative to students in Delmarva Power communities.
During the 2024–2025 Energizing Student Potential (ESP) Program year, a total of 400 teachers from 236 schools participated. Together, they directly engaged more than 60,511 students using ESP-provided curriculum and materials. The program’s impact extended even further to engage students and community members with provided resources for participating schools to host Energy/STEM Fairs, engage in an Educational Energy Audit of their school building, implement with afterschool clubs, and the opportunity to participate in an Energy Innovation Challenge.
ESP Program Resources & Grants
- Teacher training (substitute reimbursement, stipend, and CPDUs provided).
- Curriculum and hands-on kits to teach about:
- the science of energy and energy transformations
- electricity generation
- renewable energy
- petroleum and natural gas
- energy efficiency & conservation
- climate science
- nuclear energy
- energy careers and workforce development
- Opportunity to apply for a $400 grant to support STEM and energy-focused supplies and materials.
- Opportunity to receive an Energizing Student Potential Energy Fair Kit and mini grant to help host a community STEM Fair.
- Opportunity to have a group of students use their school building as learning laboratory and participate in an Educational Energy Audit with a Certified Energy Manager.
- Opportunity to participate in an Energy Innovation Challenge Project.
- Connections to STEM professionals to help students see the many possibilities of STEM and energy careers.
Applications for the Energizing Student Potential Program are accepted on a rolling basis each academic year, learn more here.
"The ESP Program was a great support for my energy unit—I used the lesson plans and materials with my 4th and 5th graders, and it helped both me and my students deepen our understanding of energy concepts. It made the content more engaging and easier to teach."
-2024-2025 ESP Teacher
"My students truly loved the program. The mix of hands-on activities, events, celebrations, role-playing, model-building, experimenting and inventing offered something for everyone. This program is far more dynamic than just reading from a book. I see students deeply grasping the scientific and real world concepts and being inspiring to learn more—even independently."
-2024-2025 ESP Teacher
P.E.E.P 2.0
PECO and The Exelon Foundation, in partnership with the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, offer PECO Energizing Education Program (PEEP) 2.0, a STEM-focused energy program for grades 4-12. This program brings together standards-based curriculum, teacher training, STEM innovation challenges and many other engaging and fun activities.
PEEP 2.0 Programming invites educators from across the 6 counties PECO serves to participate in energy education workshops and receive hands-on kits for their classrooms. Participants receive their choice of a hands-on energy kit and standards-aligned curriculum.
The 2024–2025 P.E.E.P. 2.0 program year supported 90 educators from 56 schools and four organizations across 20 cities in Pennsylvania. Through the program’s materials and curriculum resources, more than 25,529 students were engaged in energy-focused learning experiences.
"Very informative and great hands-on activities. This is great for teachers, kids, and schools. Thank you!"- 2024-2025 PEEP Teacher
"I am thrilled to learn about all types of energy and most excited to practice lessons that are usable and relevant!!!" - 2024-2025 PEEP Teacher
Prince George’s County (MD) Summer Youth Enrichment Program (SYEP)
Virtual · 300+ Students · Building Valuable Work Skills · Energy Education
Each year, the Prince George’s County Office of Human Resource Management hosts the Summer Youth Employment Program.
For the fifth summer in a row, just over 300 students living in Prince George’s County (MD) spent July and August diving into energy and STEM lessons over Zoom. To keep learning as hands-on as possible in the virtual setting, supplies were shipped directly to students’ homes ahead of time. Students learned about energy but also built upon valuable career and workforce skills — practicing public speaking, learning resume tips, and strengthening their soft skills that will support them well beyond the classroom.
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. We appreciate the continued support of the Prince George’s County Office of Sustainable Energy for making this investment in the county’s future energy workforce.
ACE-celerate!
August 11-22, 2025
Rowan College of South Jersey
ACE-celerate is a three-year partnership with Rowan College South Jersey, supported by Atlantic City Electric, Pepco Holdings Inc., and the Exelon Foundation.
