From Campus to Career: How ENFRA’s 360 Promise Is Opening Doors for Tulane Students

For Tulane students preparing to enter the workforce, finding the right opportunity often begins with discovering possibilities they did not know existed. Through ENFRA’s 360 Promise, those possibilities are becoming easier to find, explore, and pursue. 

Launched in 2022, the 360 Promise represents ENFRA’s long-term commitment to hire 360 Tulane students over 30 years. The initiative connects students with internships, professional networking opportunities, and full-time careers while supporting the development of a new generation of professionals prepared to shape the future of energy, infrastructure, and sustainability. Although the partnership initially focused on students from the A. B. Freeman School of Business and the Tulane Energy Institute, its reach extends throughout the university, including the School of Science and Engineering. 

“The 360 Promise grew from a shared belief that investing in students is one of the most effective ways to strengthen both communities and industry,” said Rob Guthrie, CEO of ENFRA. “Our partnership with Tulane was designed to create lasting opportunities for talented students while helping develop the next generation of leaders. Several years later, we’re proud to see the program delivering on that vision and making a meaningful impact for students, Tulane and ENFRA.” 

As ENFRA’s campus recruiter and a member of its Talent Acquisition team, Julia Blazek works directly with Tulane students, connecting them with company representatives, campus events, internships and employment opportunities. For seniors Verity Brown and Joshua Haddad, that connection has provided an opportunity to move beyond classroom concepts and experience the complex systems that keep universities and hospitals operating. 

Brown, an engineering physics major with a minor in mechanical engineering, spent the summer as a paid asset management intern supporting ENFRA’s work with the LCMC Health hospital system. She initially applied for a design engineering internship but was introduced to asset management, a field she knew little about before speaking with her future supervisor. The experience allowed her to see how energy infrastructure directly affects the people and communities served by hospitals. 

Working alongside her supervisor, Brown learned how asset managers oversee energy plants and the facilities professionals responsible for systems ranging from boilers and chillers to thermostats. In a hospital, those systems do much more than maintain a comfortable temperature. They help regulate humidity in operating rooms, control pressure in specialized clinical spaces, and support the carefully managed environments required for patient care. 

“I have always wanted to take engineering and find some way to combine my interests in physics and engineering with something that would be good for my communities,” Brown said. “I really liked the sustainability idea, and now, with the asset management internship, I’m working in hospitals every day. That is also a nice personal connection.” 

The internship gave Brown a direct application for subjects she had studied at Tulane, including thermodynamics and the refrigeration cycle, while also exposing her to leadership, workplace communication, and the daily responsibilities of engineering professionals. As she prepares for her senior capstone project, she is continuing to explore the many directions her degree could take her, including asset management and design engineering. 

Brown also sees ENFRA’s commitment to Tulane as a meaningful endorsement of the education and broader preparation students receive at the university. The value of a Tulane engineering education, she said, includes technical ability as well as qualities that can be difficult to capture through rankings, including leadership, communication and the ability to work effectively with others. 

“If I were going through the college application process again, it would be important to me how the typical graduate of a school is thought of,” Brown said. “A company like ENFRA thinking highly of our graduates is a glowing recommendation.” 

Haddad, who is studying engineering physics and computer science, also spent the summer as an asset management intern. His path to ENFRA developed through several points of contact with Blazek, beginning at a campus networking event and continuing through follow-up conversations, the spring career fair and an employee networking program. Those interactions gave him an opportunity to learn about ENFRA’s work, meet employees from different parts of the company and tour Tulane’s power plant before beginning his internship in May. 

Haddad divided his time between Tulane and the University of New Orleans, where much of his work involved inspecting mechanical rooms, assessing equipment, and creating a more effective system for organizing reports. He encountered machinery representing different generations of infrastructure, from older equipment still operating after decades of service to newer air-handling systems incorporating technologies such as ultraviolet filtration. 

“I got to look at a lot of the equipment and test things out and see what was working, what was broken, what needed maintenance, and what looked like it needed preventive maintenance,” Haddad said. “Near the end, I could walk into a room and understand where something else should be in the building because that was where the vents led. It was cool to gain that understanding and be able to make actual inferences from it.” 

One of his most memorable experiences began at 4 a.m., when he joined employees for a planned plant shutdown and followed the operational and safety procedures required throughout the process. Experiences like that helped Haddad develop an interest in operations and gave him a clearer understanding of how technical systems, people, and contractual responsibilities must work together. 

