Students learn to build generators
One of our company employee resource groups, the African-American Professional Employee Group (AAPEG), provides opportunities for African-American professionals to network, volunteer, mentor and share diverse career experiences and interests they possess internally as well as within the communities they live and work.
For several years, AAPEG members have been volunteering as judges for the Southeast Consortium of Minorities in Engineering (SECME) Olympiad, a science competition for Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) programs in Miami, Broward and Palm Beach County schools. Since 2012, we’ve hosted our own generator-building competition at elementary, middle and high school levels in Broward and Palm Beach County, followed by competitions in Miami-Dade in 2014. The Generator Competition is the only SECME event that is solely managed by FPL and NextEra employees.
The competition prepares students for other STEM programs by challenging them to understand:
- Basic forms of energy, including electrical and mechanical;
- Basic magnetic theory;
- The relationship between magnetic and electrical fields;
- The flow of electrical circuits; and
- The law of electromagnetic induction (Faraday’s Law)
AAPEG members also host workshops to help students learn the fundamentals and theory behind building a generator in preparation for the annual SECME Olympiad.
FPL is committed to education and enriching students’ experiences, as it relates to science and math programs because the company believes these activities prepare today’s students for exciting and well-paid jobs in the future. It’s part of our company’s commitment to support our communities to help make them better places to live and work. Students who participate in these programs not only learn engineering skills, they also learn about teamwork, collaboration, creativity and other vital talents to thrive in tomorrow’s competitive work environment.
