Philadelphia (June 9, 2009) – PECO hosted an open house and careers program June 3 to stimulate the minds of local high school students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) at the Main Office Building.  Nearly 80 students attended from Philadelphia’s Roxborough High School, Science Leadership Academy, and Paul Robeson High School for Human Services.

The open house, the first of its kind held in Pennsylvania, was organized with the state Education Department, Team Pennsylvania Foundation, local universities and businesses. Funded by the federal government, the STEM initiative brings industry, education and government leaders together to provide students with the knowledge for 21st century jobs.

Several PECO leaders and employees addressed the students, including Craig Adams, chief operating officer; Eric Helt, vice president, Electric Operations; and Sue Ivey, vice president, Transmission Operations & Planning. Each shared how they become involved in STEM careers.

“In this room could be the person who changes our industry in five or 10 years,” said Adams, who described himself as a “motorhead” in high school who later studied physics, chemistry, engineering and math.  “The machines just got bigger for me working at nuclear plants.”

While Adams expressed optimism with the “bright minds” in Energy Hall, Lowell Thomas from the Governor’s Education Office of Policy and Planning humbled the students with a “reality talk”.  Thomas told the students how vital science education is, he noted that desirable jobs go where the skilled workforce is, and the U.S. is falling behind the rest of the world. Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak told the students via video 80 percent of chief executive officers have a STEM background and many opportunities are available for young people.

“I am an example of this kind of program succeeding,” said Ivey, who attended St. Hubert’s High School, Boston University and later Drexel University. She was the first in her large family to attend college. “PECO had a program to encourage young women to become engineers, and it opened doors for me. Your interests will develop over time. It’s up to you, but opportunities will open up.”

Similarly, Helt told the students he spent two of his summers working for PECO while attending Syracuse University for computer and electrical engineering. “The energy industry is changing immensely with new technology (integrating with systems in place for decades),” he said.

Part of the experience included guided tours from some of PECO’s younger engineers – including Dayton Dunkin, Janine Evans and Monica Jackson, Temple University graduates. The tours featured PECO’s new green roof atop the company’s Center City headquarters building and its transmission system operations. The students also visited with representatives from Temple, Drexel, and Penn State universities, as well as Verizon, Citizens Bank, Dow Chemical, Gamesa Technology Corporation, Pennoni & Associates, and The Wistar Institute.  Ron Chu, principal engineer, Transmission Operations & Planning, coordinated the program on behalf of PECO.

For more photos and information about STEM, visit www.teampa.com
Contact: James Mentzer, james@teampa.com