The program kicked off its second year with a two-week camp that offered 43 Cumberland County (NJ) high school students the opportunity to learn, explore and test their knowledge in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
- Engage and prepare students to consider STEM focused academic & career paths
- Build upon their STEM knowledge and skills
- Build leadership, communication, and presentation skills
- Provide access to authentic experiences with ACE and local leaders
- Expand students’ network with others who are interested, pursuing, and working in STEM fields
After building a strong foundation in energy science and renewable technologies, students tackled real-world community issues, developing creative solutions tailored to local stakeholders.
Working in teams, they designed and constructed 3D models complete with functioning circuits, while sharpening professional presentation skills and strengthening collaborative leadership. The experience was enriched with career exploration through guest speakers and a behind-the-scenes tour of Atlantic City Electric’s Mays Landing facility.
One student shared that they had never seen a female lineman before and felt inspired to explore new career pathways. Through this immersive program students hadn't just learned about the energy grid, they had begun to envision their own place within it.
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.
ComEd Create A Spark
The ComEd Create a Spark Program, in partnership with The NEED Project, supports 9th – 12th grade Illinois students through engaging project-based and career-focused STEM activities. These projects are mentored by experienced engineering professionals, who help bridge the gap between STEM activity and STEM careers. The program empowers students to explore energy, electricity, distribution/transmission, and the technology that helps to build a resilient grid. Over the four years, participants explore clean energy options from ComEd’s generation portfolio, including nuclear, wind, and solar as well as the impacts of electricity usage on the environment. With a proven training model, ComEd mentors are set up for success with background knowledge and engagement to create an educational experience!
Freshman Program: The World of Energy! Explore different forms of energy through experiments, including a mini EV race, to gain an understanding of electrical generation and distribution.
Sophomore Program: Powering lives! Learn how ComEd keeps communities connected and what is needed to maintain reliable delivery through designing a fully operational microgrid model.
Junior Program: Climate Impacts! Explore the variables that cause and exacerbate climate change on Earth through hands-on carbon experiments and discussing the connections between these variables while learning about ComEd’s commitment to the environment.
Senior Program: Energy Efficient Home! Prepare for the future as citizens of the world and professional consumers of electricity by designing and building an energy efficient model home, understanding what is being paid for in your ComEd bill, and learning how ComEd supports energy efficiency.
Power of STEM
The Power of STEM Program provides single session STEM programming for elementary through middle school students. Each session is themed to STEM topics within the energy industry, including energy efficiency, climate change, solar power, and microgrid design. This program is focused on supporting students in high-need areas with connections in schools/programs in the Chicagoland and Rockford areas.
In 2025, NEED facilitators and ComEd mentors teamed up with the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs in Rockford, IL to bring fun, hands-on STEM activities to summer youth programs. Campers got to build their own working microgrid, create UV-beaded solar chameleons, and design a bubble art climate pitch. They also learned how to wire solar panels, explored how electricity is generated, and followed the journey of electricity from power plants to homes, schools, and communities — all with guidance from ComEd STEM professionals.
The program continues to expand with activities for younger future STEM professionals and increasing topics to meet an increasingly innovative world of energy.
ComEd Scholars Mentor Program
This college-aged program brings future STEM professionals together with ComEd mentors. As the mentors and mentees network and learn from one another, they bond and network over a “cup of science” instead of just another “cup of coffee.” Working with their mentors, mentees take on unique STEM challenges that allow them to apply their technical training in a creative way. These STEM activities are themed around topics within the energy industry, and are meant to be explored simultaneously by mentor and mentee. In their pairings, mentors/mentees explore professional skills like developing professional goals, networking, and interviews. Through discussion questions, speakers, roleplay, and a built-in mentor connection these participants help forge a career path into the world of electricity. The final project for this program ranges from participants expanding on a topic within the program or sharing their own personal projects.
