For the past year I was able to participate in the Energy Fellows Program. This is a year long internship where you gain experience in the energy/ environmental field while also taking professional development classes. Every fellow is placed into a different internship, and this year I was an energy fellow on the Efficient Buildings Fund.
As a fellow on the Efficient Buildings Fund (EBF) I worked with the Office of Energy Resources (OER) and Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (RIIB). EBF is a low interest loan that is provided to municipalities and school districts that want to do energy efficiency upgrades or install renewable energy. I worked with municipalities that have applied to EBF to provide assistance with energy management plans that are required on the application. I also worked a lot with Energy Star Portfolio Manager, which is an energy benchmarking tool used to track energy consumption. I updated usage and cost data for municipal and school buildings that were on the Portfolio Manager in Rhode Island. I was in contact with many municipalities and had to hand off the accounts on Portfolio Manager to the municipalities so they could track their own energy usage and cost.
I learned a lot about myself during this fellowship. I got a lot of great experience since it was a year-long fellowship, and I made a lot of great contacts in the municipalities and at OER. I was able to strengthen my Excel skills, which will be really helpful in the energy industry. I also gained some professional skills through the fellowship, for example networking, sending professional emails, going to meetings, finishing up a project with a contract, and also having interns. While it was a long year and can be at times difficult to make tradeoffs, this fellowship is a great program that has provided me with many skills and has prepared me even more for getting a job once I graduate.
Mary Colbert
2017
Rhody Green 