Suburban girls win ComEd STEM challenge

For three weeks this summer, 30 teenage girls from across the Chicago area worked with ComEd mentors to transform old refrigerators from ComEd's recycling program into solar-powered, electric race cars in a program aimed at fostering the STEM acumen of the workforce of the future.

The culmination of their work came in August as six teams of five girls raced their newly transformed fridge cars around the Picasso at the Daley Center in Chicago to win the Icebox Derby STEM Cup and other prizes. In a tight race, team Orange Flare - with members from Aurora, Roselle and Hanover Park - emerged as the winner and was awarded the STEM Cup.

Team Orange Flare members were Aditi Gurudutt of Hanover Park, who attends Bartlett High School; Deepika Ramchandain of Roselle, who attends James B. Conant High School; Sahaja Danthurthy of Aurora, who attends Still Middle School; Lugano Mwakatapanya of Aurora, who attends Oswego East High School; and Francesca Rogozinski of Indian Head Park, who attends Fenwick High School.

Launched in 2014, ComEd's Icebox Derby is designed to educate and empower young women to explore opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Data from the National Girls Collaborative project shows that while women earn more than half of bachelor's degrees awarded in the biological sciences, they earn far fewer in the computer sciences, engineering, physics, and mathematics and statistics.

"We developed the Icebox Derby to expose young women to a unique STEM experience and learn from ComEd mentors about their journey to a STEM-focused career" said Anne Pramaggiore, ComEd president and CEO. "Working together, they've done amazing work to prepare for the Icebox Derby race. We're hoping that these young women will be inspired by this experience, the work of their mentors and team members, and continue on a STEM pathway, and one day come back to work for ComEd. They are our workforce of the future."

More than 230 girls applied online to join the derby program, now in its fourth year. Each Icebox Derby contestant will receive a scholarship for completing the program. The first-place winners of team Orange Flare - will receive a laptop/notebook and an additional $1,500 scholarship.

Chloe x Halle, sisters and an R&B duo recently signed to Beyonce's record label, served as the emcees of the event. Attendees of the Icebox Derby Race Day event included Pramaggiore and several other ComEd executives, along with Icebox Derby team mentors, local business and community leaders, as well as an audience of contestants' family and the general public.

Icebox Derby cars are made of old refrigerators from ComEd's Fridge and Freezers Recycling program. Old refrigerators can consume as much as four times more energy than newer models and could cost up to $150 a year in electricity. ComEd's Fridge and Freezer Recycling program will pick up customers' old, working fridge or freezer for free, recycle it in an environmentally responsible way, plus send the customer a check for $50. More than 339,000 refrigerators and freezers have been recycled through this program. For information, visit comed.com/WaysToSave.

If you missed the Icebox Derby race, you can relive the excitement and find out more about the program by visiting iceboxderby.com. Followers can also track the Icebox Derby journey on social media by searching hashtag #IceboxDerby2017.