Turning Up the Power: GIFT Fellow Candice Jones  
by Andrew Kerr
October 2006
The Georgia Tech CEISMC Gazette

According to Google maps, it takes 1 hour and 21 minutes to drive from Jonesboro, GA, where environmental science teacher Candice Jones teaches, to Juliette, GA, where Jones worked this summer as a Georgia Intern-Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) fellow at Georgia Power Plant Scherer. Fortunately, Jones lives between the two cities in Griffin, which cut her daily commute down—to an hour.

Most of her summer work consisted of finding ways to educate employees and the public about Plant Scherer's operations. To do that required that she become familiar with many different aspects of the plant's operation. "I worked with everyone in the whole plant, from the chemistry department to the human resources department," she says.

One of her jobs was to confront popular public perception about the polluting practices of power plants (forgive the alliterative workout). Contrary to what detractors might think, "[Georgia Power] is very environmentally friendly," she explains, "and they're very concerned about the environment and what's going on. Truly, they're trying to stop emissions completely. There are hardly any emissions now from the coal plant."

One of the ways they are doing this is with "bag houses," which filter mercury out of the exhaust from the burning of coal. "It's a filter and it also uses activated carbon, like charcoal. It's like how an aquarium takes impurities out of the water."

As a teacher who every year sees another class of students graduate, Jones was particularly interested in the educational opportunities provided by Georgia Power. "Georgia Power does some tuition reimbursement," she says. "But they also offer a lot of good paying jobs for people with a high school education. They train you there."

Linda Castleberry, Jones's Compliance Team mentor at Plant Scherer, explains, "The education levels that we have at Plant Scherer run from one end of the spectrum to the other. We have high school graduates and people with masters. Mechancial and civil engineers, accountaints, administrative representatives, and a lot of people with MBAs in management." Entry-level positions include coal sampler, operations department, and auxillary equipment operator.

As a GIFT Fellow, Jones also had to come up with a plan to take back to her classroom. "We're going to study how electricity is generated in the power plants and how it affects the environment from the biproducts. If the students do well they will take a field trip to Plant Scherer."

In addition to her teaching (and moonlighting as a Georgia Power employee), Jones coaches Morrow High School's softball team. It's a hobby that seems to be in her blood. "I've been coaching since I was 12 years old. My dad was a softball coach, football coach in Clayton County. He was president of the Jonesboro Athletic Association for a few years. My mother coached also."

What does Plant Scherer get out of having a GIFT teacher? "From a PR standpoint I think it's important that the public know the truth and be informed about what we're doing," Castleberry says. Referring to the media, she notes that "Sometimes the message is not sent correctly from other sources. So I think once the teachers see what we do, and they see how much emphasis we put on environmental issues, and how much money we spend, that that's a real positive thing."

Plant Scherer is now advertising for entry-level jobs. So, if any of this sounds like something you'd be interested in, by all means check them out!