Tennessee Valley Authority and Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated Honored as STEM Corporate Champions

The Tennessee STEM Innovation Network recently honored the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated (BVI), a TVA retiree organization, as the Network’s first Corporate Champion Award winners. The two organizations were recognized for their outstanding corporate leadership for the advancement of STEM education across the Tennessee Valley at the Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit in Nashville.

In 2019, TVA and BVI awarded $580,000 in STEM mini-grants to schools across the seven state Tennessee Valley region, with $400,000 supporting 161 public schools in Tennessee. Educators applied for funds to support STEM projects that would spark student curiosity and increase engagement. Each of the selected projects aligned with TVA’s focus areas, including environmental and energy exploration, community problem-solving, and career development.

Through the mini-grant award, students at Rock Springs Elementary in La Vergne will design and plant monarch butterfly habitats and study the impact of species repopulation. Students at Red Bank High School in Chattanooga will create water quality sensors to alert local rangers of sudden changes in water pollution and contamination levels.

“The mini-grant program provided educators with a unique opportunity to pitch an engaging STEM opportunity for their students and bring it to reality,” said Wes Hall, Executive Director of STEMx. “TVA and BVI’s leadership and investments in STEM education ensures that thousands of students across the Valley now have greater access to quality STEM learning opportunities that will expand their future horizons.

Besides the mini-grant program, TVA has further supported several other key Network STEM initiatives and serves on the TSIN Executive Council. In 2018-2019, TVA partnered with TSIN and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to engage Tennessee students in a design challenge focused on clean energy. Representatives from TVA supported the development of a curriculum guide for the challenge and served as judges for student projects.

Last year, TVA partnered with Tennessee educators to develop project-based curricular units exploring energy and electricity concepts. These lessons are housed on the TVA STEM Ready portal to promote accessibility for educators across the state. Lessons are taught through engaging stories and videos and encourage students to apply classroom learning to hands-on lessons.

This summer, TVA will host two educators at the Kingsport Boone Dam for a week-long externship through the TSIN’s Manufacturing and Engineering Externship Program. The educators will see up-close the STEM habits and processes that TVA engineers apply daily and will develop project-based curricular units to engage their students in the fall semester.

“Engaged corporate and community partners are essential components in advancing STEM opportunities statewide,” said Hall. “We are honored to recognize the leadership of TVA and BVI through the Corporate Champion Award and are grateful for the impact they have made on classrooms this year."