MEP’s Candidate Education Project: Check out our new story
by Minnesota Environmental Partnership
We’ve posted a new story to our Clean Energy Jobs website! This is the latest addition to our ongoing project that features Minnesotans whose jobs contribute to the Clean Energy Economy.
Wyatt Bruce – Outland Renewable Energy
When Wyatt Bruce helped his college football team win a championship title as a defensive end during his freshman year, a career in wind energy was not on his mind. But after seriously injuring his left knee, he took six months off to recover before changing schools and pursuing a new concentration that led to an opportunity that changed his life: He interviewed for a job with Outland Renewable Energy, a firm focused on wind farm development, ownership and maintenance in rural communities.
“I owe them a lot – well, everything actually,” Bruce said, “for putting faith and trust into someone like me without a degree.”
That was nearly three years ago. Bruce, now 24, is a lead technician for Outland and makes sure his crews are safe, on-task and efficient while working on wind turbines. A lot of the time, he’s on the road for weeks with the same field technicians, working 12- to 14-hour days. He finds that the teamwork-skills he learned on the football field prepared him for working on wind farm crews.
“From day one, Outland has been like a large family – easily my extended family,” he said. (Bruce, who identifies himself as a Native American, is “appropriately and affectionately” known by his co-workers as “Brown Bear,” he said.)
