Students in building performance programs come from all walks of life, and their careers can lead in different directions. Meet a few graduates as they reflect on their personal journeys, goals, and motivations.
Maria Garcia Alvarez – Commercial HVAC, Laney College (Oakland, CA)
Thanks to Laney’s HVAC program, Maria found a new future and career that is both rewarding and stable.
“I had studied architecture and was working in the construction industry, then the Recession hit–and I lost my job. I wanted to get trained on something that could resist anything, that’s why I chose this program. Through my experience in the construction industry, I felt this program actually would provide a recession-proof job. Heating and cooling are always necessary, the industry doesn’t stop because the recession hits.”
After graduating, Maria joined the Energy Management team at UC Berkeley, and she later was promoted to Asset Manager.
Learn more about Maria in this video.
Stephanie Brown – Building Automation Systems, Georgia Piedmont Technical College (Clarkston, GA)
After graduating as the first woman from this program, Stephanie first worked at McKenney’s, Inc. (Atlanta), where she coordinated building controls projects. Later, she joined Kratos Defense in Houston to manage building security projects.
“I was one of the first students in the program and being the only female, it was an amazing experience. Originally, I followed the traditional educational path attaining a BS in biology, then an MBA. However, I wanted to learn a skill which is not usually gained in the traditional path, and I saw lots of opportunity for growth and personal development through the BAS program. The program has been enhanced since I started, but I was able to learn the fundamentals by working with various trainers and learned troubleshooting skills through examining different controls products. An internship is required at the end to complete the program, and I will be starting at Siemens to gain experience in the field and put everything together.
I have had a very positive experience in this nascent program and it continues to improve in a ‘closed-loop’ fashion due to constant industry feedback and guidance. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the industry and also for learning about sustainable concepts in the Green Technologies Academy.”
William Escobar – Commercial HVAC, Laney College (Oakland, CA)
“As a senior in high school, I was looking for a program to meet my school’s graduation requirement. My mother, who was a Laney College student at the time, heard about opportunities generated through the ECT program. I was encouraged to apply and am grateful for the wisdom Nick Kyriakopedi, the ECT Department Chair, shared with me on the day I met him. Soon afterward, I enrolled in the evening program, excelled with an A average, and landed a job at Carrier Corporation.
I am now a top paid Journeyman technician with a prosperous career ahead. As a result, I helped my mother to retire and support my younger sister who will graduate from college this year. I purchased my first house in 2009 at the age of 20. This year, I was blessed with the opportunity to purchase a second house as a birthday present for my mother. It is astonishing to reflect back to just half a decade ago when the three of us were surviving on welfare after my father passed away. My life’s story is only beginning. I look forward eventually to becoming part of the outstanding faculty at Laney. My mission as an instructor will be to inspire a vision of success in my students and the belief that their vision can soon become their reality. I know because it happened to me.”
Brian Klippel – Facilities Maintenance Technology, Waukesha County Technical College (Pewaukee, WI)
Having started his career in 2001 as an entry-level maintenance technician, Brian has many years of facilities experience. While learning how to repair and maintain facilities on-the-job, he soon realized how beneficial additional education could be. Brian then enrolled in the Waukesha County Technical College Facilities Maintenance program.
“With the additional training and experience, I was able to quickly make vertical moves within my company. From Lead Technician to Assistant Maintenance Director to Facilities Director, I was eventually overseeing more than 2.2 million square feet of mixed-use lifestyle centers in two different states. In 2014, I was sought out by Bevara Building Services, a full-service facilities maintenance, and management company. Now I oversee field and business operations for close to 50 million square feet of real estate across the US.”
Hear more from Brian in this video.
Jasmine Shepard – Energy Efficiency Auditing and Sales, Laney College (Oakland, CA)
Jasmine is an engineer at Energy Solutions, a professional and engineering services firm in Oakland. Prior to this, she was an Energy Analyst at the Association for Energy Affordability (AEA), a non-profit specializing in conducting energy audits and energy analyses of multifamily buildings, evaluating energy savings, and designing energy upgrades. She had also worked as a Data Analyst at Solar City and spent over 3 years in the nonprofit energy efficiency and renewable sector.
Reflecting on her time in Laney’s Environmental Control Technology (ECT) department, Jasmine says, “I learned a lot of things in engineering school but I learned how to do so much more at Laney. Going to Laney helped me love learning again. I greatly enjoyed my time as a student and lab assistant in the ECT department. Laney really showed me how important community colleges are for such diverse groups, college graduates really have a lot to gain by furthering their education.”
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1204930. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.