The Energy Providers Coalition for Education (EPCE) and the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) share a similar mission: ensuring the current and next generation of energy employees are ready for the energy industry of today and tomorrow. EPCE is proud to celebrate CEWD’s Careers in Energy Week 2026 by highlighting how EPCE’s online education programs have helped individuals enter into, or advance in, rewarding careers in the energy industry.
Corrie Smith began her career as an engineering aide with Mountain View Electric Association five years ago. She identified a career path and began to pursue promotion to staking technician but couldn’t advance without additional experience. “I had applied for a staking tech position several times but didn’t get promoted because I needed additional experience.” A co-worker suggested the electric power technology program at Bismarck State College to gain the experience needed to advance to the role of staking technician.
Corrie completed her associate of applied science in electric power technology at Bismarck State College, and the knowledge she gained through her degree program is applicable to her daily work responsibilities. “My school books are in my office and I use them all the time.” Because of her education, she was promoted to staking technician and has been given larger projects to complete which will give her experience to further advance in her career.
For Corrie Smith, choosing to pursue a degree online with Bismarck State College was a way to further her career options while working full time and raising four children. Online courses allowed her to coordinate her children’s activities, classes and her work schedule. “I was very happy with the layout of the online classes as they fit my schedule well.”
Anthony Daniels has spent the majority of his career in the nuclear energy industry with Florida Power & Light at their Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station. He began as a junior radiation protection technician, then worked his way up to journeyman, senior protection technician, and most recently to radiation protection supervisor. In addition to his experience, he credits his motivation for self-improvement through education to help him advance his career. “As I progressed in my career, I continually asked, ‘How can I improve myself?’ and the answer was education.”
He completed his bachelor’s degree and decided to jump right in and complete his M.B.A. as well: “I was already in the groove of working and going to school, and I thought it would be easier to just keep going.” Anthony also noted that the M.B.A. program was more rigorous than the bachelor’s program, so he had to make some adjustments. “With the bachelor program, I could double up on classes for the semester. I quickly learned with the M.B.A. program, it was better to take a single class at a time.”
A year before he completed his M.B.A., the opportunity arose to apply for his current supervisor position. Anthony credits his pursuit of the degree as “the extra piece” that helped earn him the role, and added, “I use the knowledge I gained in the [M.B.A.] program in my supervisor position all the time—from leadership skills, to business goals and strategies, and more.”
Vin O’Connell has spent nearly two decades in the energy industry in a variety of positions including distributed energy resource engineer and electrical engineer. Currently, he is a senior electrical engineer at Holyoke Gas & Electric in Massachusetts. “My responsibilities include supervision, project management, electric distribution design engineering and operations, distributed generation interconnections, and metering. I also oversee preventative maintenance programs, procurement, and various transmission and substation activities,” he said.
He knew he always wanted to earn his master’s degree. “Working for a municipal utility means wearing a lot of different hats and handling a wide range of responsibilities,” he said, noting, “The WPI program covers topics that directly apply to my role as an electrical engineer, making it a great fit for expanding my knowledge and growing both as an engineer and supervisor.” He added, “The power systems program at WPI stood out because it’s specifically designed for the electric utility industry—something most universities don’t offer. It’s rare to find a program with courses focused on utility-based activities and functions.”
Vincent has seen how the program has benefited his career in multiple ways, saying, “This program provided a more in-depth understanding of certain power system concepts that I had minimal experience with before. The program also helped me to adjust to a more managerial role at my company. The variety of courses gave me valuable insight into areas I wouldn’t have explored otherwise. It also deepened my understanding of topics I thought I was already familiar with, like finance, project management, and transmission systems.”