Matthew Sirum '01 - President and Worker/Owner, Pioneer Valley PhotoVoltaics Cooperative
GCC's solar photovoltaic panel installation was constructed by a local company, Pioneer Valley PhotoVoltaics Cooperative, or (PV)2, and designed by its president and worker/owner Matt Sirum. Matt discovered his calling at GCC.
"My first class was Larry Buell's Human Ecology course and it opened my eyes to understanding how people interact with the Earth."
Matt also made key professional contacts while taking environmental science courses with professor Brian Adams. The class required a service learning project, which Matt completed through an internship with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), where he began working on sustainable energy programs in 2001 after earning his Liberal Arts degree and certificate in Environmental Studies/Natural Resources.
Matt had worked in the construction field and in his family's automotive business right after high school, but his career direction was determined at GCC. "Everything just blossomed from there. I don't think I'd be in this business today if it wasn't for the people, and what I learned, at GCC."