Becks Akin "Not to be dramatic or anything, but NESEA’s BuildingEnergy Boston 2025 changed my life. My biggest takeaway was learning about the BEAM Estimator—the Building Emissions and Accounting for Materials calculator. It was amazing to hear Chris Magwood and Jacob Racusin speak in person. I feel so inspired by Builders for Climate Action’s work to create a free, comprehensive, yet easy-to-use tool.
One of my favorite memories was the BE the Future Scholars Lunch. My assigned mentor for the lunch was Matt Root, and it was so insightful to learn more about how Matt’s background in mechanical engineering has informed his work in the built environment (Matt is also a fellow engineering Brunonian). The lunch was also a wonderful opportunity to connect with people my age who are interested in building decarbonization. For example, I got to hear more about Chloe Castaneda’s amazing research exploring how Japanese knotweed might work as a kind of bio-based insulation material.
In conclusion, NESEA was a blast, and I am so thankful for the BE the Future scholarship—because otherwise, I likely would not have been able to attend. I eagerly look forward to making more NESEA memories. Thank you so much to all the NESEA staff, donors, chairs, and volunteers who made this scholarship a reality—it really means the world to me."
|
Rachel Bratton "I received the BE the Future Scholarship while participating in the MassCEC internship program in 2020. As a recent college graduate at the time, the scholarship helped me build professional confidence amid the chaos of the pandemic. While I ended up going back to school and pursuing a different environmental career path, the networking opportunities that the scholarship facilitated helped me gain a special appreciation for the built environment energy efficiency sector. I value NESEA's commitment to supporting early career professionals!"
|
Diana Brito "I have attended the BuildingEnergy Boston conference every year since 2020. As an international scholar, I have felt very well welcomed by the community in the association. This year I had the opportunity to participate as a speaker for the first time! It was an incredibly good experience. NESEA continues to be the flag I walk with as it represents high-quality research and service to the community." |
Chloe Castaneda "Attending the conference in Boston, I felt as though I finally found a field of like-minded people I had been searching for when I decided to change careers. NESEA is lovely and I’m excited to continue participating in the organization." |
Caitlin Chiquelin "In truth, this scholarship directly helped me to be on my current career path as a corporate sustainability professional. While I have credentials as a "sustainability" and "environmental" professional, I left grad school largely lacking any experience in the energy space, let alone in the low-carbon building space, which is a critical component of corporate sustainability. This scholarship enabled me to gain knowledge in both areas. I use this knowledge every day in my professional life as I help corporations decarbonize." |
Karla Covell "The NESEA scholarship helped me bridge the gap between my scholarly achievements and my budding career in sustainability. I was really excited to be included in a group with so many hardworking, talented young people, and spending time with them helped me to ease the anxiety of attending my first industry conference! Through interacting with the other scholarship winners, I was able to learn about all the different ways in which my contemporaries are pursuing careers across the Sustainability field. I really appreciated that NESEA offers this type of program to help newcomers and young people break into this world and feel so welcomed by industry professionals and the organization." |
Asher Greenberg "I became more connected to the BuildingEnergy Boston conference, for which I'll now be Vice-Chair '26. Getting connected to NESEA programs and members early in my professional career has opened many doors for me. The recognition of my work and interest in the sustainability field gave me the confidence to continue on this journey and build deep lifelong connections with like-minded people." |
Ehsan Kamel "The scholarship allowed me to attend the CREW Boston/Miami Learning Exchange in November 2021, which I would not have been able to participate in without financial support. This experience had a significant impact on me, both professionally and personally. I was exposed to innovative sustainable building projects and approaches being implemented in different regions of the U.S. This broadened my perspective on practical applications of energy-efficient design and strengthened the foundation of what I teach in the classroom. One of my favorite parts of the exchange was touring real-world projects and hearing directly from the teams that designed and implemented them. Seeing their work in action—and understanding the challenges and successes behind each project was incredibly valuable. A highlight was participating in discussions with professionals from different parts of the country, exchanging ideas, and exploring regional differences in sustainable design strategies." |
Johnathan Kongoletos "I received the 2020 BE the Future Scholarship at just the right time in my academic journey. As my research on building thermally resilient low-income housing in India drastically changed in 2020, I was struggling to see how my research may translate domestically and what value it held outside of a developing world context. Highlighting my attendance at the 2020 virtual conference helped me to receive constructive encouragement on how to frame my work as well as additional viewpoints to ensure my work remained robust and applicable. I incorporated some of those framing and context suggestions when I defended my doctoral dissertation in June 2022." |
