April 9, 2021
Hey there, ๐Ÿ‘‹

Spring is here and so are new events, scholarships, and STEM news! โš›๏ธ April also gives us Earth Day, so read below on how to take action to help fight climate change. ๐ŸŒŽ See all of these great opportunities and resources below! โฌ‡๏ธ
Register for these upcoming Academy events in April you won't want to miss!
Wednesday, April 21st
Join Exelon STEM Leadership Academy to learn from leaders in the environmental and energy fields. Not only will students get to ask questions about their career and education, but they will also get to ask about the important environmental projects they are working on. ๐ŸŒŽ You wonโ€™t want to miss this Earth Day Career Chat!
Sunday, April 25th
Calling all high school girls interested in energy, sustainability and climate change. Using hands-on experiments, explore the science behind climate change and the greenhouse effect. ๐ŸŒณConsider how your decisions impact the climate and learn how to use tools to track these impacts. We'll send you the materials you need for this activity. 
Meet PECO Aerial Foreman, Janeen Priano!
๐ŸŽฅ Watch the video above featuring Janeen Priano breaking barriers
Janeen Priano is an Aerial Foreman at PECO in Pennsylvania and is breaking barriers in a male-dominated field. ๐Ÿ‘ทโ€โ™€๏ธ Janeen works on overhead lines in the Delchester area to help customers get energy safely and reliably. Janeen first joined PECO back in 2001, becoming the second woman in 20+ years at the company in this role! Janeen's advice for young women that want to follow a similar path is "Just go for it! You don't know what you can do until you try it". ๐Ÿ‘
Apply today: Strategic Energy Management Internship
We have an exciting internship opportunity for students interested in learning more about sustainability and energy efficiency, developing leadership and peer-to-peer networking skills, and preparing for future professional opportunities! This program aims to increase awareness of energy efficiency and teach students about monitoring energy consumption patterns in commercial (retail) facilities. โšก Interns will work with CLEAResultโ€™s Strategic Energy Management (SEM) program delivery team to assist in ComEdโ€™s SEM Retail Pilot program.

This is a paid part-time internship at $15/hour, and applicant requirements are as follows:
  • Must be 18 years of age
  • Live in Northern IL
  • Currently enrolled as a college student
  • Interest to pursue a STEM degree/ career
  • Understanding code of conduct and how to interact professionally with program participant
  • Work hours are flexible with a minimum of 5 hours per week
  • Primary availability during the work hours of 9-5 PM
  • 6-8-month internship program commitment, with possibility of extension.
  • Students will be required to attend monthly meetings with a SEM coach and program participants to discuss energy consumptions patterns and abnormalities. 
Calling all College Freshmen and Sophomores!
Check out these summer opportunities at BP:
Do you have a strong interest in financial markets and trading? Are you interested in a career in energy? Would you like the chance to win a scholarship toward your studies? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, the BP Sophomore Experience program may be the perfect blend of your interests and an opportunity to learn about careers within trading and shipping at BP!

Program Details:
The Sophomore Experience program will run mid-day on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning June 1st through June 24th. Each session will last generally about 90 minutes. This year's program will be virtual.
If you're looking to develop your networking and leadership skills, while learning to apply your technical capabilities to real world scenarios, the BP STEP Program is for you. This three-week virtual series will touch on topics ranging from public speaking, leadership qualities, careers in the energy industry and much more. Learn more via the link below!

Program Details:
The STEP program will run every Tuesday and Thursday, mid-day, beginning July 6th through 23rd. Each session will last generally about 90 minutes. This year's program will be virtual.
Applications for both the STEP and Sophomore Experience programs close April 16th.
Chicago area students: Help address important environmental issues with IBM EdTech Youth Challenge!
Join the IBM EdTech Youth Challenge where student teams will design a solution concept using IBM technologies to address environmental issues facing Chicago today such as air quality, water quality, biodiversity loss, and access to outdoor recreation.๐ŸŒฑ Wildlife Habitat Council has partnered with IBM for this exciting opportunity for students 18-25 years old and enrolled in a 2- or 4-year college in the Chicago Metro Area. The winning team will receive a 2-week intensive virtual internship with IBM and their partners. Please visit the website below or contact Rebecca Silvey at Wildlife Habitat Council to learn more!
Apply for the U.S. Department of Energy Scholars Program:
The DOE Scholars Program is designed to create a pipeline of highly qualified talent in disciplinary fields that support mission critical areas of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE Scholars Program provides opportunities designed to introduce DOE missions, functions, and operations to talented undergraduate and graduate students, as well as recent graduates. ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐ŸŽ“ One current opportunity for summer 2021 is to join the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity to learn more about energy justice and transitions to equitable renewable energy, and engage in energy justice law and policy research. You can apply for this opportunity by May 1st, 2021, and check out other opportunities below! 
There are so many things you can do everyday to be more sustainable and protect our environment. For Earth Day, check out the below projects you can do to help our planet, as well as the inspiring stories of others working to help bring awareness to climate change. ๐ŸŒŽ
Volunteer Virtually this Earth Day
Through Zooniverse you can take part in meaningful climate and sustainability research from home! You can join other citizen scientists to collect and analyze data for a wide variety of projects. Check out the environmental centered projects below:

In order to define sustainable exploitation practices, it is necessary to understand regeneration cycles of timber tree species. The purpose of this research is to describe the relationship between pollen dispersal distances, floral traits, and pollinators of several timber species, as well as document the size and composition of pollinators communities. 

