Deer Park, NY - May 25, 2016 - Girls Inc. of Long Island brought a group of 32 middle school girls to visit the National Grid Northport Power Station for the second year. The girls came from the William Floyd Middle School and all visited this site for the first time. The plant manager provided the girls with an overview of energy and how it is generated, maintained and sustained. Students engaged with women engineers and were encouraged to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). 

Visit to National Grid’s Northport Power Plant.

The girls were given hard-hats and safety goggles so that they could tour the plant and learn about its inner-workings and day-to-day operations. They toured the control rooms and got to explore the various areas of the plant that are integral to the safe and efficient delivery of power to Long Island. National Grid employees took time to explain the different career opportunities and engineering roles that various employees hold. 

Girls Inc. Long Island Executive Director, Neela Lockel said, “Our partnership with National Grid has been so valuable for the girls we serve.  National Grid has been steadily receptive and responsive to opportunities to work closely with our girls, and have provided them with inspiration and encouragement to explore STEAM careers!”

A panel of National Grid women engineers from all disciplines, chemical, mechanical, and electrical with various perspectives and experiences fielded various questions from the girls. Topics included career paths, college studies, gender bias, opportunities for advancement, and a strong emphasis on the lack of women in the STEM industries.  One of the girls asked “Did you always want to do this?”  The women shared their journeys to becoming successful engineers.

“This was a very energetic and engaging group, and it’s such a great opportunity to expose them to this industry and careers that they might not have considered before,” said National Grid Community and Customer Manager and Girls Inc. of Long Island Board Member, Kathy Wisnewski. “These young girls are able to see successful women in traditional male roles and we hope that inspires them to reach higher to create their own success stories.”

About Girls Inc.
The mission of Girls Incorporated® of Long Island is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold. We provide school and community based programming that serves the unique needs of girls, ages 5-18, living in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Through community partnerships, we help girls to achieve their full potential making their future brighter. Girls Incorporated® of Long Island is dedicated to the advocacy of gender equity for all girls in all areas of their lives. Through participation in our programs, girls learn the skills to become leaders in their communities, leading to exponential change. Learn more about our programs and advocacy at www.girlsincli.org.

About National Grid
National Grid (LSE: NG; NYSE: NGG) is an electricity and natural gas delivery company that connects nearly 7 million customers to vital energy sources through its networks in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the Northeast. National Grid also operates the systems that deliver gas and electricity across Great Britain.

Through its U.S. Connect21 strategy, National Grid is transforming its electricity and natural gas networks to support the 21^st century digital economy with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions. Connect21 is vital to our communities' long-term economic and environmental health and aligns with regulatory initiatives in New York (REV: Reforming the Energy Vision) and Massachusetts (Grid Modernization.)

For more information please visit here, or the Connecting website. You can also visit Twitter, You Tube, Facebook and Instagram.