A couple of years ago, Baltimore Design School students participated in a design challenge issued by BGE to personalize three new EV (Electric Vehicle) charging stations destined for the Johnston Square neighborhood. Students learned that the project was part of an initiative with BGE and Mid-Atlantic Electrification Partnership to use grant funds issued by the […]

A couple of years ago, Baltimore Design School students participated in a design challenge issued by BGE to personalize three new EV (Electric Vehicle) charging stations destined for the Johnston Square neighborhood. Students learned that the project was part of an initiative with BGE and Mid-Atlantic Electrification Partnership to use grant funds issued by the U.S. Department of Energy to provide equitable access to clean transportation in an effort to help Maryland reach its net-zero emissions goals.

Students worked with the BGE marketing team and were briefed to create a design that met the specs of the charger, and was also something meaningful to them.  They met virtually with the BGE team several times before submitting their final digital creations.  Sierra House, current BDS 11th grade graphic design student, worked through several ideas that reflected her Baltimore experience, and ultimately focused on greenery to illustrate clean energy and a clean environment, along with a heart connecting the different branches (the community, BGE, Department of the Environment and other local and state government agencies).

The BGE Design team said “It was a very tight race as all of the designs were so wonderful and we wish we should turn them all into actual wraps for these chargers. However, in the end we could only pick one. We’d like to thank the students for their hard work and congratulate Sierra on winning this challenge.”  The BGE Design team then created the final design, based on Sierra’s concept and made the work ‘wrap ready’ for the charging stations.

On Tuesday, November 28, 2023, Sierra and her family joined BDS Principal Darrin Brozene, BGE President and CEO Carim Khouzami,  Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain, Executive Director Gabe Klein from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (U.S. DOE), Maryland State Senator Cory McCray, and other federal, state, and local officials for the ribbon cutting ceremony held in the parking lot of St. Frances Academy in Johnston Square.

Secretary McIlwain commented that “We are investing and getting ready for this [EV] transition every single day.”  She stated that the decision to put chargers in Johnston Square marks one step closer to equitable access to EVs in Maryland’s urban environments.

Senator Cory Mccray was proud that “ folks are recognizing Johnston Square”, citing the economic viability of the area and the historical significance of the placement of the charging stations within the St. Frances Academy parking lot.  St. Frances Academy is remarkable for being the oldest Catholic school committed to educating African Americans continuously in the United States; a sign of continued investment in the Black community and the impact that level of investment has on the city as a whole.

Baltimore Design School is proud that Sierra House is now part of that legacy as her work is memorialized in the new infrastructure Maryland and the City of Baltimore is committed to.