The opportunity also introduced him to energy as a service, an industry he said he was unlikely to have encountered through a conventional job search. Having an ENFRA recruiter working directly with students on Tulane’s campus made the company and its opportunities more accessible. 

“I don’t think I ever would have heard about ENFRA through the Google searches I was doing because it is such a niche category,” Haddad said. “Because Tulane works with them so closely, I was able to peer into that industry and meet the right people. Julia has an office on campus, so it is easy to have those in-person meetings and touring sessions. I think that is a huge advantage.” 

While Brown and Haddad are using internships to discover where their education might lead, Tulane alumni Evan Rodden and Ethan Schaferkotter demonstrate how that access can develop into the beginning of a professional career. 

Rodden, who graduated in January 2025 with a degree in biomedical engineering, learned about ENFRA from a Tulane professor. He now works as an asset manager in Buffalo, New York, supporting energy infrastructure and facilities teams across hospital environments. His responsibilities include helping oversee boilers, chillers, HVAC equipment, and other assets essential to hospital operations. 

The position may not resemble the medical-device career Rodden initially imagined, but it draws upon the breadth of his Tulane education. His biomedical engineering coursework taught him about human physiology and medical technology while also developing his knowledge of mechanical systems, process control, documentation, teamwork, and leadership. That combination allows him to understand both the technical infrastructure and the clinical environments it supports. 

“I’m able to speak with the charge nurse on staff when we have to do a steam shutdown at the hospital because I can communicate the specific reasoning and the steps she might need to take,” Rodden said. “I can also understand when she explains which processes within sterile processing will need to change, which pieces of equipment may be affected, and how we can address that.” 

Rodden’s experience has shown him that an engineering degree can lead somewhere different from the path a student originally envisioned. He advises current students to remain open to those possibilities and allow their coursework, projects, and professional experiences to reshape their plans. 

“My plan was to go strictly into biomedical engineering and work directly with medical devices,” Rodden said. “This exposure to many different things is why I was able to transition into something that is more management-based, people-based and healthcare-administration-based.” 

Schaferkotter, who graduated in May 2025 after majoring in psychology and completing a computer science coordinate major, has remained in the New Orleans area as an IT support analyst with ENFRA. In his role, he responds to employee technology needs, troubleshoots problems, and helps find solutions for staff working across the company, including employees supporting projects in the field. 

His preparation began well before graduation. At Tulane, Schaferkotter worked part-time as an IT assistant in the Merryl and Sam Israel Jr. Environmental Sciences Building, an experience that helped him translate his personal interest in technology into professional skills. His computer science courses also encouraged him to consider the people behind the technology, particularly through his study of human-computer interaction with Professor Saad Hassan. 

Schaferkotter had seen information about the 360 Promise during his senior year but did not fully understand the connection until he began interviewing with ENFRA, which was completing its transition from the Bernhard name at the time. Now, after approximately a year with the company, he sees the initiative as a resource for students facing the uncertainty of beginning a job search and as an investment in talent from Tulane and the Greater New Orleans region. 

“There is a lot of stress and anxiety around not having certainty about finding a job after graduation,” Schaferkotter said. “Having this as something students can look to, investigate, and research is beneficial for people who may be thinking about entering this industry.” 

He also emphasizes that ENFRA’s work requires a much broader group of professionals than students might initially expect. Engineers and construction professionals are joined by employees working in technology, procurement, human resources, communications, and other areas that support the company’s projects. 

“There are a lot of moving parts,” Schaferkotter said. “Even if they are not immediately visible, there is still a whole ecosystem working underneath energy as a service.” 

That range is reflected in the experiences of Brown, Haddad, Rodden and Schaferkotter. Their academic backgrounds and responsibilities differ, but each has benefited from a partnership designed to make the transition from college to career more visible and attainable. Their stories demonstrate how professional opportunities can reinforce classroom learning, reveal new career paths, and help students understand how their knowledge can contribute to systems that affect entire communities. 

“These four experiences demonstrate the many opportunities Tulane students can find at ENFRA to explore their interests, develop professionally and make a meaningful impact,” Blazek said. “With divisions and career paths across our organization, students and alumni can find roles that align with their strengths and goals while building valuable experience. We would love to connect with more Tulane students and help them discover where they can thrive at ENFRA.” 

Interested students can connect with Blazek through Handshake, much as they would with a career consultant, or email her at julia.blazek@enfrasolutions.com. Students can also visit ENFRA’s 360 Promise webpage to learn about campus events, internships, entry-level positions, and the company’s work at Tulane.