In business, your personal “network” is everything. So when two freshmen learned about the Energy Institute last spring, they formed an Energy Club with the express purpose of making those important connections.

“The goal is to give students the opportunity to meet and learn from industry leaders in and around Dallas/Fort Worth,” says club co-founder Ben Voigt, a finance and real estate major who has enrolled in the energy minor. “There are so many opportunities for jobs in the industry and we hope the club will make it easy for students to make those important connections.”

This fall the club will host a reception on campus with energy executives, and as the year progresses, Voigt and co-founder Justin LaPoten, also a finance major, will meet with the 40 or 50 students who have expressed an interest in the club, and figure out what else would benefit the group.

Voigt says the Institute and energy minor are a boon to students. “It is very hard to get a formal education for this particular business,” he says. “It’s neat to have the energy minor that gives you the full skill set you need.”