Solar Stars: Summer Intern, Cimone Wilson
For the past eight weeks, EnerWealth has had the wonderful opportunity to host an intern through the HBCU Energy Leadership Pathway Summer 2025 Internship. Our Summer Intern, Cimone Wilson, was a student at North Carolina Central University majoring in Environmental Geographic Science with a concentration in Environmental Health Science.
At EnerWealth, Cimone acted as our Residential Solar Marketing & Research Intern. From the onset, Cimone demonstrated a unique blend of initiative, professionalism, and genuine passion for our mission. She immersed herself in understanding our Power Pair Solar Lease Program, asked insightful questions, and approached every task with thoughtful intention. Her efforts contributed directly to expanding our outreach and strengthening relationships with community stakeholders.
To reflect on all the hard work she completed this summer, Cimone was tasked with writing a narrative blog post that summarized her experience and highlighted key learnings. Cimone’s completed blog is shared below.
Week 1:
I’m excited to begin my summer internship with EnerWealth Solutions as a Marketing and Research Intern. I’ve started learning about the company’s mission, core objectives, and the innovative Power Pair Solar Lease Program. My primary focus this week was to gain a thorough understanding of the company’s operations, its environmental and community impact, and the details of the Power Pair initiative. I learned that EnerWealth is dedicated to helping homeowners and landowners adopt sustainable practices by offering access to clean energy solutions and growth opportunities. I also began identifying potential audiences who could benefit from the Power Pair Solar Lease Program. To do this, I researched various organizations, environmental advocates, and community leaders. Additionally, I was tasked with developing a set of survey and interview questions tailored for these potential participants. While this wasn’t too challenging, I made sure to craft a diverse range of questions—covering everything from their professional backgrounds to their views on solar energy. Overall, I’m looking forward to growing my knowledge and making meaningful contributions during my time at EnerWealth.
Week 2:
This week has been all about numbers and outreach. Since the start of my internship, I’ve been continuously refining the survey and interview questions to make them as clear, targeted, and impactful as possible. Now, my focus has shifted to compiling a strong list of potential participants for the Power Pair Solar Lease Program—specifically individuals whose values align with the program’s mission. I’ve been targeting teachers, professors, council members, environmental advocates, energy professionals, and, most importantly, homeowners. My goal was to identify and build a list of 45 potential participants by the end of the day. As I assembled the list, I also began reaching out to each person individually to gauge their interest and start building connections. In parallel, I’ve been researching organizations that could serve as valuable partners in promoting the Power Pair program—and I’ve started contacting them as well. The biggest challenge this week? Cutting through the noise and capturing their attention.
Answer Cimone’s survey to help us gain valuable information about solar leasing!
Week 3:
As I began the week, I started by researching the latest developments in energy and environmental issues to share on LinkedIn—an initiative I’ve set as a personal goal to complete twice a week for the remainder of my internship. I’ve also taken on the responsibility of distributing Power Pair Solar Lease Program flyers and engaging directly with potential participants. To do this effectively, I had to be strategic in choosing the right location—ideally a local event here in Charlotte, NC. My first day of outreach went well: I handed out 27 flyers and left another 20 at a neighborhood coffee shop. I felt both excited and a little anxious, especially since public speaking is something I’ve always found challenging. Thankfully, the more conversations I had, the more confident I became. One of the biggest challenges so far has been the waiting—specifically, waiting to hear back from the individuals and organizations I’ve reached out to. I often find myself wondering whether my messages were received and if I’ll get a response at all. Still, I remain hopeful and motivated to keep pushing forward.
You can read all of Cimone’s post from this summer on her and EnerWealth’s Linkedin pages.
