(More) Germany

I met with Sara and Professor Balmer today, to discuss approaching some more companies that might be willing to donate some money to our studying abroad cause.

Apparently Balmer has a few higher-up contacts with WE Energies, and was pushing them to help pay for us, with the return gift of us coming to their facilities and working with their employers, regurgitating all the information we will have learned on renewable-energies. But they would not listen to him, so he turned to Sara and I to try to get a puppy-dog-eyes approach put together, for us to call them up and approach them with. He figures that WE Energies will listen better, if it is the students themselves, taking the initiative with the company.

We're definitely not looking for a full ride from any company! But a nice little grant would help.

At first I was feeling kind of miffed that Balmer was pushing his work off onto Sara and I, but after some thinking I was actually honored that he remembered us, and that he recognized how our work ethic allotted us capable to do this. He remembered Sara and I being the professional, organized students of the group, who took it upon ourselves to solicit different companies at the UWM Fall Career Fair. So he knew we were easily qualified to make the conference call to WE Energies, to let them know of our plan:

Upon our return to the U.S., we would offer to teach various night classes to these employees, as well as tour local high schools and present to classes there, plus the classes at our own university. Apparently WE Energies turned down us students the first time, because we were just students, and not teachers, who could turn around and teach their knowledge to their American classrooms.

But Sara and I argue that we are just as good as any teacher: we specialize in engineering, and we are still considered more of a peer to the targeted audience, anyway. The kids would be willing to listen to us, and Sara already came up with a clever idea to suggest to the teachers to offer extra credit to any one of their students that would come to our seminar. Therefore, we get our kicks out of a large audience, WE Energies gets their kick by feeling good about sponsoring this "spread of knowledge," and the kids get their kick by earning extra credit, even if they do fall asleep or secretly play solitaire on their iPods while we are presenting to them.

Besides, WE Energies also gets the publicity of them sponsoring us. As Wisconsin's, namely Southeast Wisconsin's primal provider of energy, they could use that PR boost.

I did some research into the company, too, and although they campaign that they are pursuing renewable energies (what my German class is going to be about) through their "Power the Future" project, they really don't have much going for them once you read between the lines.

The only mention of their endeavors into renewable energies is that they have these vague "pograms to use wind, solar, and biomass renewable energy sources." Uhm, hello???? Wikipedia.com called and they want their search results back, how easy is it to say something light and fluffy like that??

The major overhaul that they are doing, yet titling as a "futurous" thing to do, is building two new coal-based units in Oak Creek, while simultaneously replacing two older coal-based units with two natural-gas based units. I don't really see how duplicating their sucking-up of our nonrenewable energies is considered a forward movement for them, because in a few generations that is going to come and bite 'em in the ass.

So, can it really hurt to give us five kids a try? A 3-week committment??

Meh, we'll see. I'm not going to sweat over it, even though I'm the one doing the calling. :)