My name is Marielle Martin. I am a senior in the Energy and Sustainability Policy program. For all 22 years of my life, home has been in the Hershey, PA area. My goals, in terms of a career in sustainability, have to do with minimalism and living small. I plan to earn a master’s degree in environmental engineering after graduation, specifically to start a company building micro/tiny homes and other sustainable projects. In fact, I’m working on blueprints and planning for a pilot project home of my own right now. I hope to have my own ‘tiny house’, in under 150 square feet, completed by the time I graduate in a year and a half. This course should be right up my alley based on these interests. I hope this class will serve as a ‘practice run’ for my future business and personal goals.

I have never started a business myself. My parents are self-employed though, running a specialty carpentry business. I have worked on projects with my father and seen a lot that goes into the paperwork and management side that my mother handles. I believe that businesses involved in off-grid, minimalist style home construction, as I plan to get involved in, are very important to advancing renewable energy. These businesses must be well versed in a wide variety of renewable options in order to cater to client needs, climate conditions, and local regulations. Using diverse renewable energy supplies to power both on and off-grid homes will provide people with a feeling of confidence and independence that will help renewable energy gain popularity and prestige as an industry. Additionally, as population increases, open space becomes more limited, and resources run low, smaller more efficient and self-sufficient homes and lifestyles will become increasingly necessary. This transition will create business for ‘tiny house’ construction and the renewable energy industry.