Cultivating Diversity

NorthWestern Energy employee Michelle Black leads the diversity outreach program initiative in the Huron community, providing students with more real-world learning opportunities.

When NorthWestern Energy first began talking with Huron High School about diversity in the workforce, it was during a time when many businesses were unable to do much in person. But Michelle Black, NorthWestern Energy Human Resources Generalist, knew this was the perfect opportunity to start building relationships with community members — and it paid off!

diversity outreach program initiative in the South Dakota communities. Huron High School’s diverse student population makes it ideal for this initiative.

Michelle Black, NorthWestern Energy Human Resources Generalist, attends a career fair in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Michelle leads our diversity outreach initiative.

Michelle was looking for ways to improve diversity in the workplace. After COVID, she knew she wanted to start the initiative quickly.

“It took probably a good six to nine months with everything else that we had going on to get clued into who the right people were to talk to,” most beneficial for students, Michelle found an opportunity.

It all started with a phone call.

Once Michelle found someone she could work with within the school system — a career advisor through the Department of Labor who is embedded in the Huron area — things began falling into place quickly.

“And that’s when we started talking,” Michelle recalls with a smile. “What could we do?”

Michelle said she wanted to educate students about what careers in energy involve so they could make informed decisions about their education. “We talked about what they were looking for, what we were looking for, and it seemed like a perfect fit.”

The two discussed a potential scholarship program for students pursuing careers in the energy industry. They also discussed sponsoring students interested in energy-based programs such as welding, gas technicians, or electrical engineering and eventually getting them into NorthWestern Energy’s job pipeline — and ultimately hired!

From there, Michelle developed meaningful connections between NorthWestern Energy and the Huron community. For example, NorthWestern representatives have attended career day visits to high schools, educated students about the energy industry and provided behindthe-scenes job shadowing.

Last October, two Huron High School students got a behind-the-scenes look at life as a lineman with NorthWestern Energy.

The students arrived around 8 a.m. at the Huron Operations Center, where they were given personal protective equipment and a brief overview of the type of work they would witness during their job shadow.

Students from Huron High School participated in a job shadow with NorthWestern Energy employees as part of our diversity outreach program.

The group then traveled down to LSI (Jack Link’s) in Alpena to shadow linemen crews working on-site. “They were able to see a lot of the equipment and tools the guys work with daily,” Michael Baumgarn, Electric Operations Supervisor, said. “Both individuals seemed engaged and were asking questions.”

The biggest takeaway from this experience was the students see- ing what a lineman does on the job. They came up with questions about the tools, equipment, and other things the linemen work with daily.

They got to try on special gear and saw lots of high-voltage equipment and tools the line workers use daily. The line workers were happy to share their thoughts and answer questions.

“A couple of the younger line techs were able to share some expeareas also,” Michael said. “I’m grateful our younger line techs were willing to share thoughts,” Michelle added.

“The most important part was that they saw an opportunity for themselves,” Michelle said. “Seeing the job firsthand helps them to understand how they can get there.”

Field experience is an excellent way for students to learn about a particular job. Learning about something you might want to do in the future can make future decisions more meaningful.

But, Michelle believes that the overall goal of getting diversity in the workforce is more critical than individual gains. “I think getting students job-prepared is more important,” she said. She continued to emphasize that the key is that students in the community know they can go to any of the trade schools and have a chance to be hired.

Ultimately, NorthWestern is looking to provide students with more real-world learning opportunities. This program is a step in the right direction, and its success showed us that we need to be responsible for creating this type of experience for high school students.

“We are proud of all we have accomplished in educating students of diverse backgrounds on energy careers and utilizing our employees as mentors and resources to connect with those who would not otherwise hear about careers at NorthWestern Energy,” Michelle said.

The future looks promising for this program as it continues to grow, and the relationships between the Huron community and our team continue to grow stronger.

“Diversity is a cornerstone of our business, and by embracing diversity, we can reach our full potential as a company,” Michelle said.

By Alissa Byrd