Somto Ibe

About me

I was born/grew up in: Benin City, Nigeria. I grew up in several cities across Nigeria including Lagos, Ibadan and Kano.

I now live in: Calgary, Canada.

I completed my training/education at:  Chemical Engineering (CO-OP) with a minor in Management at University of Ottawa.

What I do at work

I work out of the office (now my home since COVID-19) and every week is a little different. I work alongside other engineers, including electrical and mechanical engineers. We each look after different parts of the wind and solar facilities. While reviewing data, sometimes I will notice a problem with a piece of equipment. Often I will have to work with other engineers and technicians on site to fix the problem.

Math and physics are very important in the type of work that I do, especially statistics. There's also a lot of creativity involved. We often have to think out of the box to solve a problem. As an engineer, I make decisions based on facts and data. Safety is my number one priority. I have to make sure that whatever decisions I make do not put any person or thing at risk.

My career path is

In high school (in Nigeria), I planned to become a doctor. Both my mother and grandmother worked in healthcare. It seemed like the obvious thing to do. Also, I was afraid of math.

When I came to Canada, I was too young to enter university. I completed Grade 12 again. My teacher, Mr. Cressman, helped me fall in love with math. He also encouraged me to study engineering. I picked chemical engineering but I still planned to go to medical school when I completed that degree.

In my third year, I had an internship with an energy company. This experience caused me to fall in love with engineering! I knew I wanted to work in the energy sector. I encourage everyone to consider co-op or internship programs. They are a great way to find out what you like and what you don’t like. My internship with an energy company helped me decide to become an engineer!

I am motivated by

I like the fact that my job allows me to work on a variety of exciting projects. My work is never boring. Some days, I'm working as a 'detective' and looking through tons of data to try to solve an issue with a piece of equipment. I enjoy looking through data to solve problems!

Other days, I'm preparing reports to present to senior managers. Some days I'm creating a safe work procedure so that we can train new folks. There's never a dull moment! I appreciate that about my work.

Most of all, I love that I work in the energy sector. I’m helping provide the electricity people want and need in a clean and sustainable way. I also like the people I work with and the company I work for. To me, those things make a huge difference and make me excited to come to work.

How I affect peoples’ lives

I find my work with wind turbines and solar farms to be very rewarding. I help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save the environment. At work, the other engineers and I ensure that our wind turbines and solar panels are operating in the best shape. The helps them produce clean energy to power our daily lives.

Outside of work I

I love exploring all my interests and talents. In a typical weekend or evening, you can catch me reading African historical fiction, volunteering to promote STEM activities or at a local food bank, narrating an audio book, trying a new recipe, cycling or trying new arts and crafts like making jewelry.

My advice to others

Two pieces of advice: 1) Stay curious and ask lots of questions. 2) Be afraid but do it anyway! Engineering may seem like a scary program to study but it's not. With practice, anyone can learn to fall in love with, and excel at, math and science.