CAST Test Workshop with CONSTRUCT Youth Academy
ComEd’s CONSTRUCT Youth Academy presents trade skills and career path opportunities to young adults pursuing a future in the skilled trades industry. As part of their offerings, these high schoolers are introduced to a one-day CAST Test workshop. They are introduced to the test as a whole, highlighting the required skills that they will be held accountable for on the test. Participants engage with some of the topics through activities and games. Simple machines are heavily covered on the CAST Test’s Mechanical Concepts section, so participants explore simple machines through hands-on activities. They also compete in a game to practice the Mathematical Usage skill of dimensional analysis, converting between units in teams as quickly as possible. Based on a pre-test, all participants are provided with specific feedback and additional practice options.
CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Academy
The Construction and Skilled Trade (CAST) Assessment has become a common licensing test for new hires moving into skilled trades roles within the electrical industry. The CAST test covers a variety of math skills ranging from arithmetic to applied algebra and geometry, themed physics concepts, and reading comprehension connected to energy industry topics. This includes four assessment sections: Mathematical Usage, Graphic Arithmetic, Mechanical Concepts, and Reading Comprehension. There has been an increased need for support on this particular test, and NEED has worked with ComEd’s CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Academy to help develop curriculum, trainings, practice, and assessments. CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Academy partners with adult education programs in the Chicagoland area to help employ adults of all ages and career paths. Beyond NEED’s curriculum, ComEd provides a variety of other on-site trainings for topics ranging from NCCER, OSHA, and ComEd-specific trade skills.
Vroom! Vroom! High School EV Challenge with PG&E
The program kicked off at the new PG&E headquarters in Oakland, CA. EV Challenge design-build-race activities were integrated into a comprehensive and engaging summer STEM internship program. High school students learned the basics of power generation and distribution, met with engineers representing a spectrum of emerging technologies, and learned about PG&E University Programs that can help them successfully earn degrees and land a career in this exciting industry. NEED State Program Director of California, Barry Scott, wrote a great blog highlighting this wonderful program for students, check it out here.
Youth Energy Summit
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore
July 13-18, 2025
The Constellation Youth Energy Summit (Y.E.S.) was created to bring together young people who are interested in helping to solve our nation's energy and environmental challenges and exploring clean energy careers. We welcomed 44 sophomores and juniors, along with 25 returning students who joined the Advanced Exploration Track (AET) for a second year of new experiences.
Throughout the program, students engaged in hands-on energy activities, built professional skills in focused work sessions, and connected with dozens of Constellation employees representing a wide range of departments and expertise. First-year students visited the Conowingo Hydropower Station and the Calvert Cliff Nuclear Power Station. AET students participated in a job shadow day and visited the Constellation Headquarters. First-year students worked in teams to create Climate Action Plans for different cities, which they then presented to judging panels from Constellation. AET students developed proposals to incorporate more energy storage in different regions across the country.
In March 2025, we hosted our first annual AET Retreat - the third and final multi-day event for our inaugural Y.E.S cohort. Participants gathered at Constellation’s offices in Kennett Square, PA for engaging panel discussions, then toured the Eddystone Generating Station and the Limerick Clean Energy Center to gain firsthand insight into energy operations.
The retreat also focused on career readiness. They worked closely with professionals from the Talent Acquisition team to refine their resumes and participated in mock interviews to help prepare them for internship application processes.
The Y.E.S. Mentor Program continues to grow! In fall 2025, we had 44 mentees matched with Constellation employees in the high school mentor program, and 14 students matched with mentors in the post-secondary mentor program. The high school program meets monthly to explore various energy topics and to consider various habits and traits that lead to greater personal and professional success and satisfaction.
Highlights of the 2025 Youth Energy Summit are captured in this news article, and be sure to check out the photo gallery here!
Exelon Foundation STEM Academy
The Exelon Foundation STEM Academy is designed to give young women in high school hands-on experience in STEM, energy, and sustainability.
