Carlos Cooper

"More and more, there's going to be a demand for people with specific training," said 50-year-old Carlos Cooper, a GCC student from Amherst.

Cooper, who moved to the valley from New York City, said while living in apartments he hadn't dealt with or thought about the kinds of things that come with owning your own home, like renovating it to make it more energy efficient.

In the course of his exploration, Cooper decided to take classes at GCC and has become so interested in sustainability that he's planning to leave the publishing field to become professionally certified in Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency.