Blog

Jan 03, 2012

Houston, Texas may not conjure up images of clean energy, but there are rising stars emerging from the steamy streets of the big city. Jennifer Amelang, a senior at University of St. Thomas, has been connecting people all around Houston to work on clean energy as a 2010-2011 & 2011-2012 Focus Coordinator as well as a 2011 ReCharge! Delegate. Read on to hear from Jennifer about her experience moving forward from ReCharge 2011.

As a 2011 Recharge! Retreat Delegate, with the guidance and help of Stephanie Pollack and Enrique Salmon, the retreat facilitators, I came to acknowledge the importance of saying “yes.” One sunny day on the south side of Mt. Hood, all twenty delegates stood in a circle. Stephanie encouraged us to yell out commands. In response, the group would reply with “YES!” while performing the task. “Whip your hair back and forth”…”YES!” *whipping our hair back and forth* The activity was fun, and saying yes is fun, but more importantly, I found that it was essential for me to let go of my insecurities and inhibitions and accept this affirmative philosophy. This exercise is especially true for educational experiences outside of the classroom, such as the retreat itself. Service-learning, hands-on experience, community activism- call it what you want; it’s authentic learning and has helped me to appreciate the words I might read on the pages of a textbook.

Returning home and returning to school, with the occasional exception of daydreaming of sunny faces and sunny places, I was amazed how easy it was getting back into my routine. However, I tried to periodically reflect on the experiences I shared. This semester I have continued to try to say “yes” and continued making connections in my local environmental community. I am a second year Focus Organizer with FTN, and I recently became an intern with the Council for Environmental Education. Within my school and community, I am attempting to engage various quadrants of students and faculty. I have teamed up with a politico and fellow student to put on an Environmental Week in conjunction with the FTN Forum. Also, I have contacted Technicians and Innovators from my school’s American Chemical Society (ACS) to present their biofuels research. To bridge the gap between Houston-based Universities, I have invited professors to speak from various schools. So far I have confirmations from two major universities in the area: Rice University and the University of Houston.

Throughout the semester I have come back to one memory and feeling. On the last day of the Retreat, in a moment of emotional catharsis, I realized and told the group, “I’m still such a baby.” We are all babies. We, perpetually, have the potential to grow, and saying yes to constructive experiences is one facet to building a successful and fulfilled life.

Jan 04, 2012

Energizing Service-Learning

by Jessica Earley

Here at Focus the Nation, we learn best by doing. We learn by engaging with super smart people on the cutting-edge of energy, we learn from listening to communities, and we learn through designing and implementing programs aimed at developing our next generation of clean energy leaders. Everyday, our staff members stretch their brains by learning through service. We find it uber-effective. The campuses and the students we work with in our Forums-to-Action program agree. That’s why our clean energy leadership development programs are designed to help people learn, grow and make a positive energy impact on their community.

Service-Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Service-learning has proven so effective that many campuses have departments dedicated solely to it or have partnered with our friends at Campus Compact to design and deliver service-learning opportunities to their students.

At Focus the Nation, our Forums-to-Action (F2A) program energizes service-learning, literally. Students go through a transformative community engagement experience centered on issues pertaining to energy; transportation, fuel, electricity, renewables, sustainability. While immersing in the F2A curriculum and planning a forum students learn about what the most relevant energy issues are in their community and collaborate to take action on it.

At the University of Portland, F2A student leaders have implemented a biodiesel project which will expand to include the surrounding community to create a “closed-loop, local energy-sourced lifestyle”. This project not only benefits the students on the UP campus, but also the North Portland community they call home.

The awesome F2A team at Gainesville State College in Georgia has chosen to energize service-learning with a different approach. The team is revving up for their February 15th, 2012 Clean Energy Forum which will help launch their Home Energy Audit project in their local community. These young leaders are serving their community by reducing energy bills while conserving energy.

If you are interested in energizing service-learning on your campus the first step is to let us know! We will be choosing our 2012-2013 F2A Campuses this spring!

Students can launch an F2A team!
Campus faculty/staff can launch an F2A team!

Or contact Marisa Pond, our Programs Coordinator, at marisa@focusthenation.org for more information.

Jan 13, 2012

Northern Maine Community College: Focus the Nation 2.0

by Anne Bertucio

Last year the Focus the Nation team at Northern Maine Community College (NMCC) hosted a wildly successful Clean Energy Forum focused on transmission problems because of their region’s northern location. Their event received tremendous applause (including special recognition from Senator Olympia Snowe!). This year the impressive NMCC student team is at it again, hosting “FTN 2.0,” a follow-up forum to discuss the progress made since last year, and map out the next steps in bringing renewable energy to their area. Check out this press release about FTN 2.0. You can keep up with the NMCC team on their state page.

Jan 20, 2012

The Forums are Coming!

by Colleen Butterfield

The end of January is fast approaching, and that means February will be here before we even know it. Our teams are working hard all across the country to put together some amazing forums on their campuses around clean energy and their communities. From California to Maine and almost everywhere in between, our Focus Coordinators are preparing to launch into discussions with fellow students and community members about how to move towards a clean energy future.

Elected officials have been invited, some of which are speaking; industry experts are preparing their talking points, teams are putting together their publicity strategies and so much more! Many of our dedicated FC’s are even working during their winter break to make sure their forums are a success.

Many of our teams are focusing on energy efficiency and reduction, which is a key action for every region. Other team themes are putting together feasibility studies for renewable options on their campus, how to replace coal, residential incentives for renewable energy, finance and investments in the clean energy sector, and the list goes on.

You can find an event in your area by visiting the Focus the Nation map or our Facebook events page. We hope to see you at a forum!

Jan 27, 2012

Intern with Focus the Nation

by Anne Bertucio

Portland. The town of specialty coffee, soccer, bicycling, and craft brewing. Young people might come here to retire, but they also come here to lead the way in sustainability, innovation, and renewable energy. Portland has quickly become an alternative energy hub, drawing businesses from across the globe and generating innovative organizations dedicated to clean energy, like Focus the Nation. Now is your chance to experience this incredible, dynamic industry with an internship at FTN headquarters!

FTN will be taking research interns and a business & community relations intern for the upcoming summer. While positions are unpaid, we offer unrivaled opportunities to gain hands-on work experience in the renewable energy sector.

Focus the Nation is the country’s leading clean energy youth empowerment organization. Since 2008, we have helped more than 300,000 young people embrace the challenges, excitement and realities of moving their communities toward clean energy solutions.

Please visit our Employment page to review the internship description and application process.

Look forward to seeing you in Portland this summer!

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