The Inaugural Intro of Dominick Blue

Well hello there. Thank you for spending a few minutes of your precious time with me here.

I would like to take this inaugural blog posting to tell you a little about myself. I would also like to share my thoughts and intentions behind this endeavor. The purpose of this blog is to drive thought about the world’s energy future as told from one man’s perspective. It is meant to drive conversation and collaboration. These posts will always be 800–1000 words long. This is to optimize our time together and hopefully, generate conversation. Both in the comments and elsewhere. At times, this blog may come off more formal than usual. I can promise you it is not because I want you to think I’m smart. My wife will tell you, I talk, text, and write in the same manner. At the very least, however, I will try and withhold my dad jokes. I make no promises though. Now, a little about me.

From where I sit now, I am a thirty-year-old professional currently working in the Business Resilience industry as a Senior Analyst. Recently, I made my pivot from The United States Marine Corps. I spent 11 years leading people, developing programs, and most interestingly enough, finding myself. Prior to joining such an illustrious institution, I was just a boy living on dreams. My grades in high school were not up-to-par with the requirements of most college institutions (ultimately causing me to miss out on opportunities for sports scholarships). When I finally graduated high school in 2008, I left my sleepy little town to head to Wilmington, North Carolina, where I attended a community college. I thought I would spend my days working on cars and riding motorcycles with my friends, however, the universe had a different path in mind.

As we are all intimately familiar with, the 2008–2009 economic collapse created chaos for many small businesses. Moreso, it decimated income opportunities for young men who were trying to survive on their own. Working two jobs took precedence over my schooling, again, and I found myself at a crossroads in my educational journey. Do I work and pay my bills? Or should I focus on improving my grades? This was often the ultimatum for me, as well as many other young men who were in my situation. You know.. no father in the household, growing up in a small town who didn’t take too kindly to people with your complexion? My grandmother worked tirelessly to provide for my legally disabled mother and me. A work ethic that would forever stick with me. Still, all of the love in the world couldn’t help my financial situation while in college. I was alone and no one was coming to save me financially. So I did what so many others do, stepped into a Recruiting Office for the United States Marine Corps.

As it turns out, I made a pretty good candidate as a Marine. My athletic high school days and ambitious nature made for a good combination to join the world’s greatest fighting force. I spent the next 11 years working on large-wheeled vehicles, leading safety and hazardous materials programs, providing career counseling, and finally, leading teams focused on Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense. All in all, it was a great experience. It gave me leadership, courage, and taught me a sincere commitment to integrity. Something I have come to value most. As I began to make my pivot, it was time to plunge into a new world. With a new mission in mind. That mission combined four topics I find passion in — sustainability, resilience, energy, and engineering.

In light of the pandemic that we began to experience in 2020, personal and professional resilience became top of mind across the planet. With increased damage and intensity experienced in natural disasters, sustainable engineering solutions for resilience began to make more of an appearance in headlines.

As I find my way in this world, I know that these four topics will be at the forefront of my mind and efforts. Something the Marine Corps teaches you from an early age is that a Marine always leaves a place better than they found it. I believe it is our generation’s responsibility to fix our 20th-century mistakes and leave this planet better than it was. I have taken the first step in that journey with my acceptance to the Clean Energy Leadership Institute as a Fellow. During my five-month tenure, I will learn more about clean energy policy, politics, technologies, and the inequities experienced by underrepresented people.

I am dedicating my life to supporting, leading, and working to make this planet a better place. Through entrepreneurship, scholarship, and community service. What do you plan to do with the life you have?

I want to thank you again for your time. I know social media is fast. I hope you will follow my journey and even join in the conversation. I look forward to meeting you.