But after two days of facility tours, hands-on activities and conversations with industry professionals, he left adding utility industry careers on his list of potential paths following graduation.

Two students complete an activity at career exploration day

Andre M., a rising junior at Crooms Academy of Information Technology, walked into this year’s Youth Energy Academy not knowing what to expect.

 The annual program aims to expose students to a wide range of careers, allowing them to learn directly from utility industry professionals, engineers, construction professionals, and line technicians.

“This event gives a lot of our middle and high school students exposure to high-skill, high-wage careers that they may not normally see on a day-to-day basis,” said Queen Massaline, OUC Senior Community Engagement Coordinator.

Throughout the event, students rotated through activity stations that allowed them to step into the roles of industry professionals, giving them a better understanding of the skills and responsibilities needed to succeed in the utility field.

Malcolm Jones, chair and founder of Black Architects in the Making, explained that opportunities like the Youth Energy Academy help introduce students to career paths they may not have previously considered.

Lineworker demonstrates practices with student participant

Aidan Flick, OUC Line Tech II, demonstrates common line work practices with Youth Energy Academy participant.

“What we do is an introduction to an industry that a lot of students aren’t aware of,” Jones said. “As long as we were able to enlighten our students a bit more and bring them into the world of what we do and show them that this is an option for you to potentially make a career out of it, then I think we were successful in our efforts.”

As students explored different career opportunities within the utility industry, Steven Ramos, OUC Lead Line Technician, encouraged students to learn about potential career opportunities early.

“I didn’t know about line work or what a lineman was until I started at OUC as a meter reader,” Ramos said. “It’s good that they have this program where kids get the opportunity to actually learn of these opportunities.”

For students across Central Florida, the Youth Energy Academy provides an engaging and informative look behind the scenes of the work on which the community relies.

“I would definitely recommend this program to some of my friends,” Andre said. “It’s really fun, you get to learn new things, such as how the water runs in our community.”