DOBSON ─ Jamie Mosley, a teacher at J. Sam Gentry Middle School, has spent five weeks of her summer shadowing electric linemen and learning from electric utility experts at Surry-Yadkin EMC, the Touchstone Energy cooperative based in Dobson.
Mosley took an exclusive peek into the inner workings of her local, non-profit electric co-op and gained a variety of practical experience including riding in a bucket truck, hanging a transformer and setting a power pole. She toured three power plants, including the Catawba Nuclear Plant, and traveled to Raleigh-based North Carolina EMC, the power supplier for most of the state’s electric co-ops, to learn about how electricity is distributed to consumers. Mosley plans to convert this experience into new teaching strategies that she will use in her classroom and share with other teachers.
Bringing it to the Classroom
“I can engage my students from the knowledge that I have obtained through this internship in many ways,” Mosley said. “I will focus on the generation, transmission, distribution, and delivery of energy to the student’s home. Students will complete a multitude of tasks through hands-on activities while making real world connections.”
Mosley was selected for her internship through a partnership between the Kenan Fellows Program and Surry-Yadkin EMC. The Kenan Fellows Program connects teachers with local researchers and industry experts to help them develop curricula that their students find relevant. Teachers are selected for the one-year fellowship program after a competitive application process. The key component of the program is the five-week internship in partnership with a mentor in industry or academia. Adam Martin, public information specialist with Surry-Yadkin EMC, is serving as Mosley’s mentor for the summer.
“Jamie exhibits an enthusiastic attitude for learning that is certainly infectious,” Martin said. “Whether her job entailed observation or active, physical participation, she was engaged and excited about the opportunities that each day presented.”
Kenan Fellowships are made possible through the support of the program’s partners such as Surry-Yadkin EMC and North Carolina’s electric cooperatives.