FirstEnergy Supports JA Inspire Events
FirstEnergy’s team of Employee Ambassadors, including (l.-r.) Dr. Rosheadra Edwards, Kelly Curry, Neil Keating, Jared Chapman, Jonathan Schneider, Josh Shields, Nick Rochford and Chris Petit, helped promote our company and careers at Junior Achievement’s Inspire Canton March 6 event.
March 21, 2025
It’s never too early for young people to start thinking about their future careers – and acquiring as much knowledge about potential job pathways is critical to the process.
Empowering students with information about career options and opportunities in our local communities is important to FirstEnergy. That’s why we’ve partnered with the national nonprofit organization Junior Achievement (JA) through our Ambassador Network to help guide high school students as they consider different occupations.
Ambassador Network members recently volunteered at two JA events.
“We showcased FirstEnergy as an employer of choice at two North Central Ohio Inspire career fair events this year held at the Richland County Fairground in February and at Canton’s Hall of Fame Village in March,” said Neil Keating, Staff Business Analyst, Operational Strategy, who volunteered as a FirstEnergy Ambassador at both events.
These Inspire program* events were well attended by large numbers of high school students from neighboring counties and each were a full day affair featuring more than 100 northeast Ohio businesses and organizations. This year’s attendees numbered 3,600 students in Canton and 860 in Richland. FirstEnergy also plans to participate in a third Inspire event hosted in Wayne County this October.
In addition to hosting an information booth at the events, employees also highlighted interactive elements for students, including safety demos from our Live Wire Safety Trailer, company bucket truck and fun greetings from Louie the Lightening Bug.
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Junior Achievement (JA) is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for the future and make smart academic and economic choices. A critical part of this mission is JA’s Inspire events, which function like career interest fairs for high school students, allowing them to meet area employers, talk to employees and gain first-hand insight into job options and the skills needed to be successful in certain occupations. “JA provides a great opportunity for employees to live our core values by serving the community and educating youth on the variety of exciting careers available at FirstEnergy,” said Jonathan Schneider, Manager, Transmission Planning & Reporting, who serves as a board member of Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio. “At each JA Inspire event we’ve had great participation from employees across the organization representing a multitude of disciplines.” |
“Most high schoolers are not set on a specific career path once they graduate, so we tell them about FirstEnergy and the different careers at our company,” explained Neil. “We try to make it as engaging as possible and cover the diverse career options a Fortune 500 company like FirstEnergy has to offer.”
He says the key to grabbing students’ attention is to spark conversations based on their personal interests – and present a diverse array of career possibilities.
For instance, if students enjoy working outside and not being tethered to a desk, Neil tells them about hands-on jobs in line or substation work. If they excel at subjects like computers, math or writing, he mentions careers FirstEnergy offers in the fields of Cyber Security, Finance and Communications.
“We try to make everything relatable and approachable for a high school audience,” said Neil. “To see the Inspire program in action is a rewarding experience for both the students and volunteers.”
Emily Gibson and Shannon Wagner (as Louie the Lightening Bug) helped bring the energy and fun to high schoolers attending Inspire Canton.
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