Online energy and sustainability policy degree programs changed this grad’s life

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In 2012, Kelli Volkomer was a stay-at-home mom who had been raising her two children for nearly a decade. She valued the opportunity to spend time with them when they were young, she said, and had a passion for making the world a better place for them.

It was at that point that Volkomer decided to build on her interest and study sustainability.

“I got really interested in sustainability,” she said. “I decided to pursue that for a career.”

She went back to school online through Penn State World Campus to earn her bachelor’s degree. After graduation, she got a job working in the energy industry and soon realized she wanted to expand her depth of knowledge and further develop her skills through a master’s degree.

Today, Volkomer is a two-time Penn State graduate working in the energy industry and she said she’s still just as passionate about creating a better place for her children.

Building on her passion

Through the flexibility of online learning, Volkomer was able to take courses at her own pace while keeping up with her family. She worked through the 120-credit Bachelor of Science in Energy and Sustainability Policy program, developing strong science, business and analytical skills through lectures and hands-on projects.

The degree is offered in partnership with the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences online through Penn State World Campus. Course work includes topics like energy sources, uses and technologies, sustainability principles and practices, climate change, and policy development and analysis.

Volkomer explored sustainability through the course work and learned about greenhouse gas emissions through a culminating experience before earning her degree in 2017. She began working for Shipley Energy in York, Pennsylvania, the next year.

Volkomer said her education made her well-rounded and prepared to work in the energy industry. She found immediate applications from her course work to her job, trading and managing natural gas supply. As she continued working, she noticed the need for more nuanced skills and knowledge. The regional company she works for had opportunities for Volkomer to continue to expand her knowledge through varying projects and initiatives.

“There were some sustainability initiatives we wanted to do, but I didn’t quite have all of the tools I needed to take the company into the next step,” Volkomer explained.

She saw the opportunity to invest in herself while benefiting the company.

“Well, why don’t I just go back, and I can learn it,” she recalled.

Diving into advanced concepts

Volkomer returned to Penn State World Campus, this time enrolling in the Master of Professional Studies in Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems program.

“Penn State World Campus was kind of a no-brainer for me,” she said, noting her experience in the undergraduate energy and sustainability policy program. “I knew I was going to get a quality education — there were no doubts.”

Transitioning back to being a student after taking a few years off from her undergraduate studies was hard at times while trying to balance her job, her family life, and now her education, she said. But Volkomer pushed toward her goals with the support of her loved ones. Her work ethic and passion for sustainability carried her through.

“I’ve learned everything that I wanted and quite a bit more,” she said.

Real-world experiences

Volkomer praised the opportunities for real-world experiences built into the renewable energy and sustainability systems graduate course work.

“Several of the courses have a project-based deliverable, and those projects were really focused on whatever you wanted out of them,” she said. “I always found a way to tie it into Shipley.”

Volkomer said program faculty members want students to make direct applications to their work. When one of her final projects at first wasn’t applicable to her company, she worked with her professor to make arrangements to ensure the project would be meaningful to her.

“They want it to matter for you,” she said. “Being able to tie a project with something I’m so aware of and to have that understanding at the company I work for — it really made the concepts mean that much more.”

Volkomer also participated in Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program (LCAP), which pairs students with governments and organizations to conduct research and create proposals to enhance sustainability efforts.

She completed two local-scale climate projects working with Lower Macungie Township in the Local Climate Action Program and then partnering with Penn State Hershey to complete a comprehensive inventory for its College of Medicine campus and Hershey Medical Center, both in Pennsylvania. She created greenhouse gas inventories and developed climate action plans for both. Gaining this kind of experience was a priority for Volkomer, who wanted to conduct an inventory for her company.

“I got to dip my foot into greenhouse gas emissions inventorying during my capstone in my undergrad,” she said. “Knowing that was an offering and something I could do was another reason I chose Penn State World Campus.”

Volkomer now serves as an adjunct instructor assisting with future generations of Penn State LCAP projects.

Continuing the work toward sustainability

Volkomer walked across the commencement stage for the second time in December 2024. She is her family’s first college graduate and the first to earn a master’s degree — neither of which she would have dreamed of before 2012, she said.

Throughout her academic journey, Volkomer earned dean’s list recognition and received academic excellence scholarships. She was recognized with the 2024 John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering Merit Award for her work in the graduate program.

She said she's excited to continue applying what she’s learned in her professional and personal work.

“I want to use the tools I’ve learned to implement these sustainability initiatives and try to figure out different things we can do for our operations and customers,” she said.

Volkomer’s experience with the LCAP program has also ignited a spark for her to do more on the local level. She said she knows the smallest of changes can add up to big impacts in her family’s life and in their community.

“I’m going to try to find ways I can have an impact locally,” she said.

A Penn State degree online

Penn State World Campus has been offering a Penn State education online for more than 25 years and has a comprehensive selection of more than 200 degrees and certificates now available.

Learn more about the programs available in the energy and sustainability portfolio.