Leadership Lauderdale students see future careers at Kemper

All too often when Mississippi’s high school students look toward a college or a career path, they think staying in the state isn’t an option.

However, with an average salary nearly twice the state’s median household income, the Kemper County energy facility is proving that good careers for young Mississippians are right here at home.

High school juniors from throughout Lauderdale County recently spent a day at the Kemper plant — part of Leadership Lauderdale, a selective leadership development course that aims to help keep Mississippi’s best and brightest in the state.

“This (the Kemper plant) is becoming a big vital part of our community,” said Patty Swearingen, County Coordinator for Leadership Lauderdale Youth Program. “Today their eyes were opened to what a good-paying career opportunity can be, especially for this area. They asked a lot of questions about what kind of majors and degrees they need to take it further.”

Leadership Lauderdale participants are selected from a rigorous application process in which their names are blotted out and strictly judged by the application’s merit. Then, each year from October through March, the program gives the students an up-close look at various career paths.

Most of the participants visiting the Kemper project honed in on Kemper’s chemical processing capabilities, the method of transforming Mississippi lignite into a gas, removing marketable chemical products from the gas, and then using what’s left to produce electricity.

“I’ve been looking into chemical engineering, and we got to talk to Manny Gatling (Kemper process engineer) about the courses you have to take to do that and also about what he really does, said Clancy Duggan, a junior at Meridian’s Lamar High School. “I thought that was really cool.”

The visit was hosted in conjunction with Mississippi Power’s partner in the Kemper project, Liberty Fuels, Inc., a subsidiary of North American Coal. Liberty operates the adjacent lignite mine, which will provide the Kemper facility with lignite fuel for the next 40 years — the plant’s expected lifespan.

“I’ve always heard about this place, but I’ve never seen it before,” said Kelly Bator, a junior at Meridian High School. “It’s great how many people are getting jobs from this. I want to do engineering, and talking with folks here really opened my eyes about what I need to do.”