The professional career path for Nicole Luiz ‘18 seemed to establish itself early. “From a fairly young age, I knew I was interested in the environment, and that I wanted to make a positive impact on it somehow,” says Luiz. The mechanical engineer major and sustainability engineering minor’s love for math and science joined by her parents’ encouragement to consider engineering led her to visit WPI. “I really loved the small community and welcoming environment I felt on WPI's campus - and it helped that WPI had a strong reputation as a great engineering school. By combining my love for nature with engineering, attending WPI seemed like the best route for achieving my goal of making a positive impact on the environment.”
Luiz says she found her people at WPI within the student Green Team and as a sustainability intern and notes the distinct project-based curriculum allowed her to weave the sustainability angle into many of her projects. “I really appreciate how WPI allowed me to have the college experience that best suited me, with the flexibility to really lean into my interests in both my extra curriculars and in my classes.”
“The project-based learning at WPI taught me how to be a team player, ask questions when I needed help, and utilize the resources and people around me to make sure that I was working the most efficiently.”
Nicole Luiz ’18, WPI Energy & Sustainability Manager
Luiz began her career as an energy efficiency engineer in Greater Boston, specifically focused on higher education institutions and other non-profits. After gaining insight into what a role in higher education might look like, she set her professional sights on WPI and was hired as the energy & sustainability manager. “Beyond the job description, I was intrigued by the idea of going back to WPI and seeing it from a different perspective and reconnecting with staff and faculty that I knew as a student. I wanted to be able to give back to the community and to the students in a way that was as meaningful to them as my experience at WPI was to me.”
In her role, Luiz oversees an exciting mix of managing energy efficiency projects and collaborating directly with students between the Office of Sustainability's seven interns, on-campus IQPs and MQPs, and co-advising the Green Team. “It is really satisfying to be able to work in both spaces, because I can bring the knowledge that I have from working in Facilities directly to the students that are looking for it, whether it be providing data on WPI's energy use or helping secure the best location for the Green Team's Community Garden.”
Luiz also supports maintenance on WPI’s EV charging stations, tracks utility data against forecasted budgets, answers incoming questions about how to recycle something unusual, and serves as secretary of the Staff Council.