Victoria Moore is the happiest she has ever been. After all, she has a great job as an engineer at Consumers Energy, she is surrounded by a loving family and friends and is fulfilled with various volunteer opportunities.
The path that got her to this point in her life isn’t a conventional one. Yet it’s one she owns since it shaped her into the person and young professional she is today. During her senior year in high school she became homeless and struggled with bouts of depression due to her circumstances.
“I wouldn’t change anything about my life,” said Moore. “I learned at an early age that it isn’t how many times you fall, it’s how many times you get back up after you fall. I live my life by that motto.”
In the fall of 2007, Victoria and her mother and younger sister were evicted from their Auburn Hills home. They had to sleep in their car at night, all while Victoria tried to put on a happy face during the day at the prestigious Roeper School.
“Nobody knew what I was going through,” she said. “And I was too embarrassed to tell anyone.”
While she tried to hide her true feelings, one of her teachers wasn’t fooled. She realized something wasn’t quite right with her pupil. When she approached her about it, Victoria broke down and cried and told her about her dilemma.
During the rest of her senior year, Moore lived with several teachers who provided her a warm meal and a roof over her head.
“It was something I used to take for granted,” she said. “That will never ever happen again.”
Despite the chaos in her life, Moore played varsity basketball and was accepted to Kettering University in Flint.
“My confidence took off,” she said. “I knew my worst days were behind me. Or at least I thought things couldn’t get any worse.”
Putting Energy into Serving Others
After college, she landed a job as an engineer at Consumers Energy in 2012. She bought her first apartment and couldn’t believe how her life turned around so quickly.
“I danced around my apartment I was so happy,” she said with a smile as wide as her optimism. “I did snow angels in my living room. And then I saw my bathroom, I never had my own, and I danced and spun around some more. It was the best feeling in the world.”
Today, Moore helps business customers use energy more efficiently through the demand response and Virtual Energy Engineer programs. They are part of the Clean Energy Plan to use more renewables, reduce carbon emissions and transition to zero coal. As the company helps customers better manage their energy, that helps produce less electricity, which ultimately helps the environment.
