Student Club Energized To Connect

NC State’s Student Energy Club is a student-led organization focused on creating campus connections between students, staff and faculty in the energy sector. 

“The idea was for [the Student Energy Club] to be a hub for students and faculty to discuss their ideas about energy and for collaboration to happen,” said Aditya Keskar, the club’s chair of special initiatives and a Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Engineering Ph.D. student.

The club launched in January 2019 from a request issued by NC State’s Energy Collaborative. With a grant from the Sustainability Fund, the club began offering a slate of educational events such as “Power Shift: The Future of Energy and the Women Shaping It” featuring women speakers working in the energy industry. The Student Energy Club also leads an energy seminar series to feature various researchers and policymakers as speakers on-campus.

The Sustainability Fund also supported the creation of the club’s Mentorship Program, which fosters connections between undergraduate and graduate students in the energy sector. Undergraduate students interested in learning about research, field experience and graduate school can apply to be matched with a graduate student mentor who has similar interests. 

This semester, the club is gearing up for NC State’s first annual Energy Week, a week of virtual events to increase visibility of the university’s energy use, research and opportunity to shape a clean energy future. Events include speakers from NC State and the private industry, as well as a panel discussion on energy justice. 

“Ultimately, our mission is to provide a platform for energy experts of today to educate the NC State community on the critical challenges that the energy system faces, as well as technologies being used to mitigate them,” said Martina Gonzalez Bertello, the club’s president and an Environmental Technology and Management student.

The Student Energy Club welcomes new members and has leadership opportunities available for students who are passionate about energy issues on campus and want to be a part of energy decisions.

“I believe our best is yet to come,” Keskar said. “We’re bringing the energy community together in one place on campus.” 

This post was originally published in Sustainability News.