Week 4:
This week, I focused on distributing Solar Lease Program handouts and following up with the organizations I had reached out to over the past two weeks. It was an especially rewarding week, as I finally began to receive responses from a few organizations interested in learning more about the program. One of the highlights was securing a meeting with a local mission-aligned organization based in Charlotte. For me, this was a significant milestone—I had been consistently reaching out since the beginning of my internship, hoping to spark interest and engagement. The meeting itself went very well. Although their organization wasn’t a direct fit for the Power Pair Solar Lease Program, they expressed strong support for the initiative and offered to help spread the word within their networks. Their willingness to advocate for the program, even without being direct beneficiaries, felt like a major win and a testament to the growing momentum of this outreach effort. I’m genuinely excited about the next scheduled meeting—I have a great feeling that it will be productive and bring real value to the Power Pair Solar Lease Program.
Week 5:
This week was productive as I continued pushing forward with outreach efforts. I handed out the remaining flyers—some to the same coffee shops I visited before, and others I placed directly in my neighborhood mailboxes to reach more local residents. A key highlight of the week was the meeting I set up with a mission-aligned non-profit. The conversation went really well; I feel they could potentially play a strong role in helping expand outreach for the solar lease program. I also spent time researching recent news related to energy and drafted a few LinkedIn post ideas to keep our audience engaged and informed. A challenge so far has been attempting to engage with people when it comes to asking to leave some flyers in stores or wanting to explain what I’m handing out. Overall, it’s been as good as it can get—I am proud of my efforts in doing this. In addition, I reached out to more organizations and followed up with the ones I’ve been in contact with throughout this process to see if they’re interested in getting involved. It’s been great to see some momentum building as connections deepen and conversations move forward.
Week 6:
As this week draws to a close, I realize that my internship is coming to an end. For me, this was a really thrilling week. I began by getting in touch with two organizations in order to set up meetings to talk about the Power Pair Lease Program; sadly, they haven't gotten back to me, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. On a positive note, I was able to arrange another meeting with a state-wide nonprofit. This was the most memorable meeting we’ve had so far. I firmly think they will contribute to sharing the Power Pair Lease Program with their audience.
The company also hosted an exciting baseball game this week. EnerWealth co-hosted the event with a potential partner organization, and several local clean energy professionals attended. I finally had the opportunity to meet everyone at EnerWealth in person at this event, and I got to know some amazing people who work in the energy industry. Everyone was so nice, and being that it was my first baseball game, I really enjoyed it.
Additionally, I went to a Solar Festival. EnerWealth had the opportunity to promote the Power Pair Solar Lease during this event. Overall, the turnout was fantastic, with many individuals who were curious about the program and had lots of questions.
Working on my analysis report was another assignment I had to complete this week. I simply want to make sure that I incorporate everything I have been doing since I started my internship, which hasn’t been too difficult. A challenge I had this week was speaking to others and letting my nerves get to me. Even though it was a challenge, I still prevailed, and that makes me very proud.
Cimone tabling with EneWealth’s Director of Solar Leasing, Brian Liechti at Solar Festival, a recent solar education event hosted by Lyons Farm Elementary Principal James Hopkins, Dr. Wafa Khalil, and the NC Climate Justice Collective
Week 7:
This week marked the second-to-last week of my internship, and much of my time was focused on finalizing my report and presentation. It’s been a reflective process—pulling together everything I’ve worked on and thinking about the bigger picture of what I’ve learned.
In addition to that, I continued with outreach efforts by setting up another meeting with an organization and sending out follow-up emails to others I’ve been in touch with. These conversations continue to be valuable in expanding both my network and understanding of the field.
I also shared a LinkedIn post highlighting some recent news in the energy sector, which allowed me to connect my internship experience to larger trends and developments. It was a good reminder of how fast the energy landscape is evolving, and how important it is to stay current and engaged beyond the scope of one role.
One of the challenges I faced this week was figuring out what else I could meaningfully contribute as the internship winds down. Even though we’re near the end, I want to continue being useful and productive, so I’ve been pushing myself to identify small ways to add value and wrap things up well.
We are so thankful to have spent the summer with Cimone, and we are so proud of all the hard work she has accomplished!
Learn more about solar leasing here or contact us by emailing info@enerwealthsol.com or giving us a call at (919) 375 - 2345.