Rockland Electric Company representatives visited with students Feb. 4.
PARAMUS, N.J. – Bergen Community College has partnered with Rockland Electric Company to create a mentorship program led by the institution’s STEM Student Union for intellectually disabled students enrolled in the College’s Turning Point program.
A $9,500 donation from the utility will not only fund the Orange and Rockland Scholars mentorship program, but install Rockland as a sponsor of the College’s annual STEM C^2 Research Summit in April.
Facilitated by the Bergen Community College Foundation, Associate Professor Joseph Sivo, Ph.D., began working with the scholars project – and four STEM Student Union members and seven Turning Point students – in fall 2015. To date, the group has converted an existing softball field house into a STEM workshop and conducted experimental testing with two wind turbines and a solar panel system they installed at the site.
During a recent visit to the College Feb. 4, the Orange and Rockland Scholars presented the progress of their work to company representatives, including Rockland Manager of Strategic Partnerships Linda Feger.
“STEM is the core to Rockland Electric’s business,” she said. “Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are all vital components to what we do day-to-day and, therefore, having students focus on these areas will make our company – and the upcoming workforce – prepared for the future.”
The Orange and Rockland Scholars project reinforces the College’s continued focus on STEM teaching and education. The federal government estimates U.S. employers will add nine million STEM jobs by 2022. In 2011, the College secured a $3.8 million U.S. Department of Education grant to fund the Graduation Pathway to Success Project, a five-year initiative to prepare STEM students for graduation, transfer to four-year schools and entry to professional fields.
Under the College’s Office of Specialized Services, the Turning Point program admits up to 15 students between 18 and 30 years old for a two-year, non-residential certificate program each year. Focus areas include academic enrichment, building vocational skills and developing self-advocacy, while preparing students for gainful employment and further independence. In 2015, the program received a multi-million-dollar federal grant to enable the expansion of the postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities.
Rockland Electric is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., which in turn is owned by Consolidated Edison, Inc.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 16,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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