Creating memorable learning experiences for students has been a key part of North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives’ commitment to empowering the next generation through hands-on education and workforce development initiatives.

Since 2018, high school seniors from Athens Drive Magnet High School’s STEM Academy have visited the cooperatives’ statewide office in Raleigh for an immersive opportunity that showcases innovative energy solutions and the exciting technologies being used in their communities.

“We value the partnership and the impact it has on students year after year,” said Lauren Doran, a science teacher at Athens Drive Magnet High School. “Being able to connect students with an experience like this, which shows them the real-world applications of what they’re learning in the classroom, creates lasting memories.”

Taking learning beyond the classroom

This year’s field trip offered an engaging, hands-on experience as students explored some of the latest beneficial electrification technologies and interacted with the “House of Pressure,” a home performance model that uses airflow and pressure diagnostics to test and improve energy efficiency.

They also had the chance to test their knowledge with a game of Jeopardy, balance an energy portfolio, and take part in a newly created game, “Stormopoly.” The goal of the game was for each team to work as a rural electric cooperative responding to a major storm, restoring power safely, efficiently and cost-effectively. This hands-on simulation helps students understand how electric cooperatives operate and serve their members — especially in times of critical need — by making real-world decisions about infrastructure repair, resource allocation and stakeholder communication.

“There’s a difference between learning from a textbook and actually gaining knowledge through real-world experiences,” said Rishi Mudunuri, a senior at Athens Drive Magnet High School. “With this being my last year in high school, having an opportunity like this helps me think about some different paths to explore next year in college.”

In addition to the demonstrations and presentations, students learned how the cooperatives are powering the communities they serve with reliable, affordable energy.

“Today really solidified my decision to pursue a career in civil engineering,” said Asher Chang, a senior at Athens Drive Magnet High School. “Hearing all the presenters talk about their work, and seeing how much they are making a difference, inspired me to use what I’ll learn in college to make a difference in my community.”

Career opportunities

Beyond the learning experiences, the graduating seniors also had the opportunity to meet volunteers from a variety of backgrounds and career paths. From engineering and communications to accounting and business, staff members from nearly every department were represented on the field trip.

This gave the students a chance to see how many different people it takes to keep an organization running — and what it means to collectively work together to power the lives of more than 2.8 million North Carolinians.

“They’re learning about how wide-ranging an organization like this is,” said Doran. “It allows them to explore so many different career paths in a field like energy and sustainability, which many of them have been interested in since they entered high school.”

With college or the workforce just around the corner, volunteers said tangible experiences like this make a world of difference for the next generation.

“These students are an essential building block of the foundation of a brighter future,” said Michael Diorio, a distribution planning engineer at North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “Today was a first glimpse at how they fit into that mission.”