Skip to main content
SCTCC logo

Secondary navigation

    • Student Services
    • Email
    • D2L Brightspace
    • eServices
    • Bookstore
    • Class Schedules
    • Cyclones Athletics
    • Library
    • Quick Guide
    • Employee Resources
    • Academic Calendar
    • Employee Directory
    • Email
    • Faculty eServices
    • D2L Brightspace
    • Technology Support
    • Quick Guide
    • Cyclones Athletics
    • Foundation
    • Get Involved
    • Ways to Give
  • Events
  • Select Language

Main navigation

  • Degrees & Programs
    • Business, IT, & Education Programs
    • Construction Programs
    • Health Sciences & Nursing Programs
    • Liberal Arts & Transfer Studies
    • Manufacturing Programs
    • Transportation Programs
    • All Degrees & Programs
    • Career & Program Finder
    • Degree and Certification Options
    • Programs for High School Students
  • Admissions
    • How to Apply
    • Tour SCTCC
    • Request Information
    • Course Placement & Testing - Accuplacer
    • eOrientation & Registration
    • Records & Registration
    • Change your Program Status
    • Admissions Forms
    • Meet our Admissions Staff
    • Minnesota State Week at SCTCC
    • Summer Session at SCTCC
  • Tuition & Aid
    • Applying for Financial Aid
    • Affordability at SCTCC
    • Payments & Policies
    • North Star Promise Scholarship Program
    • Student Scholarships
    • Tuition & Fees
    • Veterans Benefits
  • Student Stuff
    • Academic
    • Quick Guide for SCTCC Students
    • Campus Life
    • Cyclones Athletics
    • Student Handbook
    • Just Report It
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Visit Us
    • About SCTCC
    • News, Stories, & Events
    • Leadership
    • Cultural Fluency, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Accreditation at SCTCC
    • Careers at SCTCC
  • Community & Training
    • Customized Training
    • Get Involved
    • SCTCC Foundation
    • The Northway Group
    • Youth Programs & Camps
  • News, Stories, & Events
    • SCTCC Stories

Katrina Sandbakken's Advice is Practical

Double majoring in Energy & Electronics program makes the most sense
  • Home
  • About Us
  • News, Stories, & Events
  • SCTCC Stories
  • News, Stories, & Events
    • SCTCC Stories
Katrina standing in front of electronics panel
I’m more of a hands-on person, so being able to physically do the wiring or adjusting parameters on a screen versus sitting on a computer all day or typing is much easier and I can remember it better.
By Kate Wallace

By Kate Wallace

The advice that Katrina Sandbakken has for anyone going into the Energy & Electronics program is practical and sensible: Fill out the FAFSA. You can’t be afraid of heights. Be prepared for heavy bags. Do your homework.

Practicality is no doubt part of the reason she decided to go into the program with a focus on two degrees: Instrumentation & Process Control and Energy Technical Specialist.

“I’m more of a hands-on person, so being able to physically do the wiring or adjusting parameters on a screen versus sitting on a computer all day or typing is much easier and I can remember it better,” Sandbakken explained. 

And she is straight-forward in how she tackles her classes and decisions about her program. She started off with the Energy Technical Specialist degree option, but after learning how the classes overlap between the Energy & Electronics degrees, she opted into also working on the Instrumentation & Process Control AAS.

In the middle of a semester.

It wasn’t the most ideal, but Sandbakken is taking it in stride, even with her self-awareness that homework is her biggest struggle.

“My classes haven’t been too hard as long you remember to do your homework,” Sandbakken said. With double the classes, it can be hard to remember all the homework that she has.

In addition to the overlapping classes with the two degrees, having more than one increases her career opportunities after graduating. Sandbakken recommends that anyone going into the Energy & Electronics program get at least two degrees. “It makes you even more qualified to go into jobs in this field,” she explained.

Career opportunities are the main reason she ended up in this program and earning two degrees. She was interested in becoming an electrician, and while there is a lot in common between the two career fields, the jobs associated with the shift in energy efficiency are just right for graduates from the program. Plus, there’s a lot of variety with the field, more so than as an electrician, and that’s what she prefers for her future career. 

Sandbakken’s down-to-earth approach doesn’t mean she isn’t enjoying her time at SCTCC. She had been to the SCTCC campus even before high school, and she’s always liked it. She’s enjoying her classes, having a lot of fun, and likes her instructors. It may take a little bit more time to finish two AAS degrees instead of one, but she knows it will pay off after she graduates.

But really, her biggest piece of advice is to fill out the FAFSA. Practicality and fun can co-exist!

Share

Tagged As

Energy & Electronics Story
Foundation Story
Student Story
Student Success
Students walking up a staircase in main entrance

Education That Matters

Apply for Free
Tour Campus
Request Info
Student Emergency Grants - American Rescue (ARP) Act
SCTCC logo
Instagram Facebook YouTube LinkedIn

1540 Northway Drive
St. Cloud, MN 56303

+1 (800) 222-1009
recruitment@sctcc.edu
Accessibility Statement
Careers at SCTCC
Campus Hours, Directions & Maps
Contact Us
Copyright Information
Intranet - Employee Portal
Online Privacy
Safety & Security
Just Report It
Request for Proposal
©2022-25 - St. Cloud Technical & Community College | Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
St. Cloud Technical & Community College, a member of Minnesota State