Congratulations to Class of 2022! After years of hard work and study, many of our graduates are venturing into the energy and sustainability fields. Many students are taking leadership positions – learn more about those graduates most likely to make an impact.
Alka Bhide graduates in June 2022 with a master’s in energy and sustainability – a degree administered by the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN) and conferred by the McCormick School of Engineering.
What are your plans after graduation?
I will be on the Head Strategic Risk Advisory team for BMO Bank in their Toronto headquarters, which develops the risk policy for the amount of sustainable lending the bank does, and I will work with the bank’s government relations team to help work with the federal and provincial governments and trade unions on effective decarbonization strategy.
How will you pursue energy and/or sustainability in your work and why is this work meaningful for you?
I will be involved with limiting lending to the fossil fuel industry and increasing the amount of lending to renewable energy and circular economy projects around Canada. This will promote an overall decarbonization of Canada’s economy. Banks finance most of the largest carbon emitting industries in the world and changing the amount of financial support given to these industries will force these industries to adapt and advance their anti-pollution practices to retain funding and/or forced to go extinct since they will receive less and less financial support. This role is extremely meaningful and will provide the opportunity to help positively shape Canada’s industries to make them greener and more sustainable.
What did you learn at Northwestern that you expect to carry with you into the future?
The MSES program’s focus on an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability financing—from policy to technology to economic modeling. Now, as I continue to learn beyond this degree, I have the blueprint this program gave me to evaluate future legislation, innovation, and technological change within the industry. Moreover, I feel incredibly fortunate to have developed such a wonderful professional network of individuals between the alumni, faculty, and fellow cohort members who are doing such exciting things in sustainability. I look forward to fostering these relationships for the years to come.
Taylor Bradshaw graduates in June 2022 with a master’s in energy and sustainability administered by the ISEN and conferred by McCormick.
What are your plans after graduation?
Later this summer, I will be starting on the project development at Invenergy, a Chicago-based renewable energy project developer. While I’ll be based in Chicago, I will work on solar and wind projects in my home state of Michigan. Supporting renewable projects in Michigan has been a long-term goal of mine, and I couldn’t be more excited to start this work.
How will you pursue energy and/or sustainability in your work and why is this work meaningful for you?
Michigan is flush with opportunities for energy and sustainability. Not only is the state surrounded by a significant amount of the world’s freshwater, but Michigan state policies are favoring energy and environmental justice efforts. Additionally, Michigan residents have a higher energy burden than many other states, as the average cost for electricity is higher than other states. I will help in adding lower cost, renewable energy sources to the grid while simultaneously infusing capital from these projects into associated towns. Renewables create new jobs, displace fossil generation, and generate tax revenue for towns and communities. I am really excited to support communities in the equitable energy transition.
What did you learn at Northwestern that you expect to carry with you into the future?
The research for our MSES practicum and through Mark Pruitt’s energy regulation class. Mark’s class provided real life guidance around energy markets and the challenges within energy regulation and permitting that I will use in my career at Invenergy. In our practicum presentation, we researched incorporating environmental justice into a Power Purchase Agreement and built a guide for implementing these types of projects. I will be able to weave what I learned about energy justice and environmental justice into my work.
Sam Liu graduates in June 2022 with a bachelor’s in communication studies from The School of Communication, a minor in environmental policy and culture, and a certificate in integrated marketing and communications from Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.
What are your plans after graduation?
I will be staying in Chicago and working remotely for the Climate Reality Project, an environmental non-profit based in D.C.
How will you pursue energy and/or sustainability in your work and why is this work meaningful for you?
As a digital communications coordinator at the Climate Reality Project, I will be drafting emails, blogs, and other communication pieces. The reality of climate change and governmental inaction surrounding the issue can be immobilizing, but I want to encourage people to continue to take action, from personal habit changes to collective action. If good PR and marketing (and lobbying dollars and government subsidies) can keep the fossil fuel industry afloat, maybe it can also stop them from killing the planet and the beings on it.
What did you learn at Northwestern that you expect to carry with you into the future?
Environmental policy and culture classes have taught me just how inextricably intertwined climate change is with other global issues, like democracy, racial injustice, and public health. This will serve as a foundation for thinking about how to effectively communicate with those who may not necessarily care about climate change, but about related issues. Co-founding the Northwestern University Thrift Store has taught me that as long as you are passionate about helping your community, other people will join you.
Jessica Matthys graduates in June 2022 with a master’s in business administration from Kellogg School of Management, with majors in finance and marketing and pathway in energy and environment.
What are your plans after graduation?
I will be working at C3.ai in Redwood City, California as a product manager for energy and sustainability applications.
