PPL Gifts to Penn College Bring STEM Activities to High Schoolers

Published 06.02.2016

News

PPL is providing financial support for Pennsylvania College of Technology programs designed to provide educational experience in science, math, engineering and technology to high school students.

The gifts, totaling $5,500, will support a summer camp for high school girls and a program that offers Penn College courses in Pennsylvania high schools.



Courtesy of a donation by PPL, participants in Penn College’s SMART Girls summer camp will have access to the Carnegie Science Center’s Mobile Fab Lab, which is equipped with 3-D printers, laser and vinyl cutters, a Shop Bot and more. (Photo provided)A $3,000 donation will provide the funds needed to bring the Carnegie Science Center’s Mobile Fab Lab to the college’s annual SMART Girls summer camp. The camp is for girls in grades 9-11 and was developed to counter an alarming academic and social trend: Girls tend to shy away from math and sciences as they enter adolescence.

SMART (Science and Math Applications in Real-World Technologies) Girls provides young females the opportunity to experience math and science as a foundation for careers in technology.

This summer, SMART Girls campers will D.R.E.A.M. about digital fabrication, learning the science behind Designing, Rapid prototyping, Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing. They’ll get to work in the Mobile Fab Lab, a laboratory for innovation and invention equipped with 3-D printers, laser and vinyl cutters, a Shop Bot, and more. They’ll design a business plan and replicate a product that they believe can be successful in today’s market.

In addition to the Mobile Fab Lab, campers will visit Penn College program labs that provide students with the education to enter careers associated with digital fabrication.

An additional $2,500 gift will be used to support both SMART Girls and the college’s dual-enrollment program for high school students, known as Penn College NOW. This contribution was made through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program.

Penn College NOW enables high school students to earn both high school and college credits through freshman-level Penn College courses taught by approved teachers at their home high schools or career and technology centers.

Both SMART Girls and Penn College NOW are recognized as “innovative educational programs” under the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s EITC program, of which the Penn College Foundation has been an approved participant since 2011.

“PPL is pleased to be able to support the SMART Girls summer camp and provide EITC funds,” said Teri MacBride, regional affairs director for PPL. “Programs that provide opportunities to young people to explore and engage in science, technology, engineering and math are foundational to the growth of the future workforce. We look forward to a continued relationship with Penn College.”

PPL Corp. is one of the largest investor-owned companies in the U.S. utility sector. It is the parent of Western Power Distribution, Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, and PPL Electric Utilities. Among PPL’s philanthropic focus areas are science, technology, engineering and math educational programs. PPL is a long-standing Penn College benefactor, with monetary and in-kind donations alike, as well as representation on curricular advisory committees.

For more information about making a gift or establishing a scholarship fund to support Penn College and its students, visit online, email or call the Institutional Advancement Office toll-free 866-GIVE-2-PC (866-448-3272).

For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education and workforce development, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.