๐ŸŒŠ Invader ID ๐ŸŒŠ
Through Invader ID, you can help track changes in fouling communities and look for new occurrences of invasive species. With your help, theyโ€™ll be able to track fouling communities in more places, and hopefully see early warning signs of environmental changes.


๐Ÿง Penguin Watch ๐Ÿง
Penguins - globally loved, but under threat. Research shows that in some regions, penguin populations are in decline; but why? Begin monitoring penguins and help answer this question. With over 100 sites to explore, we need your help now more than ever!
Explore Careers in Climate Action
You can take your own climate action even further by making a career out of it! Meet women in climate action that work everyday to protect the planet. ๐ŸŒŽ There are so many different types of careers available to help combat climate change- journalists, activists, youth organizers, researchers, and scientists are all making a difference. Read about the women who inspire staff at the Department of Energy. If you're also inspired by these women, you can check out more here, and also women working in wind energy. There is no shortage of women in climate action to be inspired by! ๐ŸŒŸ
Young climate activists making history in Ecuador
Nine girls, aged between 7-14, have made legal history in Ecuador after suing the government over the pollution and climate impacts of oil industry flaring in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The court ruled in favor of the girls, who demanded an immediate end to all gas flares in their villages. The judges also noted that eliminating flaring would cut Ecuadorโ€™s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 24%! ๐ŸŒ

โ€œIโ€™m very happy because, finally, justice has been served. Weโ€™re going to restore nature, for all the sick children, for the people, for the parents who have fought to stay healthy, for the families that have also kept fighting if only to grow a few crops, for the families who live under the flares and have had to abandon their land.โ€ - 10-year-old Leonela Moncayo
โœจ STEM Leadership Academy Alumnae Spotlight โœจ
Sumayyah Hussain, alumna from the 2018 Chicago Academy, is working on a research project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to develop a game based app aimed to help deaf or hard of hearing students learn STEM vocabulary in American Sign Language. She is currently looking for a deaf or hard of hearing student to help with the appโ€™s design! Please reach out to Sumayyah via email if you are interested or want more information!
Liya Taylor, alumna from the 2018 D.C./Maryland Academy, will be attending Hampton University next year, majoring in Computer Science on the cyber security track! Liya is so grateful to have attended the STEM Leadership Academy because it helped her discover her passion for STEM!
Eliska Peacock, alumna from the 2018 D.C./Maryland Academy, is attending her dream school, Stanford University and she is finally on campus for the spring quarter of 2021! Eliska plans to graduate in 2024 with a computer science major. Eliskhopes that many students get to go to their dream schools, and her advice is to work hard and submit your best in your applications so that you can to give yourself the best shot!
Ijeoma Okoro, alumna from the 2018 D.C./Maryland Academy, was selected to be an intern at the National Institutes of Health where she will be doing research on minority health disparities and mental health. You can connect with Ijeoma via email if you'd like to learn more about her amazing internship!
Emma Mendez, alumna from the 2018 Chicago Academy, presented her research on Asian American actress Anna May Wong in her first research conference last week! Read more about Emma's research here. If you'd like to connect with Emma on her research, you can connect with her via email.
Check out even more STEM activities!
The film Coded Bias is now on Netflix! This film explores the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwiniโ€™s startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her journey to push for the first-ever legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all. ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ’ป STEM Academy students got the chance to talk with the director, Shalini Kantayya, last year!
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlonยฎ is a collegiate competition that challenges students to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings that mitigate climate change and improve our quality of life through greater affordability, resilience, and energy efficiency. ๐Ÿก Even if you weren't able to participate in the challenge this year, you can still check out the amazing zero energy homes during the Virtual Village Tours next week!
Learn about the history of women in radiation with the Environmental Protection Agency's new website feature! You can explore the impact that women like Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin made on our knowledge of radiation today. ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ”ฌ You can also explore the impact of radiation in your own community with the Environmental Protection Agency's radiation education website, RadTown.
Women in Radiation with Director Lee Veal
Exelon Foundation STEM Leadership Academy Applications are OPEN!
Reminder: the application for the summer 2021 Exelon Foundation STEM Leadership Academy are open through April 25th ๐Ÿ™Œ

The Exelon STEM Leadership Academy is a free, week-long, residential* program for 10th and 11th grade girls interested in STEM to learn from women working in STEM and other leaders; ๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ”ฌ explore sustainability, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and climate change; ๐ŸŒŽ and connect with like-minded peers. ๐Ÿ’ก The Academy concludes with an energy challenge and a chance to win great prizes! Each participant will also receive an iPad to use for Academy activities and to take home at the end of the week. Past Academy attendees, please share with friends!

*We are closely monitoring the Covid-19 public health situation. The 2021 Academy is being planned as an in person, on campus event but may be converted to a virtual event based on local health recommendations and requirements. 
Exelon and our operating companies are sharing fun updates on social media! Be sure to keep in touch and follow us: