Gwinnett District Engineering Supervisor Mike Hudlow (top left) with Gwinnett County students

A Boy Scouts representative recently approached Jackson EMC employees in the Gwinnett district office about starting a technology exploration program for students, not limited to Boy Scouts, who are interested in the fields of engineering and technology.

“We’d never done anything like this before, but we decided to give it a try,” says Mike Hudlow, Gwinnett district engineering supervisor.  “This program is designed like existing Explorer posts with the Gwinnett County Fire Department and Police Department, but ours is geared towards introducing students to electrical engineering and other engineering careers.”

While they’d expected 25-30 students, 90 signed up to participate at the initial orientation.  The meeting began with a hands-on project to build simple motors and transformers, followed by a discussion on the electrical theory behind the project.  Later, speakers from the electric industry will be invited to discuss different career opportunities.

“Since there aren’t any existing electrical posts in our area, we are going to be flexible with our program,” says Hudlow.  “The main objective is to help these students learn more about real world engineering and technology.”

Though many other Gwinnett district employees are helping with the Explorer program, Mike Hudlow, Craig Roberts and Jan Williams organize the meetings.

To find out more about the program or joining next year’s group, Google Explorer Post 808 for their Facebook page or contact Mike Hudlow at mhudlow@jacksonemc.com.