Dear friends and alumni of ESP and RESS,
I hope you’re doing well. We had a beautiful fall here in Happy Valley this year, and lots of warm sunshine days to make it enjoyable.
I’m excited to share with you that both ESP and RESS continue to thrive and we’re so proud of the work our current and former students are contributing to the greater good. This year, we celebrated our 200th student to graduate from the ESP program since it began in 2010. We continue to have students completing exceptional work throughout many of their classes, but in particular the capstone experiences for both ESP and RESS offer students the chance to step out from behind their computers and into real world challenges (and solutions!) with community partners. In addition to our Local Climate Action Program, we have students developing sustainability plans for businesses as varied as wineries and salons, implementing recycling programs on military installations, and creating greenhouse gas emissions inventories for hospitals, vocational school campuses, and more.
In other exciting news, we’ve launched two new graduate certificates—Energy Transition Strategies and Sustainable Energy Development. These certificates join our previous certificates in Solar Energy and Sustainability Management and Policy. Designed as stackable credentials, you can complete three of these certificates, earning those standalone credentials along the way, additionally take the capstone course, and earn the master’s in RESS. These are great options for our ESP graduates who might be looking for that next credential. Come back—we love having you in our classes!
This fall semester, we launched an effort to engage current ESP capstone students with alumni of the program to learn about how their degree has influenced their career. Similarly, we’ve welcomed a few alumni to guest lecture in some of our courses. We are always looking for ways to stay connected to you and the important work you’re doing. If you’d like to stay connected, please email me (brobinson@psu.edu).
Sincerely,
Brandi J. Robinson
Associate Teaching Professor
Director of Advising for Energy and Sustainability Policy