Hi! I’m Abby!

Hello everyone. I’m Abby Watson, a 28-year-old wind energy professional just starting my fifth semester as a Penn State World Campus student. I am majoring in Energy and Sustainability Policy because I discovered a passion for renewable energy about 8 years ago while working for a construction risk management company that specialized in utility-scale renewable energy projects. My primary experience deals with the business side of renewable energy and I have found this program to be invaluable in regards to understanding and anticipating the policy changes that impact real-world business outcomes.

I grew up in central Maine in a big farming family that raised sheep and chickens and other small livestock and I moved to Philadelphia when I was 18 to attend Bryn Mawr College. I studied geology at Bryn Mawr for two years before I had to make the difficult choice to leave due to financial aid complications, but as luck would have it I found a good job shortly thereafter that resulted in a career in renewable energy that has included solar, wind, energy efficiency, and other technologies. At the same time, I discovered a strong interest in business and the way capitalism works and became very motivated to apply the principles of sound business management and entrepreneurship to promote the success of renewable energy.

Personally, I have not yet started a business of my own, but have been developing an idea for several years that I’m hoping to launch shortly after finishing school that focuses on providing cutting edge and modern media campaigns and public education programming for sustainable businesses of all types. I feel that renewable energy and sustainability issues suffer from a lack of competitiveness in terms of reaching a wide audience and delivering effective, impactful messaging. I am hoping to apply my experience in sales, marketing, and this educational program to provide a solution to those issues.

2 thoughts on “Hi! I’m Abby!

  1. Hi Abby!

    Social media is a really wonderful tool that has brought attention to so many causes and business around the world. Your instinct that to get sustainable energy off the ground by educating the masses about it is spot on. You mentioned capitalism and your enthusiasm for business. Do you see capitalism as something that can go hand in hand with being sustainable?

    http://sites.psu.edu/engr312/2014/08/31/hello-all/

  2. Abby,
    It is very nice to meet you. When I younger I had farm animals too, pigs, chicken and some sheep. Did you like Geology? I had a professor at Penn State Behrend who got me interested.

    I like that your business idea to focuses on public education and media. There is so much information out there, but finding trustworthy sources can sometimes be a challenge.

    I wish you the best,

    Mike Reichart
    http://engr312.dutton.psu.edu/2014/08/27/reichart/

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