Two people from different backgrounds, brought together by a common (yet uncommon) degree, and now, a common workplace. The paths of Sanjana Kartik and Sonia Chandrasekharan have converged at Chicago-based energy company Invenergy.
Kartik, a native of Toronto, Canada, came to the University of Illinois to pursue a Master’s degree in Energy Systems after getting her undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo.
“I stumbled upon the Energy Systems website when I was searching for grad programs and found it to be the perfect match for my interests,” Kartik said. “The Energy Systems degree opened me up to experiences, gave me access to a network and provided me with the basic skills to speak about all things renewable. This was highly valuable for me as a recent graduate entering the industry.”
Chandrasekharan grew up in Penang, Malaysia and moved to the United States in 2014 to attend the University of Wisconsin, Madison before coming to UIUC.
“I have always been very interested in the study of renewable energy,” she said. “While pursuing my undergraduate degree in Materials Science and Engineering, I also obtained a Certificate for Engineers in Energy Sustainability. After two years of being in the workforce, I decided to go back to graduate school to pursue my interest in the renewables field.
“This degree gave me first-hand experience in designing and implementing large-scale solar, wind and energy storage systems. This experience undoubtedly helped me in landing this position at Invenergy.”
Now, both Kartik and Chandrasekharan are both at Invenergy, using the skills acquired in their Energy Systems degrees to work on renewable energy solutions in a world that needs them now more than ever.
“I had done an internship with First Solar in utility scale solar while I was at UIUC and loved it,” Kartik said. “I learned a lot about development but never got the chance to have a project for myself. I met folks from Invenergy during a conference that the program sponsored me to attend. After graduation, I ended up in commercial scale solar but always wanted to come back to utility scale solar. That's when I turned back to Invenergy in search of open roles.”
Kartik is now a senior staff engineer at Invenergy and started in February, and Chandrasekharan joined her in July as a staff engineer.
When asked how it feels to have a fellow Energy Systems alumnus working with her at Invenergy, Kartik said, “It feels great. My peers and I are always advocates for the Energy Systems program and it's exciting to see the success of the program. It's comforting to have the ability to quickly connect with coworkers and I am excited to get the chance to work alongside Sonia.”
“I was so excited to hear that a fellow alumnus was in the same team I will be joining,” Chandrasekharan said. “I have already had the chance to connect with Sanjana and am so excited to be working with her.”