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Updates from the SRSCRO
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August 2019
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Follow us on Twitter!
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Rick McLeod @atomicasset
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WORC Keeps Working
More than 100 WORC scholarship recipients have completed college degrees and are employed. These newly employed graduates include veterans, non-traditional students, first generation college students and single parents. Many graduates report learning about nuclear industry careers because of the WORC scholarship.
WORC stands for Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers. The WORC grant program was established in 2016 to strengthen the local workforce pool that supports Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) missions, particularly in the Savannah River Site region. DOE-EM and NNSA jointly fund the $5M grant over 5 years. Recently, NNSA announced an additional $5M to expand and extend the program.
WORC academic partners in South Carolina are: Aiken Technical College, University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA) and University of South Carolina Salkehatchie. WORC academic partners in Georgia are: Augusta Technical College and Augusta University. The SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) serves as the fiscal agent and provides coordination of regional efforts for the WORC grant.
 Students like Thomas Burgess from USCA are earning valuable skills with the help of a WORC scholarship. Thomas is a rising senior chemistry major, and is currently working in the astrochemical lab at USC Aiken. Thomas also worked as an intern at the Savannah River National Laboratory for two summers. His research focused on remediation of contaminated sediment composed of toxic heavy metals.
Brandon Able is a graduate of Aiken Technical College's Radiation Protection Technology Program and received the WORC scholarship. Brandon is employed locally in the nuclear industry.
 Tiffany Allen's WORC scholarship led to a Chemical Technology degree at Augusta Technical College. Tiffany is one of the first technical college program students awarded an internship at the Savannah River National Laboratory.
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Starting a Workforce Reaction
A remarkable outcome of the WORC grant was not even planned. Along with technicians, scientists and engineers, two high school science teachers are entering the local workforce, and WORC scholarships have played a role.
Kelsey Moore Minter and Courtney Adams were attracted to
Augusta University's Nuclear Science Track for chemistry and physics majors, a
WORC grant program. Each combined a passion for science with a desire to teach. As a result, Columbia County high school students have inspirational educators who understand the local community workforce needs.
 "The WORC grant provided me the opportunity to study nuclear science at Augusta University and work at the Savannah River Site as an intern...I've continued this internship each summer and during school breaks as I completed my bachelor's and master's degrees and even as I began my career working as a high school chemistry and physics teacher," said Ms. Minter. She will be teaching at Greenbrier High School this year. "Through my own knowledge, understanding and experience gained through the WORC grant, I've been able to encourage better teaching practices in the high school chemistry and physics curriculums when addressing the topic of nuclear science. I've also encouraged my own students to consider career options that emerge from nuclear science at SRS and Plant Vogtle."
 Courtney Adams will be educating educators and she is also headed to a high school classroom in Columbia County Georgia. "If it hadn't been for the WORC scholarship, I wouldn't have had the drive or ability to accomplish what I have. I am a first generation college student, responsible for paying my own way through college. The scholarship enabled me to pursue my bachelor's in physics with a nuclear concentration and master's in teaching...and to cut back to just two part-time jobs instead of three. With these degrees and the industry connections...I was able to secure not one, but two jobs before graduating. Through Plant Vogtle, I will be educating Energy Pathway teachers in Georgia about ways to properly teach nuclear energy topics in their classrooms." Ms. Adams said, "I was also hired at Evans High School to teach Advanced Placement Physics. I will be able to share my passion for physics and nuclear science with generations to come - hopefully inspiring students to embark on a future in the nuclear field."
Hundreds of scholarships have been awarded throughout the SRSCRO region because of the WORC grant program. The purpose is to encourage local citizens to develop the technical and educational skills needed for local careers, particularly those related to Savannah River Site missions. Ms. Minter and Ms. Adams are well-positioned to carry that message to high school students. Thanks to the WORC grant program, these teachers are offering inspiration for local high school students to consider their own career possibilities.
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Rural STEM Stands Out
Igniting interest in science and technology has become a national focus. Why? Because there is an ever-increasing demand for technical talent. STEM education programs are in development across the U.S. to help K-12 students develop the mindset, skills and experiences needed for future jobs. Yet, rural regions often lack resources for an inspirational approach to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
 Dreams, Imagination and Gifts (DIG) Development Program is addressing this need in Allendale, SC. Through a
US2020 grant, administered by the SRSCRO, DIG is focused on providing middle school STEM programs, and community connections between industry and education. DIG is also working with the University of South Carolina Salkehatchie Allendale campus.
