Keeping the Lights On: S&C Electric Field Trip

By: Naomi Oster

Happy Lights On Afterschool 2024! This year, on October 24, 2024, ACT Now’s celebration of the national day for afterschool included a field trip I convened for thirty-six middle schoolers to S&C Electric, on Chicago’s north side. When our amazing partners at the National Girls Collaborative Project and Wesco, reached out, interested in hosting afterschool programs at S&C Electric, I immediately invited students from Clinton Elementary‘s and Chinese Mutual Aid Association‘s STEM Clubs. 

Across Illinois, twenty-seven afterschool programs are supported by ACT Now as local STEM Clubs. These community programs serve youth grades third through eighth, made up of youth from low-income families, students of color, and young women. Each STEM Club seeks to advance an engineering mindset and increase computational thinking capacity. ACT Now provides a STEM curriculum, all materials, and engaging facilitation techniques for each Club. These high-impact programs demonstrate what it means to be quality afterschool.

At the field trip, students from both programs raved about the field trip. One Clinton Elementary student shared that on a scale of one to five: “I’m giving it a ten! If I had eleven fingers I would give it an eleven!” Students explored the power of S&C Electric products by engaging in augmented reality and hands-on activities. They met real-life engineers and manufacturers, exploring the variety of career paths accessible to them in their backyards! 

I was struck by another comment from a Chinese Mutual Aid Association student who, upon seeing the robotic technology utilized at S&C Electric said, “This seems like a place that should be downtown.” I spoke with the student about the power of a place with the resources and technology of S&C Electric being located in her neighborhood. Chicago is a city of beautiful neighborhoods, yet often, kids who grow up here don’t have many opportunities to explore outside of the two-mile radius of their home or school. 

I would know; I was one of those kids growing up. I want to thank S&C Electric for being a great reminder of the power held within our communities and opening up its’ green gates to a group of neighborhood kids.

Teri McElrath, our gracious S&C Electric host, said it best, when she exclaimed, “S&C keeps the lights on!” 

Ultimately, during this year’s Lights On Afterschool, we celebrate the future engineers, manufacturers, artists, office workers, family members, and friends our young people will grow up to be. We’re keeping the lights on across Illinois, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; afterschool forever.