Program Stories

Brendan Pierce's (MSES ‘23) path to a future in clean energy began in the most unlikely of places – the baseball field.

Patrick Boyle's journey to water stewardship leadership and the MSES classroom began with his son’s own care for the Earth.

Molly Mollenkamp (MSES '21) pivoted to a career in energy and sustainability thanks to a trip to the Arctic. Today she helps electric utility companies manage their 'first fuel' — energy efficiency.

Michael Legatt’s career defending the electricity grid started in the wake of the 2003 Northeast blackout and now winds its way into the MSES classroom.

Said Al-Hallaj brings a quarter-century of experience developing technology to store power generated from renewable resources into the MSES classroom.

Chester White has shared his experience in the energy sector with MSES students, both in the classroom and as a career coach.

Alex Polzin’s class teaches MSES students how to read between the lines of ESG reports to ensure self-accolades match reality.

Two cohorts of MSES students helped the Illinois International Port District land a large portion of more than $95 million in EPA funding to create a more eco-friendly transportation hub.

Sarah (MSES ‘22) and Meg Ryan (KSM ‘26) each describe their own Northwestern direction toward full-time jobs in positions of environmental influence.

Incoming MSES student Marissa Martinez (MSES '25) shares her vision for the future and what it means to be the program's first STEM Promise recipient.

Grace Rumford offers guidance to MSES students informed by lessons learned from 15 years working in the energy sector.

Maria Keane (MSES ‘22) sees sustainability work as more than a job as she looks to create a better future for generations to come.

Corey Blumenthal shares how she helped the restaurant chain drastically reduce its carbon emissions and how MSES prepared her to have such a big impact.