How will you pursue energy and/or sustainability in your work and why is this work meaningful for you?
In my role at C3.ai I will be creating AI / Machine Learning applications to support other businesses in measuring and improving their carbon footprint, ESG score, and utility bills. By working at the intersection of climate and tech, I will be fulfilled knowing I am working on innovative technology products to make the world a better place.
What did you learn at Northwestern that you expect to carry with you into the future?
So many things! A few highlights: how to communicate the importance of climate and sustainability to business leaders in all departments, how the ecosystem of VC’s and startups work, why it is so hot in the climate tech space right now, and how to leverage my core business skills—finance and marketing—to be embedded in the core business as a climate change agent. All of these come through experiences via Social Impact classes and clubs at Kellogg, ISEN electives through the MSES program, and my time as co-chair of the ClimateCAP 2022 conference, which Kellogg was selected to host. Not to mention, learning from all the amazing classmates that have an interest in climate and sustainability in some form.
Ruth Olson graduated in March 2022 with a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from McCormick.
What are your plans after graduation?
I will be pursuing my master's degree in sustainable water environments at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
How will you pursue energy and/or sustainability in your work and why is this work meaningful for you?
I hope to use my MSc in Sustainable Water Environments to increase access to potable water and mitigate the harmful effects of polluted water across the globe.
What did you learn at Northwestern that you expect to carry with you into the future?
I did not realize I was interested in sustainability until I got to Northwestern. One of the classes that I know will stick with me is ISEN 230 Climate Change and Sustainability: Ethical Dimensions. This class made me a more thoughtful engineer, and I know it will color how I go about my work in the future.
Maurya Patel graduated in March 2022 with a master’s in mechanical engineering and specialization in energy and sustainability from McCormick.
What are your plans after graduation?
I'm presently a Test Engineer at Mainspring Energy.
How will you pursue energy and/or sustainability in your work and why is this work meaningful for you?
At Mainspring we are building industry's first linear generator to maximize efficiency, resilience, and flexibility in electricity production, while significantly lowering both emissions and cost. Our linear generators are fully dispatchable and able to track both electricity demands and renewables production. They can also seamlessly switch from renewable fuels such as biogas and hydrogen to conventional fuels such as natural gas and propane. Every unit installed builds out the national infrastructure for renewable fuels.
What did you learn at Northwestern that you expect to carry with you into the future?
At Northwestern, I learned to build a systemic approach towards sustainability and appraise practicality of solutions. My courses taught me diverse skills to apply towards building sustainable solutions. I have built great connections with like-minded individuals that share my concern towards climate change and care about engineering solutions towards its mitigation and adaptation. These I expect to lean on in the future.
Liliana Sydorenko graduates in June 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a minor in economics from the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences.
What are your plans after graduation?
I will be a sustainability audit and assurance assistant at Deloitte at the company headquarters in Manhattan.
How will you pursue energy and/or sustainability in your work and why is this work meaningful for you?
My role will involve supporting companies across industries towards advancing their sustainability trajectories. I look forward to conducting audits of clients’ sustainability trajectories, working with their leadership to developing realistic and ambitious goals, and designing metrics for ensuring transparent and measurable progress. I also hope to be involved in sustainability strategy development and implementation.
What did you learn at Northwestern that you expect to carry with you into the future?
This work is incredibly meaningful to me. Through my joint coursework in environmental science and economics at Northwestern, I have deduced that the private sector is our most powerful lever for change. While government and nonprofits play extremely important roles, companies hold massive untapped potential for rethinking their business models, restructuring their supply chains, and innovating in their production and operations. I am so grateful and excited to be working with companies to push our collective imagination about what it means to be "sustainable" and create social and economic value in the process.
Boyang Zhou graduates in June 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Weinberg, as well as a minor in data science and the ISEN certificate.
What are your plans after graduation?
I’ll be working on Morgan Stanley’s Power & Utilities Coverage team.
How will you pursue energy and/or sustainability in your work and why is this work meaningful for you?
The Power & Utilities Coverage team provides financial advisory services to power, renewable energy, and clean technology companies. When I interned last summer, my team developed a strategy for taking an energy storage company public, and I saw firsthand the role financial institutions play in promoting sustainability. Access to capital is critical for the growth and scaling of companies that are part of the energy transition, and I am excited to further explore this space.
What did you learn at Northwestern that you expect to carry with you into the future?
Northwestern showed me how there is something to be learned from every single person that you meet. I grew up in a small town in the suburbs of upstate New York and coming to Northwestern provided me with exposure to an incredibly diverse set of perspectives. I’ve met people from all sorts of backgrounds during my time here and am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from them.