Katherine Greff, a high school engineering intern with Electric Power Engineers, first became interested in engineering as a child. Her grandfather, an engineer himself, gave her and her sister electric circuit kits to play with. This inspired a passion for STEM that has continued to grow as she’s gotten older. Greff developed an interest in electrical engineering specifically because she enjoys a challenge.
“Both my grandpa and my sister, who’s now a mechanical engineer, have told me that electrical engineering is the hardest type of engineering. I’m definitely the kind of person who thinks, alright, I want to master that,” she said.
During her internship at EPE, Katherine gained experience with distribution engineering, HR, and presenting to executives about the projects she worked on. “I learned a lot of terminology within the distribution field and began to understand just the tip of the iceberg of how that works. I’ll definitely take that knowledge forward and expand upon it in my education,” Greff continued. “Everyone at EPE has been extremely friendly and welcoming. Coming in as a senior in high school who doesn’t have a lot of technical knowledge yet could have been a challenge, but everyone was very accommodating and wanted to help me learn.”
Greff thinks that the best way to generate more enthusiasm for STEM and electrical engineering is to encourage professionals in these fields to mentor and be positive influences for young people, like her grandfather and sister have been for her. “I think what made me most interested in STEM was growing up with my grandfather, who was always having us do science projects,” Greff shared.
In the future, Greff plans to study electrical engineering in college and potentially pursue a master’s degree after that. She especially enjoys researching renewable energy and would like to investigate it further. “I think the most interesting part of the energy industry is how it’s growing so rapidly and incorporating renewables and clean energy. The movement towards decarbonization is something that I feel very passionately about, and I’ve enjoyed seeing what EPE has been doing towards that,” she said.
Electric Power Engineers is highlighting our interns and colleagues as they lead and support the energy transition. Join us as we share how they #LeadWithEPE. If you are a student interested in our internship opportunities, please visit our career page.