WATERVILLE, Maine — Colby College on Friday concluded what professors hoped would be an annual course that would take students far from the classroom.
The group, consisting of four students and their professor Alison Beya, had just returned from Bilbao, Spain, where they spent a week sightseeing and socializing. The group also spent a lot of time at the headquarters of Iberdrola, the parent company of Avangrid, which owns CMP.
On Friday, students gave mock lectures on sustainability to corporate executives and professors.
“It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to Spain and meet some of the top professionals in their fields,” said sophomore Kototo Yamada.
“The people I talked to gave me hope because they were really thinking about these issues that we care about,” added sophomore Zane Shiffman.
Beyea and other staff members designed the course with Colby alumnus Laney Brown, Avangrid’s vice president of sustainability.
Each January, Colby College encourages students to spend the month off campus immersing themselves in research that piques their interest, so when Spain’s plans came together, Beyea was thrilled.
“We are always thinking of ways to help our students understand both the world we live in here in Maine, as well as on a global level,” Villa said. “So when I found out I could do both, it was a pretty amazing moment.”
Brown was impressed with the students’ knowledge and ambition even before he entered the boardroom.
“I think these kids were already paying attention to the issues in Maine and looking at energy policy and trying to understand it,” she says.
Beya and Brown said they have already started planning their trip for 2025.
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