Karoline?began her WAB journey at the factory campus in 1998. In 2008 a devasting earthquake struck Sichuan province with aftershocks impacting Gansu Province.  Seeking to support those impacted by this disaster, Karoline helped form a partnership between WAB and the Jiashan Primary School, a school that was heavily damaged during the earthquake. The WAB community raised funds to rebuild the school, and since then, WAB students frequently visited as a form of cultural exchange. Karoline remained dedicated to the project until her graduation in 2013, and the Jiashan-Jingxi Partnership still exists as a model example of community service. 

Karoline continued her international education at Babson College (US), the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK), and Copenhagen Business School (Denmark). Attending WAB, a school with "make a difference" in its mission statement, also paved the way for Karoline to follow in her father’s footsteps in the renewable energy sector. For the first six years of her career, Karoline worked at a company called Orsted. Karoline was responsible for finding and maturing opportunities to build offshore wind farms, and she did so in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Baltics, the US, the UK, and Japan. The biggest offshore wind farm that Karoline helped win for Orsted, was Hornsea 3, a farm that will power three million British homes when completed.

Karoline moved to Energinet six months ago. Energinet is Denmark’s "Transmission System Operator" – the company in charge of the cables and pipelines that transport electricity and natural gas around the country. Karoline’s new job is to help start up a business for hydrogen pipelines.  

"When it comes to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, replacing fossil fuels with renewables is crucial. However, there are some sectors that have trouble with this. For example, steel production requires very high, consistent temperatures that can only be achieved by burning something. Fortunately, we can turn renewables into hydrogen, which steelmakers can burn instead of fossil fuels. My colleagues and I are figuring out how to move all this hydrogen around," Karoline explained.  

Karoline shares two pieces of advice with WAB students: "Firstly, work in the energy industry! It offers such an interesting combination of economics, politics, science, and technology. Secondly, going to WAB is a huge privilege that comes with high expectations, but no one’s path is as straightforward as they think it’ll be in school, so just do your best and be kind to yourself."

If you want to learn more about WAB's partnership with Jiashan, check out our Make a Difference page.