Karl Kuester "Receiving the NESEA scholarship was a meaningful experience. It gave me the chance to connect with inspiring people and learn more about sustainable design. One session, in particular, sparked ideas I still think about today. It definitely helped shape the direction I want to take in my career. I’m really grateful for the opportunity—NESEA helped me feel more confident about pursuing a path in sustainability and showed me what’s possible in this field." |
Makhi Lockhart-Cross "The scholarship opened new doors and gave me access to events that I normally would not be aware of, allowing me to connect with people that could help me get further ahead in the beginning of my journey in this field. I met a few architects that were able to give me incredibly helpful pointers on the direction I should be going in for school." |
Kossivi Maglo "Receiving the NESEA scholarship had a profound impact on me, both financially and personally, as I attended conferences in NYC & Boston, where engaging with peers and mentors broadened my perspective and reinforced my commitment to sustainability and net zero." |
Keihly Moore "The scholarship opened me up to a new network of people and this made it a good excuse to talk to them! Financially, it allowed me to attend the conference in the first place, which allowed me to get exposed to innovative thinkers and doers. Once you meet one person, they introduce you to others and seeing them every year reinforces the relationship. The people I met opened me up to new resources and deepened my knowledge further than my exposure at work. Access to these people and the shared knowledge has allowed me to emerge as a leader in my firm. The openness of the community to share lessons learned has also helped this growth and development in my career. It helped to get paired with someone who knew other people - as it can be intimidating if you're new to a group and was helpful to have someone introduce me to others - it makes you feel more apart of the community." |
Kim Pyszka "My Design competition winnings affected me in a few ways. First, I was able to say that I placed first in a design competition in Boston. Secondly, part of our winnings were a hotel stay in Boston, which allowed us to have an extra day at the NESEA Conference which had immeasurable impacts on my career. Thirdly, the design competition forced our group to think in a more real world way that we had not previously been doing. Winning the NESEA Design Competition is one of my fondest memories of college. It is something that I think about often with a smile on my face." |
Idris Seidu  "Receiving the NESEA scholarship helped me connect with inspiring professionals and peers who share my passion for sustainable design. It sparked new ideas and gave me a deeper understanding of the industry. One of my favorite memories was attending the conference and feeling part of a larger, purpose-driven community. I met a professional through the experience who introduced me to a robotics company focused on sustainable technology. That connection opened up new opportunities and helped shape the direction of my career." |
Ifrita Shajedeen "Receiving the NESEA scholarship was a turning point that inspired me to pursue a career in sustainable project management and integrate climate-conscious strategies into my design work. As a civil engineering student, it broadened my perspective and strengthened my goal of working in sustainable real estate development." |
Timothy Simmons "Learned so much about the current state of building energy through the NYC conference and motivated my interest in this career path " |
Lisa Sun "I was able to attend the Pro Tour at Vital Brookdale which was very insightful on how affordable housing development in New York is different Massachusetts. Also, Jacob Racusin and Ace McArleton's call to action prompted me to join the Biobased Material Collective." |
Nada Tarkhan "It was really great to connect with like minded professionals at the NESEA conference. I remember starting my consultancy career at the time that I received this scholarship so I really appreciated the opportunity at the time. " |
Emeka Ukaga  "My favorite part about the scholarship experience and getting to attend the conference was getting to learn more about building science and how this can impact sustainability and building performance. I think it opened up my mind to a whole other side of engineering and architecture which I still use today." |
Jaila Williamson  "As a scholarship recipient of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA). I wanted the opportunity to educate myself on sustainable energy especially with the issue of climate change. Prior to this association, I did not have extensive knowledge on how significant of a challenge carbon emissions were for New York. As a student majoring in mechanical engineer I will have the ability to build machines that may or may not contribute to pollution. Through the NESEA, I have gained insight on what materials can provide clean energy. For example, using a polymer membrane for mechanical devices such as filtration systems can result in healthier air. This membrane blocks the transfer of odors, gases, and other contaminating substances providing no room for mold or bacteria to grow. Fascinating facts like the statement written prior, is what makes me really interested in going into the power generation industry." |
Karen Yao [the scholarship allowed me to participate in a] "Pro Tour of a shelter+affordable housing project in Brooklyn. Seeing building firsthand and talking to project team and other tour participants was invaluable. I notice the same cast of characters at NESEA and BuildingEnergy events in NYC. This scholarship has helped me slowly build an understanding of the industry." |
