Future Leaders Get Inside Look at EM Mission Powering Nuclear Renaissance

High school students from across the United States and Canada gather for photos at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) headquarters. They recently took part in Washington Week, a leadership program hosted by Yuma Center that introduces students to government, public policy and national leadership through visits across Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eighteen high school students from across the United States and Canada recently visited the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) headquarters for an inside look at how public service, innovation and nuclear energy are shaping America’s future.

The students, from Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, and Quebec, participated in Washington Week, a leadership program hosted by Yuma Center that introduces students to government, public policy and national leadership through visits across Washington, D.C. EM interns joined them for the discussion.

EM Acting Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jack Zimmerman welcomed the students and shared his excitement about the opportunities emerging as America enters a new era of nuclear innovation.

“As a nuclear engineer by training, I can honestly say there has never been a more exciting time to be in this field,” Zimmerman said. “America’s nuclear renaissance is creating extraordinary opportunities for the next generation to innovate, lead and help shape our nation’s future.”

Hosted by Rosa Elmetti, EM's lead program manager for Nuclear Materials and Used Fuels, the visit explored how EM is helping enable America’s nuclear renaissance by applying decades of scientific and engineering expertise to help provide the reliable energy needed to power the technologies driving America’s future. Students also heard from EM professionals representing a variety of disciplines, gaining firsthand insight into careers in engineering, law, communications and policy.

“America has always been built by people who believed anything was possible,” Elmetti told the students. “Our country needs dreamers who are willing to solve hard problems, serve with purpose and help write the next chapter of American innovation.”

Students also reflected on America’s enduring legacy of nuclear leadership as the foundation to build a more prosperous future. The message was clear: The future isn’t something we wait for, it is something we build.