Clean Energy Insight - Moving Energy Forward

[Approx. Read Time: 2 minutes]

How often do you think about where the electricity you use to power your lights, computer and television comes from? Chances are not often, if ever.

This past October, the Michigan American Nuclear Society hosted an essay contest as part of Careers in Energy Week asking high school students to do just that. The “Get into Nuclear Energy” essay contest targeted raising awareness of nuclear energy careers among Michigan high school students. The contest asked students to explain why nuclear energy workers have and continue to improve our local communities. The contest, which was funded by an Entergy Nuclear grant, awarded the first, second, and third place winners with an iPad, iTouch, and iPod Nano, respectively. The contest also awarded the schools with the highest percentage of participation with a monetary donation to their science department.

The contest ran over a two-week period and resulted in the society receiving over 400 essays. The contest winners were spread across the state and even into the Upper Peninsula! The winning essays will be posted on our website. The first, second, and third place student winners are as follows:

1. Megan Locatis, Allegan High School;
2. Carolyn Payson, Battle Creek Math and Science Cetner;
3. Jessica Barjaktarovich, Macomb Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Here is a link to their essays.

The schools with the highest participation were:

• Big Bay De Noc High School,
• Columbia Central High School, and
• Charyl Stockwell Preparatory Academy.

Having read over 100 essays myself, I can say that I was immensely excited to see the amount of research and effort that the students and teachers put into exploring careers options in the nuclear field. The essays highlighted the important impact nuclear energy workers have on ensuring that our communities stay functional through both the production of electricity and philanthropic work. The overall goal of the contest was to expose high school students to careers in the nuclear sciences and hopefully spark an early interest in future career choices.

The Michigan American Nuclear Society is looking forward to hosting another essay contest to ring in National Nuclear Science Week. This time around the contest wil ask high school students to write a persuasive letter to their local Congressperson or Senator describing why nuclear energy should continue be a part of our national energy portfolio.