Constellation Energy Corporation is building a stronger future for students and the community through its generous gift totaling $25,000 for student scholarships and the TRIO Upward Bound Program at Montgomery County Community College.

Constellation strives to make an impact in the communities it serves and where its employees live and work. According to its website, Constellation contributed a total of $12.5 million in 2022 in combined company and employee giving in support of more than 3,300 charities and organizations. Constellation initially presented a gift of $10,000 for MCCC student scholarships in academic year 2023-2024.

Then, through a mutual community partner, the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, MCCC and Constellation crossed paths again. Nora Embert, Organizational Effectiveness Manager at Constellation’s Limerick Generating Station, and Angela Scott Ferencin, MCCC’s Student Support Programs Manager, were among the 23 members of the Leadership TriCounty Class of 2023, which is led by Director Jenna Armato, Growth & Success Coach. As they participated in the 10-month program, Embert and Scott Ferencin got to know each other and realized they and their employers shared similar missions.

“Nora and I share a passion for helping young people achieve their goals,” Scott Ferencin said. “While in the Leadership Program, Nora shared Constellation’s commitment to the same values.”

One of the programs Scott Ferencin manages is the TRIO Upward Bound Program at MCCC. This program is part of the U.S. Department of Education’s TRIO Programs that serve low-income, first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities by helping them successfully progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.

At MCCC, students in the TRIO Upward Bound Program learn and develop skills, study habits, discipline and attitude to succeed in high school and college. Students receive academic advising; courses in career readiness, English, science and math; virtual college and museum tours; tutoring; and the opportunity to take free college courses. The program is available to qualifying students from the Norristown Area and Pottstown school districts at no cost to them. Currently, 63 students are participating in the program at MCCC.

“I first learned of the TRIO Upward Bound program when I met Angela in the Leadership Tri-County Program,” said Embert. “She shared with the class the mission of Upward Bound and it resonated with Constellation’s Work Force Development Program. We’ve been working over the last two years to build relationships with local schools to support underserved students with a passion for STEM. We already had a relationship with MCCC and Pottstown High School. Adding in Upward Bound program seemed like the next logical step.”

Her colleague, Laura Lynch, Sr. Manager Radiation Protection at the Limerick Generating Station, concurs.

“One of my favorite things about working for Constellation, especially at Limerick Generating Station, is the connection to the community and knowing that the work we do here at the Station is supporting our community,” said Lynch. “I can’t think of a better way to provide support beyond power generation to our neighboring community than to support MCCC and the Upward Bound program.  Supporting these sorts of programs ensures we continue to build future generations as advocates for climate changes and STEM fields in general.”

As a result, Constellation presented a gift of $5,000 to the TRIO Upward Bound Program and another $10,000 gift for MCCC student scholarships for academic year 2024-2025.

Several students from the TRIO Upward Bound Program recently visited the Limerick Generating Station to learn more about its operations through a hands-on experience in the simulator room, which is used for training employees. Each student was assigned a role during the practice simulation. In addition to learning about the generating station, the students saw and heard about different career opportunities.

“It was a pleasure having the students visit Limerick Generation Station,” Embert said. “We showed them around the simulator and even had them perform a rapid plant shutdown. I’m excited to see what this partnership will bring in the future.”

The visiting students included:

• Mark Ellison, President of Pottstown High School’s Class of 2023. He will be attending Ursinus College to participate in their dual degree program with Columbia University and majoring in Environmental Engineering.
• Talia Riley, who graduated from Norristown Area High School and will be attending MCCC to major in Tourism and Hospitality Management.
• Jaiden Stinson, who also graduated from Norristown Area High School and will be attending West Chester University to major in Business
• Jeremiah McCray, who is a junior at Norristown Area High School and is the President of the Class of 2024; he received an internship at DLL Financial Solutions and is interested in majoring in Education and Engineering
• Rahiyely Garcia Torres, who is a junior at Norristown Area High School and is the Vice President of the Class of 2024; she also received an internship at DLL Financial Solutions and plans to pursue a law career.

Since 2007, more than 880 students have participated in the TRIO Upward Bound Program at MCCC. The goals for participants include increasing academic performance, improving performance on standardized tests, increasing secondary school retention and graduation rates and increasing postsecondary attendance and completion rates.

About Constellation

A Fortune 200 company headquartered in Baltimore, Constellation Energy Corporation (Nasdaq: CEG) is the nation’s largest producer of clean, carbon-free energy and a leading supplier of energy products and services to businesses, homes, community aggregations and public sector customers across the continental United States, including three fourths of Fortune 100 companies. With annual output that is nearly 90% carbon-free, our hydro, wind and solar facilities paired with the nation’s largest nuclear fleet have the generating capacity to power the equivalent of 15 million homes, providing about 10% of the nation’s clean energy. We are further accelerating the nation’s transition to a carbon-free future by helping our customers reach their sustainability goals, setting our own ambitious goal of achieving 100% carbon-free generation by 2040, and by investing in promising emerging technologies to eliminate carbon emissions across all sectors of the economy. Follow Constellation on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Limerick

Limerick Generating Station's two nuclear reactors, located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, can produce up to 2,317 megawatts (MW) of zero-emissions energy, enough carbon-free electricity to power the equivalent of more than 1.7 million homes. Limerick sits on a 600-acre site and draws its cooling water from the Schuylkill River.

About the Montgomery County Community College Foundation

Established in 1983, the Montgomery County Community College Foundation provides scholarships for deserving students, grants for faculty projects, equipment and technology, emergency funds for students in need, support for cultural enrichment activities on campus and financial resources for other college programs and activities. The Foundation is able to make a difference in the lives of our students thanks to the generosity of alumni, parents, community friends, private foundations and corporations. To make a gift, visit the Foundation web page or call 215-641-6324.