A Win for Allendale Students

	The Allendale Team at the Bay Area Maker Faire. Pictured L to R:  Emily McCann, CEO, Citizens Schools; Mindy Mets, SRSCRO; Mona Lisa Anderson, CATE Director Allendale Schools; Wilbur Cave, Allendale Alive; Tom Kalil, Chief Innovation Officer, Schmidt Futures; Eileen Yang, SR Manager, Genentech

A team representing Allendale, South Carolina is one of 8 groups from across the country named by US2020 as a winner of the 2018 STEM Coalition Challenge, a competition for communities across the country to bring hands-on STEM mentoring and maker-centered learning to underrepresented students, as announced at the Bay Area Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA in May. The Allendale Team will share in $1 million to implement bold strategies and build STEM learning partnerships in Allendale County.

Originally formed by the South Carolina Promise Zone and the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) to help students become proficient in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), more than fifteen organizations and numerous supporters have joined the coalition, now poised to become a "STEM Force" in the community.  Their goals involve connecting students with STEM-rich experiences related to careers.  This Allendale Team supports the development of college and career-ready scholars as part of the Allendale Education Transformation.

"The Allendale School District is thrilled to be a part of the Allendale Team.  As a STEM Coalition winner, we see this as an opportunity to involve local industry in our schools, to learn best practices and transform programs to serve Allendale's children with meaningful STEM learning opportunities," said Dr. Margaret Gilmore, the Allendale County School District Interim Superintendent effective July 1, 2018.

The Allendale Team was originally selected from 92 applications nationwide, representing more than 1,800 nonprofits, companies, school districts, and local government partners.  The effort came about as part of the SRSCRO's Nuclear Workforce Initiative that focuses on developing regional career pathways for STEM industries. 

"The Promise Zone and the SRSCRO have facilitated the formation of a strong team, where the true winners will be the students in Allendale Schools!" said Sandra DeVoe Bland, Promise Zone Coordinator and loaned Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Executive to the Southern Carolina Alliance.

The complete list of winners in the US2020 STEM Challenge are:

*    Allendale, SC ¬-  Promise Zone Coalition/ SRSCRO

*    Buffalo, NY ¬- Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Partnership (ISEP)

*    Cincinnati, OH ¬- Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative

*    Boise, ID - Idaho STEM Action Center

*    Dalles, OR ¬- Columbia Gorge STEM Hub

*    Pittsburgh, PA ¬- Remake Learning

*    Washington, D.C ¬- DC STEM

*    Chicago, IL - Project Exploration

Winners were selected based on a number of factors including: their potential for impact, approach to partnership building, creative engagement strategies, and sustainability planning. All 8 winners will share the $1 million prize, which will provide financial support, consulting, and staff support for two years.

WORC is Working

College and University students in the SRSCRO region have been awarded more than 425 scholarships through the Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers (WORC) Program during the last two years.  The scholarships have been awarded in 27 fields of study through local colleges and universities to encourage education and training relevant to nuclear workforce needs. More than 70 of the WORC program students have participated in summer internships in the nuclear industry and over 47 students have moved into full-time positions at the Savannah River Site since the program began in 2016.

WORC is reaching students from all walks of life.  For example, Chungu Sellers moved to the region from California and learned about career opportunities in the nuclear industry.  She enrolled in the radiation protection program at Aiken Technical College and is a recipient of a WORC scholarship.

Erin Peck enrolled in the Environmental Remediation and Restoration Program at USC Aiken.  WORC funds allowed Erin to participate in two collaborative summer research projects between USC Aiken and the Savannah River National Laboratory.  Erin graduated May 9, 2018 and will begin working full-time at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.

Kara Norris is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.  Kara received the WORC scholarship at USC Aiken and recently graduated.  Kara is now a Radiological Control Inspector with Savannah River Remediation.

Brooke Stagich continues working as a limited service employee at the Savannah River National Laboratory.  Brooke was part of the ANSR and WORC programs while she was enrolled in Augusta University's Nuclear Science Program.  She graduated from Augusta University and is working on her Master's Degree in Health Physics at Clemson University.

WORC was established to strengthen the local workforce pool needed to support Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) missions, particularly in the Savannah River Site (SRS) region.  WORC builds on the DOE-EM funded Advancing Nuclear Skills Regionally (ANSR) Program that established new nuclear training certificate and degree programs in the Savannah River Site region from 2011 - 2016.  The WORC Program includes student scholarships, student retention strategies, student outreach and promotion of relevant education and training programs, including those developed through ANSR.

The WORC grant is funded by DOE-EM and NNSA at SRS. WORC academic partners in the state of South Carolina are: Aiken Technical College, University of South Carolina Aiken and University of South Carolina Salkehatchie.  WORC academic partners in the state of 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 Program.

Summer Workshops for Educators

Summer is heating up for nuclear education and workforce development. Educators attend these popular, regional workshops for new insight and teaching techniques related to nuclear technology.

Middle and high school teachers from Georgia and South Carolina learn about nuclear technology applications and promoting student interest in STEM-related careers at the Southeastern Summer Nuclear Institute (June 26 - 28, 2018). The Institute includes a tour of the Vogtle nuclear energy facility in Burke County, GA including control room visits, simulator exercises, meetings with nuclear power reactor personnel, etc. The Institute also includes a tour of the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, SC including radioactive waste management facilities and the Savannah River National Laboratory. Workshop sessions emphasize atomic and nuclear fundamentals, power generation fundamentals, nuclear technology applications, risks (real vs. perceived), and nuclear workforce opportunities with hands-on activities to illustrate important technical concepts and scientific principles.  Information is available here.

Educators from the region are also invited to register for the 2018 Summer TREAT Workshop.  TREAT stands for Teaching Radiation, Energy and Technology.  The goal of this workshop is to provide education, training, and experimental opportunities for the Central Savannah River Area school teachers. The focus will be on training and involvement of participants in learning about environmental radiation. The workshop includes classroom lectures and laboratory hands on exercises. Participants will develop activities and study units for use in their classrooms. Upon successful completion of the workshop participants will be eligible for Staff Development Credits and a stipend.  TREAT is scheduled for July 11-13, 2018 and will be held on the University of South Carolina Aiken campus.  For more information, contact de'Lisa Carrico, Public Affairs Specialist, Savannah River Operations Office. ( [email protected])