I have always wanted to work in alternative energy. When I was in middle school I wrote a report for school on how beneficial mining Helium 3 from the moon would be for humanity, how much clean energy we could harness from it. Never mind the difficulties of getting there, or getting the Helium 3 back. Those monumental challenges seemed insignificant to me. A blip on the path to a promising source of energy. I was too excited by the possibilities. Throughout school I kept striving to reach the metaphorical moon. Searching for the best path to get me to my (literal) energy source. That path eventually led me to a Mechanical Engineering degree, and a job as a Field Engineer for Mortenson, one of the largest EPC firms in solar. With Mortenson I have learned that I am really interested in the electrical side of solar installations and that drove me to seek out further education in Electrical Engineering.As a student at University of Colorado in the Next Generation Power and Energy systems program I will be studying the integration of renewable energy onto our electric grid, and the technologies required to make it happen. I am so excited to have this opportunity and to be able to eventually apply what I learned in the industry.