Myers Nguyen took a leap of faith two years ago when he decided to be part of the first class in a new solar and renewable energy college. And it has paid off.

Nguyen was one of five students who graduated this spring from the Ecotech Institute, established in Denver in 2010 as the first fully-accredited school dedicated to educating a renewable energy workforce.

Now he and four of his fellow graduates are working for Sunetric in Hawaii.

Nguyen, 35, worked for 10 years as a massage therapist before he decided to go back to school.

“I was ready for a change in career,” Nguyen writes in an email. “And I felt that taking part in something involving sustainability and caring for our environment was the next best thing to caring for people and making them feel better, except that caring for and promoting a healthier environment would offer a greater positive impact as well as being more rewarding and fulfilling.”

He didn’t know he wanted to focus on solar until he’d taken a couple classes, he said.

Ecotech Institute has a green campus in Denver and a growing reputation nationally for educating the solar and renewable energy employees who will make clean and renewable energy companies successful.

Nguyen said he was impressed with the school.

“Being the first institution of its kind, I felt they would have something better and more unique to offer than any other traditional college or university,” Nguyen writes. “Apparently they did. Without a doubt, every course was well worth our time and money in building our foundation, marketability and career opportunity.”

At the same time, Nguyen said, it was a big risk to be the first and it took guts and faith. Nguyen and his classmates are working as installers and in various different specialties onsite in Hawaii. Nguyen is learning to use AutoCAD so he can do Computer Assisted Design work for Sunetric’s commercial team.

“I can definitely see some room for advancements with my career from here,” Nguyen said.

The next steps would be to become a lead CAD designer and trainer, then project manager and possibly senior project manager, he said. After that, he expects he’d have the opportunity to travel back to the mainland or even work globally.