CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- About 100 Charlestown High School students are working on a project that will provide electricity to a village in Guatemala.
On Thursday afternoon, people gathered in the auditorium at the school for the kick-off of the cooperative.
"It has really moved our whole class," said Peyton Teepe, a senior at Charlestown High School. "It has made us really want to get into this project."
This semester, students will work with Clark County REMC employees and learn what it takes to provide electricity to a village with no power.
"It really is life-changing," said Brian Omerso with Clark County REMC.
A classroom has been turned into a workplace simulation lab, where students will learn and work with experienced linemen.
"We want to show them that ... in their math classes, engineering and science classes, they're doing more than just learning things so that they can get a grade," Omerso said.
Simone Murray, executive director of the DirectEmployers Institute, connected REMC with the high school. She also made another connection during the kick-off.
"I shared with the students, when I was 13, that was the first time I experienced electricity," said Murray, a native of Jamaica. "I remember the day the light was switched on, and we stood there for about an hour just like enamored by the brightness of it."
After hearing Murray's story and seeing a video from the village in Guatemala, students were more than motivated to get started.
"It's really hard to believe that somebody doesn't have electricity in their home, and I'm grateful that I get to change that," Teepe said.
Students are expected to start next week and wrap up in April.
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