A pair of Career & Technical Education graduates returned on May 17 to help BOCES celebrate the opening of electrical vehicle charging stations on the new Career & Technical Education Center – Albany Campus.
Class of 2022 Game Design and Implementation graduates Gavin Christman and William Kruk joined their employer, Livingston Energy Group, and officials from Capital Region BOCES in marking the official start up of the new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
By adding EV infrastructure to the new campus, Capital Region BOCES is helping its students, staff and the community lead the shift to sustainable transportation.
Livingston Energy Group collaborated with BOCES to coordinate the installation of the eight new level two charging stations that are located on the east side of the BOCES Career Center and in the parking lot near Maywood Academy, said Kate Kruk, Director of Community Engagement with Livingston Energy Group and a Capital Region BOCES Career & Technical Education Advisory Board Member.
The stations on each campus can service four cars; BOCES charges those who plug into the stations 30 cents per kilowatt hour.
“We are pleased to offer this technology, and we are excited to be able to do so with a business partner like Livingston, which, as shown today, provides great opportunities for our students,” said Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Director Jeff Palmer.
Christman is a graduate of Cobleskill-Richmondville High School who completed an apprenticeship with Livingston Energy Group immediately following graduation and is currently employed as a paid intern with Livingston Energy Group. He is currently working as a software engineer with the development team that creates the backend software that monitors and manages the charging stations.
William Kruk, who was accepted into the RIT Game Design and Development program after leaving BOCES and Schalmont High School, opted to put his skills to work after successfully completing his first semester at the college. He returned to Livingston as a paid intern in January and is currently working with a team of developers supporting the Charge Port EV Charging mobile application which is utilized by thousands of drivers across the country.
“Livingston Energy Group is excited to see the charging stations powered up at the new BOCES CTE facility and is thrilled that the school and the community will be able to interact with the technology that their students are developing,” Kate Kruk said.
“Last year, I drove my short-range eight-year-old Chevy Spark EV to and from school every day,” said William Kruk. “It’s nice to think that with chargers at school, kids might find out sooner that it’s cheaper to charge a car than pay for gas. It certainly would have been easier for me if I could have plugged in while at school.”
“The new BOCES facility is pretty grand, and it makes sense to include new-generation equipment. It’s cool being part of the upgrade, said Christman.
After the ceremonial first plug-in at the new charging stations, the Livingston team joined Game Design & Implementation Teacher Darryl Nunn’s class to share their experiences with college, their careers and how their experience at BOCES has helped them.