Energized for the Future – CoE Student Braxton Jenkins is ready to make change, one solar panel at a time.

When Braxton Jenkins was a senior at George Westinghouse College Prep in Chicago, he was looking for a college with a strong engineering program. Even more, Braxton was keenly focused on finding somewhere to study solar panels and renewable energy. While large universities flashed alluring credentials, it was Valpo that offered Braxton the brightest opportunity.
“We have a solar furnace here at Valpo,” Braxton says. He explains that the function of the furnace, the only one at an undergraduate institution in the United States, is to research how oxidizing salts with a solar concentrator can be used to produce energy for the transportation sector. “My particular project is facilitating the experiment that will calibrate the receiver, which absorbs sunlight from the solar concentrator.”
From a technical perspective, Valpo offers Braxton the tools to learn, grow, and innovate. But it also gives him something deeper: connection to community and the feeling of belonging. Braxton is on the regional executive board of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and his membership in the University’s chapter of the organization has allowed him to connect with members on both the local and national level.
“It’s good to see Black people in engineering because, historically, that’s not something you see a lot of,” Braxton says. “I’ve been able to go to conferences and conventions and meet people who look like me, doing what I’m trying to do. We have good conversations. We talk about the struggles, the successes, and connect over our various cultural backgrounds.”
Braxton’s involvement with NSBE has fueled his enthusiasm for his chosen career and reminded him to never lose sight of his goal: “I want to innovate solar panels and put them in underserved communities of color in Chicago and the metro area,” he says.
As it happens, Braxton is already well on his way to helping areas in need. After his sophomore year, he became a finalist to be a Calling in Purpose in Society (CAPS) Fellow, which helped him secure a crucial internship through Companion Community Development Alternatives (CoCoDA), an Indianapolis-based nonprofit. Braxton participated in a 10-day Friends of CoCoDA Tour to El Salvador, then traveled to Nicaragua for a week, where he was part of a team that evaluated dysfunctional solar panel systems in rural villages. When he returned, he wrote a report on his findings and provided suggestions on how to provide sustainable solutions.
In 2019, Braxton went to a career fair in Detroit through NSBE, which helped him secure a co-op with Georgia Power, where he received real-life career experience from January to July of 2021. “I was a transmission engineer who designed electrical poles and also learned about the equipment in substations that moderate power to achieve the right voltage for the power grid,” he explains.
Other experiences include working with WAVES (Working Across Vocations Everywhere through Service), through which he traveled to an orphanage in Haiti and a health clinic in Guatemala to install solar panel systems. He also connected WAVES to the organization Blacks in Green on the South Side of Chicago, with which he is collaborating to possibly implement a solar panel system in Calumet City that would power 300–800 apartment units.
The intimate experience Valpo affords has enabled Braxton to check a lot of boxes — and more. “When I looked for a school, I wanted to get a well-rounded experience that was also rigorous,” he says. “I definitely had a checklist and Valpo had all the bullet points: a solid engineering program, the ability to be able to do research with professors, good student-teacher relationships, a small size allowing me to be myself and develop relationships, and also a focus on sustainability.”
Braxton entered Valpo as a Christ College student and pivoted to focus solely on engineering in his sophomore year. “When I entered, I was looking to get a diverse college experience … not just study engineering but also focus on humanities,” he says. “I especially loved the freshman program — we had a lot of important discussions. We once had a debate about the topic of whether we should remove the confederate soldier statue at Oak Wood Cemetery … it was a complicated argument.”
Open discussions, especially as they relate to race, are appreciated by Braxton. When he’s not studying, he enjoys keeping the conversation going. Braxton attends events such as We Matter Week put on by the Black Student Organization. “It’s a chance to think about problems and how we celebrate ourselves,” he says. “I like being able to talk about race, racism, and religion.”
Today, in his final year of studies before he starts a career that’s already well in the making, Braxton isn’t just valued by his professors and fellow students. He’s making a vital difference in the lives of others around the globe.
“I’ve been already doing the types of things I want to do with my career. It’s great to have the chance to take part in it now.”