Name: Ivan Nzouatcham

Undergraduate Degree: Petroleum and natural gas engineering

Graduate Degree: Dual master’s in energy finance and business administration

Hometown: Yaoundé, Cameroon

Current Job: Real-time power trader at NextEra Energy Resources in Juno Beach, Florida

What attracted you to the Chambers College?

“The Mountaineer spirit. I obtained my undergraduate degree at Statler, and once I decided to go to grad school, I knew WVU would be my top choice.”

Which professors helped shape your journey?

“Dr. Victor Chow, Dr. Alex Kurov, Prof. Frank DeGeorge and Dr. Nick Apostolou, among many others. I credit them for helping me become more than an engineer, and what they taught me especially helped with my personal financial decisions.”

What positive outcomes have you seen thanks to your Chambers graduate degree?

“My graduate degrees from Chambers along with WVU’s vast alumni network and recognition tremendously helped my career. I had plenty of offers to choose from and was able to truly choose the career path that I wanted.”

Can you talk about where you work now and what you do?

“I currently work at NextEra Energy as a real-time power trader. In simple terms, my job is to manage the company’s power generating assets and monitor the North American power grid to ensure that everything is running smoothly. The power industry is especially exciting to me as I only had my first exposure to it a few years ago in the energy finance program.”

What advice would you give others interested in your program?

“Go for it! I highly recommend anyone to pursue a graduate degree at Chambers, or at the very least get some information from the office of graduate admission. I especially encourage my fellow engineering graduates, most importantly PNGE, who might be struggling to consider this as a way to explore more opportunities.”