The 2023-24 cohort of the Center for Energy Education’s Radiant Rays ambassador team each received scholarship checks at a ceremony in their honor Friday.

The students are:

Shaniah Daniels, a rising junior at Rapids Early College

“It means to me that I would like to make a change in this world by inducing solar careers around the world and trying to get outreach to different children on how they get into different programs such as this one.”

She said, “It means a lot to me to get selected and means a lot to me that they saw the potential for the interview and honestly I have learned a lot throughout this process.”

Aleigha Allen, a rising senior at Northwest Collegiate and Technical Academy

“I hope to be able to put this on my resume and have more people look at it when I go to college.”

She said, “I am very excited about this opportunity. It means I have the potential to do anything. I was very skeptical about this but when I first started I’m like, ‘OK, I can do this.’ At first I didn’t think I was going to be chosen. I want to be able to tell my community about the things that we do here at the center and I want to be able to inform the younger kids in community outreach.”

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Jada Newsome, a rising junior at Halifax County Early College

“I feel special because it’s not an opportunity everybody gets. It’s not something that everybody can wake up and do and ‘I get to go here or go to the governor’s office.’ I feel special.”

She said, “It was mainly the opportunity (to apply for the program). I saw people promoting this who go to my school. I’ve seen different people show where they went. This was something I thought I’d be interested in so I could get my name out. I can take this and apply it on my resume. This could be an experience.”

Taniyah Alston, a rising junior at Halifax County Early College

“I felt like this was a great opportunity for young women of color. You don’t see a lot of people that look like us in this industry so I thought it would be interesting to show our community that we could get there.”

She said, “It’s been a really great experience. I really had a lot of fun with the girls. I formed a bond with them I really didn’t think I would form. I didn’t know a lot of them at first so being able to bond with them every day — we have created a great friendship.”

Yamara Brooks, a rising junior at Weldon STEM High School

“I want to go to college for astrophysics and finance. Astrophysics is something I’ve always been interested in. In finance, you can find that everywhere and so in case if I ever needed a job, finance is needed everywhere — financial aid, people who need help with accounting.”

She said, “I think this (the program) is a great business opportunity to network — I love that. And I love the things I’ve learned here. One thing I loved the most was the microgrid workshop and how we can incorporate that into our daily living. At Dominion Energy we learned how they built the solar panels.”

Akiyah Tillery, a rising junior at Halifax County Early College

“Once I complete college I see myself getting a job, being a veterinarian and working with animals. I would like to be a traveling veterinarian and help everybody with their animals.”

She said, “I’ve seen how wide (this opportunity) was and what they were doing was good and how they got to see everything dealing with solar. I wanted to get this opportunity because I learned there was more than just global warming, recycling and everything — I really found out more about what I can do to help the world. Growing up I didn’t really have any snow days. I want more snow days, I want my friends to have more snow days. I want to make a change.”

Junyra Gwynn, a rising junior at Northwest Collegiate and Technical Academy

“This program means a lot to me. When I heard about it I saw it as a program for women of color and I wanted to be a part of that group. When I first heard about it I didn’t know a lot about solar energy or climate change. When I found out the impact that it had on the earth I wanted to learn about it to see if I could make a difference.”

She said, “It’s helping me to expand my knowledge. As far as marine biology we went to the coastal studies institute and that really wowed me because I’m not used to seeing people work on the water like hydro energy. That was just mind blowing to me but it expanded my knowledge more. I would take a career in that but my focus is to be a psychiatrist. But it expanded my knowledge because I had no idea how much of an impact that we, just in the United States, have on climate change.”

Aja Madison, a rising junior at Halifax County Early College

“The reason I want to be a sports agent is because I love sports. I always sit with my uncle to watch games. I just want to make sure everything goes well in the sports industry now because there’s a lot of problems going on with it. I want to make sure the athletes have a good career. I’m fascinated by houses. I like giving tours and I have a good way of persuading people.”

She said, “(The program) means a lot to me because you don’t see a lot of programs now that have women of color. You never see a program that teaches you more about solar energy, climate change and clean energy.”

Ja’Kyla Hedgepeth, a rising senior at Northwest Collegiate and Technical Academy

“I’m at the top of my class in school and a lot of my teachers recommended it (the program) to me. I came here for an interest meeting with them. They told me all about it and I realized how good of an opportunity it was.”

She said, “I’ve learned a lot about (ways to address) renewable energy. I learned how much the U.S. takes up. Compared to many different countries we live large, very large, and that’s a problem. We’ve got to find something to do about it. I’ve got to see different places, different types of power buildings and learned about many different ways (to address) renewable energy.”

Mahkya Jones, a rising senior at Northern Nash High School

“I wanted to get into this program because I felt like renewable energy is not talked about enough. If I could come to somewhere where I could get the information and give it to my peers around me I would do anything to do that.”

She said, “(The program) means a lot to me because they only select 10 girls. Being selected for this was a great opportunity for me and it just gave me a peace of mind that they chose me so I’m going to do whatever they ask or what I need to do.”