In 2025, the Exelon Foundation STEM Academy took place at four campuses:
- DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
- Saint Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD)
- University of Maryland, College Park (Washington, D.C. region)
Each Academy welcomed 50 young women at no cost to participants. They got to live on campus throughout the week while working on a STEM challenge to present to a panel of judges, network with employees and executives who work in STEM, tour local energy facilities, and develop valuable leadership skills.
Over 125 alumni rejoined the Academy experience this year—30 served as student mentors, interns, or subject-matter experts, while more than 75 came back for alumni dinners at the academies.
The Chris Crane Memorial Scholarship
Named in honor of Exelon’s former CEO, the Chris Crane Memorial Scholarship celebrates his legacy of advancing equity in education and opportunity. This scholarship creates a supportive and clear pathway from student engagement in the Exelon Foundation STEM Academy and Boys to STEM Academy to entry into the energy workforce. Learn more and view the 2025 Scholarship Winners!
Boys to STEM Academy
The Exelon Foundation Boys to STEM Academy was created in 2024 for young men currently in 10th or 11th grade to embark on a free electrifying week of energy, climate change, and leadership through hands-on projects, a weeklong energy challenge, and immersive experiences that blend STEM with essential leadership skills.
In 2025, the Exelon Foundation Boys to STEM Academy expanded to offer this opportunity to 50 young men at each of the four same locations as the Exelon Foundation STEM Academies for young women.
Continuing the STEM Journey
The Exelon Foundation STEM Academy extends far beyond the summer experience. Throughout the year, academy alumni, as well as other students interested in applying for an upcoming academy, are invited to participate in free STEM Day events, offered both virtually and in person. These events provide opportunities to explore STEM careers, connect with professionals, and gain real-world skills not always available in the classroom. Topics range from resume building and scholarship application workshops to behind-the-scenes energy industry tours and hands-on science sessions.
To stay connected and keep students informed and engaged, participants receive a monthly e-newsletter highlighting upcoming events and student opportunities in their area.
Alumni of the program are encouraged to take part in the Exelon Foundation STEM Mentorship Program, a virtual initiative designed to pair student mentees with professional mentors that work across Exelon’s service territories in a variety of fields. Through regular virtual cohort meetings during the school year, students build professional skills, expand their networks, and gain valuable insight into STEM careers. In 2025, more than 160 alumni participated in the mentorship program over the course of both semesters.
The STEM Ambassador Program is another opportunity for alumni interested in the educational side of STEM. Students in this program receive training and materials to lead hands-on STEM activities in their local communities and classrooms. In 2025, the STEM Ambassador Program welcomed 79 new students.
BGE Construction and Skilled Trades (CAST) Test Prep 2025 Summer Program
The Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) High School Career Academy welcomed nearly 40 students into an immersive workforce readiness experience focused on preparing them for the union mandated Construction and Skilled Trades (CAST) Test.
Rather than traditional classroom instruction, students participated in interactive, skills-based activities that strengthened critical thinking, challenged their understanding of mechanical concepts, and offered practice in practical math skills, while introducing them to real-world workplace expectations.
The program was designed to build confidence in the test subject areas while giving students a clearer picture of what it takes to successfully pursue the diverse career pathways within Baltimore Gas and Electric and across the utility workforce.
NEED Youth Energy Leadership Award
The NEED Project recognizes student leadership by awarding the Youth Energy Leadership Award each year to up to two students who have demonstrated outstanding energy leadership, knowledge, and an interest in continuing their energy studies for the purpose of seeking a career in energy, STEM, or education. Each year, at least one award will be given to a student who plans to enter the energy field or public service related to energy. Select award winners receive a $1,500 check for use for college, university or technical school tuition and expenses.
NEED congratulates Abigail John and Joshua Janowick on receiving the 2025 Youth Energy Leadership Award!
You may view the press release for our 2025 recipients, as well as learn more about this award opportunity by visiting the NEED Student Leadership webpage. Applications are due by April 30th each year.
