AEP pouring $250K into W.Va. high schools

ELKVIEW, W.Va. (WSAZ) - AEP on Wednesday granted $250,000 to the West Virginia Education Alliance, which will allow the West Virginia Ready Internship program to expand to different high schools in the state.

The quarter of a million dollar check is meant to be spread across the program for five years.

Officials say the internship program is meant to prepare high-schoolers for the future by giving them a crash course of different professions.

A couple of students at Herbert Hoover High School are part of the program there, and they’re working on a capstone course with AEP; company mentors help them with hypothetical situations that could happen on the job. Students say the program is preparing them for the future.

“I know what I kind of want to do in the future but I’m not 100 percent sure, so I love learning about all the different jobs ... in just one company,” senior Jacob Swecker said.

Three schools in Kanawha County offer the internship program: Herbert Hoover, Capital High School and St. Albans High School.

As the money begins to circulate, that will change in the future.

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