In 2007, while in third grade at Robinson Elementary School, Laurensjai Humphries was paired with Akron Reads volunteers Nancy Grayem and Susan Lloyd, two longtime FirstEnergy employees who participated in the program through a partnership with Akron Public Schools.

As you speed-read forward 10 years, the plot thickens: all three women now work for FirstEnergy. Grayem is an executive assistant in transmission operations, Lloyd serves as corporate librarian in the communications department and Humphries is recently employed as a customer service assistant in the customer contact center.

After the school year ended in 2007, Grayem and Lloyd lost contact with Humphries, but they are not surprised she has done so well.

'I knew Laurensjai had a lot of potential because she was a polite young lady with enthusiasm for learning,' Lloyd said. 'The program made me feel good about what our company was doing to help local students and I'm so happy to see Laurensjai again and welcome her to the FirstEnergy.'

Grayem - who always wanted to be a teacher - also volunteered with Akron Reads because of her love for children.

'Volunteering to tutor children in reading seemed a perfect fit,' she said. 'I couldn't be happier to know that our efforts made an impact on Laurensjai.'

Humphries' work ethic as a student has carried over to her career.

Valvetta Sanders, supervisor in the customer contact center at FirstEnergy, said Humphries is a hardworking, motivated employee who stays focused on tasks, eagerly looks forward to training to enhance her skills and is the first to volunteer for new projects.

'Laurensjai is reliable, consistently meets deadlines and is an asset to FirstEnergy,' said Sanders. 'I'm proud of her success.'

Akron Reads' motto is, 'Opening Doors to Endless Possibilities.' Due to their compassion for others, Grayem and Lloyd walked through the doors of Robinson Elementary. Because they made a difference, Humphries walked through the doors of FirstEnergy a decade later.

FirstEnergy Corporation published this content on 16 January 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 16 January 2018 21:39:02 UTC.

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