DIG is well-known for its family-friendly STEM Festival in Williston, SC with over 4,000 attendees annually, and after-school programs that are expanding in Barnwell county.
 Students are learning by doing, and they are
winning awards. For example, these DIG middle school students from Williston, SC worked with the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory outreach educator, Amanda Hurst, to address improvements in the well-being of pollinators. They won the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture's spring Purple Plow Challenge: Protect the Pollinators. In addition to individual prizes, the program received a 3D printer and a $100 gift card.
Recently, DIG representatives Steven Brown and Shelby Broomfield, along with Mindy Mets from the SRSCRO, attended the US2020 City Network Summer Convening in Cincinnati, Ohio to share their success with similar programs across the nation.
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Spotlight
TREAT Workshop
Ms. Melinda Downing, Environmental Justice Program Manager from the DOE's Office of Legacy Management (center) joined local community leaders to welcome more than 30 participants to the annual Summer TREAT Workshop. Mr. Mike Budney, Manager, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Operations Office, talked with the local teachers and DOE summer internship students in attendance. He provided a brief overview of the Savannah River Site (SRS) and his role in assuring safety for the community as part of the DOE Environmental Management mission.
TREAT stands for Teaching Radiation, Energy and Technology. A grant from the U. S. Department of Energy on Environmental Radiation and Community Awareness funds the annual workshop with a goal to provide education, training, and experimental opportunities for school teachers in the SRSCRO region. The three-day workshop covered topics on SRS activities, nuclear industry career opportunities, radiation and monitoring techniques and classroom educational materials. Presenters for the program included representatives from Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, U.S Department of Agriculture Forestry Service for SRS, the SRSCRO and more.
The three-day program was held on the campus of the University of South Carolina Aiken during July 2019. Ms. Downing spoke to the audience, noting that the SRS TREAT workshop has become a model program for the DOE Office of Legacy Management.
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Mr. Rogers
Fun Facts
1. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is one of the longest-running programs in television history having produced more than 870 episodes. That's almost 5 times as many as Friends!
2. Before he played Batman on the big screen, former Pittsburger Michael Keaton ran the Trolley as part of the production of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
3. Fred's maternal grandfather, Fred Brooks McFeely, was an important influence. The show's delivery man, Mr McFeely, was named after him.
4. His grandfather once said to him, "Freddy, I like you just the way you are!" It became a phrase familiar to millions of people.
5. Fred began wearing sneakers in the studio so he could run behind the set from the organ to the puppet area without being heard. He later made that an important part of his show opening.
6. All of the original sweaters worn on the program were hand knit by Nancy McFeely Rogers, Fred's mother. One of them hangs in the permanent collection of the
Smithsonian Museum.
7. There might not have been a Daniel Striped Tiger if Dorothy Daniel, General Manager of WQED, had not given Fred a tiger puppet as a party favor the night before the debut of Children's Corner, Fred Rogers' first venture into children's television.
8. Fred Rogers performed almost all of the Neighborhood puppet characters -- pompous King Friday, shy Daniel Tiger and feisty Lady Elaine and even the farmer Donkey Hodie.
9. Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister, with the unique charge of serving children and families through television.
10. Many immigrants, including Ricky Martin, say they learned to speak English by watching Mister Rogers because his speaking pattern was so clear and distinct.
11. It is estimated that the Neighborhood Trolley traveled 5,000 miles every year.
12. Mister Rogers once received a letter from a little girl who asked Mister Rogers to say when he was feeding the fish. Because she is blind she couldn't see when he was feeding the fish so she worried about them. In response, Mister Rogers made sure to mention when the fish were getting their meal.
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Closing Thoughts
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When two men in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary. -- William Wrigley Jr.
My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income. -- Errol Flynn
The glory of great men should always be measured by the means they have used to acquire it. -- Francois de La Rochefoucauld
That which has always been accepted by everyone, everywhere, is almost certain to be false. -- Paul Valery
The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget. -- Thomas Szasz
Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. -- Mister Rogers
One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation.
-- Mister Rogers
There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind. -- Mister Rogers
We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.
-- Mister Rogers
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Contact Information
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SRSCRO, PO Box 696, Aiken, SC 29802
Staff:
Rick McLeod - President/CEO - 803-508-7402
Mindy Mets - NWI® Program Manager - 803-508-7403
Amy Merry - Administrative & Business Manager - 803-508-7401
Kim Saxon - Assistant Coordinator - 803-508-7656
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