With the downturn in the economy, Shawn Sales was looking for a career change - one that would represent stability for his family and sustainability in the energy market.

It was the perfect time, he decided, to invest in a Lakeland College education to make his dreams of building a solar farm a reality.

“I'm very interested in the solar industry, whether it be solar sales or renewable energy in general. I'd been looking at building a solar farm seven or eight years ago,” Sales explains. “I'd done all the business planning for it. The hiccup I ran into is that I couldn't make my plan viable unless I was able to do the design and installation myself.”

Sales works in retail sales management and, due to the changing economy, he decided it was time to go earn a credential to make himself more employable. Two years ago, while sitting on a beach, he came across Lakeland's two-year sustainable energy technology program.

“I took a little read into it and thought, ‘Oh, this sounds like it would be right up my alley.'”

It was an added benefit that the online program meant he was able to balance classes with working and parenting full time. Part of the curriculum involves spending one week at Lakeland's Vermilion campus completing hands-on lab work as well.

On campus, students learned to install polar PV modules, complete conductivity testing in GeoExchange, work on GeoExchange pipe fusion, and more.

“The practicum is definitely worthwhile,” Sales says. “I learned a ton of things I didn't know about solar and the design process, as well as geo exchange and wind energy. It gave me a great understanding of those emerging technologies. It was also great to meet the other people in the class in person, to swap ideas back and forth. This program opened up a huge amount of potential.”