Helping create paths for graduates

Meet Ethan Wolff ’25, founder and former president of the Energy Transition Club at Cornell. In 2024, he was a business development summer fellow for Distributed Sun and truCurrent. He was the principal trombonist for the Cornell Symphony Orchestra, co-founder of the Cornell Brass Quintet, and a winner of the 2024 Cornell Concerto Competition prior to graduating in 2025.

What has Cornell made possible for you?

At Cornell, I've taken advantage of the extensive alumni network and numerous career-related opportunities that have helped me develop as a professional. Having attended the Cornell Energy Connection conference three times, I connected with countless energy industry professionals—many of them Cornellians—and secured a fantastic fellowship and full-time role at Distributed Sun, a Cornellian-founded clean energy firm. I look forward to returning to Cornell Energy Connection in the future as an alumnus to recruit fellow Cornellians for Distributed Sun.

Tell us about an experience that you love sharing with others.

In my junior year, I founded Energy Transition Club at Cornell (ETC), whose mission is to empower Cornellians to become leaders in the energy industry. In the past two years, I grew the club to over 60 members, co-hosted three conferences (including Cornell Energy Connection 2024), and created three analytical project teams focusing on energy storage, building decarbonization, and carbon capture. We've also hosted several speaker events and tours of Cornell's innovative energy facilities, such as the Central Energy Plant and Lake Source Cooling. Founding ETC has enabled me to develop my leadership and management skills and share my love for the energy industry with dozens of passionate Cornellians.

Cornell annual funds support transformational student journeys like Ethan's. Learn more about them and the impact of annual fund donors in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.