FirstEnergy Awards Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Grant to Eleven Teachers in Penelec's Service Area

READING, Pa., Nov. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) has awarded Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) grants totaling almost $10,000 to 11 teachers in the company's Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec) service area.

The winners and their schools and projects are:

• Justin Barr, Altoona Area Junior High School, Altoona ? Deconstructing devices to learn about and build electrical circuits.
• Mike Beiter, Erie High School, Erie ? Learning manufacturing technology by using old waste materials to create saleable household items.
• Meltem Albayrak DiLeo, Holy Trinity Catholic School, Altoona ? Using teamwork to design and build wind turbines.
• Bonnie Dilling, Northern Bedford Elementary School, Loysburg ? Studying coding tasks using a visual code blocks instead of actual written code.
• Kelly Grassmyer, Irving Elementary School, Altoona ? Learning about electronic circuits that can produce light, run motors or activate sensors.
• Cathy L. Jones, Indiana County Technology Center, Indiana ? Learning about a variety of public health issues, including the spread and management of diseases.
• Morgan Patton, Shanksville-Stony Creek School District, Freidens ? Building and using robots to learn about velocity, acceleration, force and energy.
• Joshua Probst, Windber Area School District, Windber ? Building an aquaponics greenhouse to learn about light, wavelengths, water chemistry and plant biology.
• Elizabeth Smith, Wasson Elementary, DuBois ? Learning the basic needs of plants and animals by building ecosystems.
• Beth Wardo, Philipsburg-Osceola Middle School, Philipsburg ? Building circuits to study electricity and magnetism. 
• Valerie Whyman, Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania, Huntingdon County ? Helping girls learn from scout leaders and teachers during their recess period during school.

"FirstEnergy has long supported educational activities in communities served by our Pennsylvania utilities, particularly those that encourage students to pursue careers in the critical fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics," said Dee Lowery, president of the FirstEnergy Foundation.  "We are pleased to provide assistance to so many STEM projects this year to support our students, schools and educators as they work to help build a strong workforce for the future."  

FirstEnergy offers grants up to $1,000 to individual teachers and administrators at schools served by its electric utility operating companies and in communities where it has facilities.  Company-wide, these grants totaled almost $70,000 in 2017.        

Grant recipients are recommended by local educators who make up FirstEnergy's Educational Advisory Council.  As part of the program, recipients must furnish a written summary and evaluation of their projects that can be shared with other educators in FirstEnergy's service area.

Penelec, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., serves approximately 600,000 customers in 31 Pennsylvania counties.  Follow Penelec on Twitter @Penelec and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PenelecElectric.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.  The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.  Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.