My mentor, Eddie Stocks, and engineer Mike Johnson at the Gas Landfill Project ribbon cutting ceremony.

Greetings! I am a high school science in eastern North Carolina entering my 12th year of teaching . I have been interested in Kenan Fellows for a long time- I’ve heard many positive things about the program and I decided last fall that this was the year I wanted to apply. I am always looking for opportunities to become a better teacher, and teachers should always model life-long learning for their students.

Not the problem, but funny nonetheless.

The problem was the one that kept me and probably others from applying in years past– there were no projects offered in the north eastern part of the state. So I tracked down Lisa and Craig at NCSTA in November and told them my dilemma, and they offered possible solutions. One of those solutions was to suggest funding and academic partners along with possible mentors. I went back to the hotel that very night and wrote a long and detailed list of the many possibilities. 

I knew that I wanted to work with energy/electricity/renewables. These are topics that are very interesting to me and so I was excited to hear from Kenan Fellows that they were able to secure a mentor and funding for my participation. My internship is at Edgecombe-Martin Electric Membership Cooperative in Tarboro, NC and I will be learning all about how cooperatives are different from private and for-profit utilities while visiting all departments within the co-op to see how electric service is supplied to their members. So far I’ve worked in member services, a line crew, communications, and . I’ve been to a ribbon cutting for a gas landfill and toured the facility, visited commercial members, and I’ve seen all of the substations. There is so much more to learn and I am super excited for the remainder of my time here at the co-op.

Monica Speight is the Information Specialist at Edgecombe-Martin EMC. She has coordinated all of my activities within the co-op for the duration of my fellowship. I couldn’t imagine this fellowship without Monica by my side for all of the adventures we’ve had!