POWERGRAMS

EDUCATION Engineering a Career Middle school girls get guiding hand and glimpse of the future Students built self-supporting models in daylong competition. ON THE COVER: Ozark Power Delivery Apprentice Lineman Tony Jones practices rescue with a dummy on power pole. Photo by Bill Snow PAGE 2 Photos by Wynter Byrd A bout 100 students from more than 50 middle schools recently took part in the fourth annual Girls Engineering Conference at Alabama Power Corporate Headquarters. There is a critical need for more women engineers, who represent less than 20 percent of the work force. With programs like iCan Girls in Engineering, the numbers are slowly increasing, said Distribution Engineer Nicole Hedrick. The keys seem to be mentoring and building awareness. Girls often drop out of advanced math and science before the ninth grade. When they have female role models offering encouragement, the numbers rise. As students arrived for the conference March 2, they were cheered by volunteers. The entrance to the auditorium was decorated with stars and a pink carpet to look like a Hollywood runway. Engineer Kelli McCullough, Climate and Environmental Strategies, led an introduction to civil engineering. She asked the students to work in teams to build a self-supporting "high rise" that would hold a tennis ball 18 inches off the ground and withstand wind from a fan about 1 foot away. Materials available included copy and construction paper, straws, Popsicle sticks, duct tape, string, yarn and stickers for decoration. Each item had an associated cost, and students tracked their spending. The winners were teams that constructed towers that met the objective while being the most cost-effective. Julie Faurot and Susan Fredd, both Power Delivery Distribution Planning engineers, led a "zip line" activity. It focused on mechanical engineering, which emphasizes the use of energy and motion. Students used household materials such as string, tape, paper cups, paper clips and marbles. They sent down the line a bucket, which dropped a marble on a target. The students said they had fun, and volunteers said they were surprised by the creative designs. Rachel Garrett, Technical Services engineer, and Kerri Keith, Strategic Generation Planning engineer, orchestrated a shoe and handbag competition. The girls were divided into teams of 10 to design and build a shoe and a handbag. The shoe was required to have a heel, support the weight of a team model and not come off the model's foot during the runway portion of the competition. The handbag had to hold a 5.6-pound laptop computer and have a strap that did not break when the computer was loaded into the bag during the runway segment. The girls were provided with plastic sheeting for the handbag, foam board for the shoes, colorful duct tape, pipe cleaners, feathers, tickers ribbon, buttons, stickers and . other decorations. Birmingham Division Vice President Bobbie Knight was the keynote speaker and encouraged the prospective engineers to focus on their s studies. "Sometimes it doesn't seem cool to be the smartest kid in class, but it is cool when you start making money as a result of the hard work you invested in your studies and yourself," Knight said. While students were busy with activities, their parents participated in workshops to guide their daughters toward engineering. An ice breaker team activity challenged the parents to use their own engineering skills. Students and parents visited with representatives from Alabama A&M, Auburn University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama, Girls Inc., Renew Our Rivers and Girls Can Camp. Hewitt-Trussville High School Academies Director Joy Young told parents about the success of the school's Engineering Academy. She stressed the importance of providing experiences for their daughters that impact their future success and understanding the academic background needed to excel. Other steps to success include: learning to work collaboratively in groups; learning to ask for and give help; learning to think strategically to solve complex problems; learning to advocate for oneself; thinking creatively; and believing engineering is an occupation that leads to making a difference in the world. "We want the students and p parents parents to walk away knowing t they have the proper they ha information and i info encouragement e to pursue this profession," said Elaine s Kwarcinski, K Substation Subs Construction manager. "We Constructio held the first iCan event in May 2009 and since then the concept and the need for the program has really taken off. Women engineers across the company benefit by building relationships with each other. "I truly believe the reason there are not more women in the engineering field is simply because they have not been exposed to the endless possibilities a career in engineering will afford them," Kwarcinski said. "The iCan program is designed to fill that gap." By Nancy Prater

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