By Steven Lincoln College of Technology Writer/Editor Two years ago, Sarah Miller and three Solar Decathlon teammates traveled to Washington, D.C., to scope out the 2009 Solar Decathlon competition. This week, the work they started that summer has come to fruition, and three of the four teammates are on site to revel in it. “It’s surreal to be her now,” Miller said. “We’ve put so much into this house. This last build was the third time we’ve built it. And now, instead of seeing Pizza Hut out the front window, we are seeing the Potomac River.” Miller, project manager Kevin Rodgers and engineering manager Jordan Walpe are three of the initial team members who helped transform IN_Home from idea to reality. Miller is the architecture and design managers for the IN_Home house. She graduated in May with a bachelor of arts degree in interior design. As the team was moving into full construction mode in April and May of 2011, she realized that she liked being part of that larger build team. “Interior design is a niche field. It is just one part of a project,” she said. “I found it difficult to stop there. I’ve enjoyed being part of something bigger, something long-lasting.” Because of this realization, Miller has enrolled in the graduate program for the College of Technology’s Department of Building Construction Management. In fact, she has already started her thesis work. During the Solar Decathlon, she will be handing out surveys to attendees to gauge their interest in and reticence toward the adoption of solar energy in residential areas. “Solar living can be affordable, it can be practical and it can be done now,” she said. She hopes to find out how people’s views of solar living can be shaped to match this reality. “We got to work on this real-life project. We actually worked with contractors, with designers and with a budget. I had to actually call up the tile guy. That’s what all education should be,” Miller said. Her background working on IN_Home and in interior design will be beneficial for her future career as a manager with a design build firm, facilitating the entire construction process.