Alumni Spotlight - Natasha Herring '08

Q: For those who don't know you, tell us about yourself and your post-MHS journey.

 

A: Hailing from Pasadena, CA, I'm a Cali and city girl at heart. I was raised as an only child by a single mother, but gained 3-bonus sisters in high school. At Maranatha, I was involved in ASB, CSF, Varsity Basketball, Varsity Volleyball, Track & Field, and AP/Honors courses. After MHS, I attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire (which I affectionately call the middle of nowhere) and graduated with an environmental engineering degree. Post college, my one prayer was to move closer to a major airport, and doors opened for me to move to Denver. In retrospect, I should have prayed for more specifics (ha!). I then graduated with a master's degree in Global Energy Management from CU Denver's Business School. After 8 years, I'm still exploring Colorado. 

 

Currently, I am a Senior Client Success Manager at EnergyHub, a software company impacting the energy and climate future. My career journey centers around the energy industry, which includes everything from power generation, econometrics, regulatory nuances, and the future energy workforce. Outside of work, I have a lot of passions that revolve around urban leadership, Jesus, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). I believe to whom much is given, much is required. I am privileged to serve on the board of the iSSACHAR Center for Urban Leadership and as the President Emeritus of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Denver Professionals Chapter.

 

 

A: The leadership experience I gained from being a part of the MHS student body council gave me the initiative and courage to co-found a step team named Staccato as a college freshman (we are YouTube official). I was prepared so well academically (special shout out to math teacher Mrs. Pelletier and physics teacher Mr. Yeh) that I went on to major in environmental engineering. Spiritually, Maranatha laid a solid foundation of revering God and cherishing His Word that was needed to keep my faith in God at a very liberal college on the other side of the nation.

 

 

A: Mrs. Pelletier was the teacher that had the biggest impact on the trajectory of my life. I would not have even considered engineering without her encouragement and excellent math teaching skills! At Dartmouth, I was taught by some of the greatest educators and none of them came close to Mrs. Pelletier! She taught with love, excellence, the highest expectations for her students, and a beautiful smile! 

 

 

A: I have too many, but a favorite was going on the ASB Mexico Missions Trip with Bible teacher Mr. Murphy. We had a caravan drive down to Mexico to serve churches as apart of APU’s Spring Break Missions Trip. Though I studied French at MHS and I didn’t speak Spanish, I was reminded that communication is still possible by being able to communicate non-verbally with the women and children. On one trip, we visited a prison where the men went to the men’s section and the women went to the women’s section. We prayed and passed out supplies to the women as the prison didn’t provide much as far as toiletries. On the drive home, we got pulled over by a cop who insisted that one of our teachers didn’t have his seatbelt on. The cop threatened to take our teacher back to the prison we had just left if we didn’t "pay up". We were in a bind!! We prayed on the side of the road and God answered by sending someone from the community to influence the cop to let us go because we were there supporting and helping the community. We were able to leave - what a testimony! I highly suggest Spring Break missions trips if they still are offered.

 

I'd also have to say playing in the CIF Championship for women’s basketball my senior year of high school! It was awesome to get that far in my basketball career. I really enjoyed traveling to France my freshman year, which planted a seed to visit other countries and travel the world. And of course, spending my lunchtime handing out with Mrs. Rouse in the Art classroom.

 

 

A: God has a plan for you - uniquely you! The Holy Spirit will lead you on the adventure of your life if you allow him to! Say "yes" to God and you won’t be disappointed!