"The only person I can compare myself to is who I was yesterday."
— Esra Eisa
Esra Eisa signs up for ‘the thing’ she wants to do before she knows how to do it, and then she figures it out. Her life runs in many lanes these days, including (but not limited to): the built environment, public speaking, climate technology thought leadership, and continuous learning (by doing!).
Origin Story
Born and raised in Sudan, Esra attributes her early interest in engineering to the country’s energy instability. “You could go days without grid electricity, and for those lucky enough to have a generator, diesel fuel shortages could make those useless, too… I just wanted to solve problems. That’s all I wanted to do.” In a country where, as she puts it, “the notion is that women don’t work,” Esra knew she wanted more, and set out to study abroad.
Engineering, Language & Hack-a-Thons
Esra came to the U.S. in 2020 where she enrolled as an international student at UMass Lowell and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering. “I always knew I was a technical person, but I didn’t necessarily know how to operate in the other world. When I came to the U.S., I spoke little English, but I knew that one day I’d like to be a public speaker.”
This tells you something about Esra, and there’s a theme: she sets stretch goals for herself and then reverse engineers her path forward. Many people arriving in a new country might set a goal for themselves to learn the language (not nothing!). Esra set out to also learn the art of speaking it publicly to others.
No coding or programming experience? No problem. Esra signed up for and participated in engineering hack-a-thons (working sessions where teams compete to develop creative innovations to solve specific assigned problems). Most recently, Esra identified an inefficiency during her day job as a mechanical engineer, then brought that problem to a hackathon where she worked with a team to solve it, and ended up winning.
Climate Tech Community and Thought Leadership
Esra is in a state of continuous learning and doing, and her list of activities and accomplishments is too long for this blog. You’ll regularly find her at Climate Tech events, including those hosted by Climate Salon where she volunteers as their Lead Content Strategist. “It helps me to find my voice, which has been a very interesting journey. It has shaped me in a way I never thought it could.”
Esra mentors aspiring engineers at her alma mater, and is working on a research project interviewing women who studied engineering in Sudan. “What do you tell these young women?”, we asked.
“I don’t think you should be intimidated by being in a space… I know who I am. The only person I can compare myself to is who I was yesterday. Understand what you can contribute and then do it. If you work hard, you deserve to be in the room.”
We love this.
FUN FACT: As an avid futbol fan, Esra didn’t just watch the World Cup from her couch this summer. She caught a couple of matches live and even ran into her favorite player, France’s Kylian Mbappé, not once but twice. “They were stationed here in Boston, so I saw them while out walking,” she said. “Come on.”
We wrapped up our conversation with the question every Mug Shots! guest has to answer: what’s your walk-on hype song? Without missing a beat: “Worship” by Asake. “When I walk in and feel like myself, I listen to this song,” she said.
We’re grateful Esra took the time to share her story with us. Proud disclosure: we’re also honored to welcome Esra to the team as Capital Energy’s newest Advisor!