SPE Delta Section Visits Fontainbleau High School

Author: Guest Author; Published: Mar 30, 2011; Category: Classroom presentations, Engineering Careers, Science, SPE members, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Careers, Children, Earth science, Education, Engineering, Engineering Careers, School, science, SPE, Speaker, Student, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

Guest Author – Courtney Sample, SPE Delta Section

On March 25th, four SPE young professional members and five LSU students visited Fontainbleau High School in Mandeville to discuss the oil and gas industry to four 10th/11th grade classes in AP Chemistry and Physics. Each class session began with introductions and either an explanation of job titles or class levels at LSU. The Fontainbleau students received advice about working in the petroleum industry and preparation for college.

After introductions, the presenters showed a few power point slides from the Energy4Me prepared presentation. During the presentation the students had numerous questions about the industry and college life. One major topic of discussion was degree selection and college advice. Sofia Miranda, a freshman at LSU talked about the importance of time management in college versus high school and how important studying is in college. Wendy Redpath, a junior at LSU talked about her personal experience of switching from Civil to Petroleum Engineering and the course overlap between the two disciplines. Courtney Sample, a reservoir engineer for Chevron discussed the importance of internships for students to confirm their college major choice.  Elizabeth Mann, a facilities engineer for Shell talked about recruiting and what companies are looking for in students. Everyone was very engaged during the discussions and eager to ask questions about engineering.

Another major topic of discussion was the many opportunities in the oil and gas industry. Dakoriye Charles, a freshman at LSU discussed his traveling experiences because of the petroleum industry. Jack Carona, a petroleum engineer for Griffin and Griffin talked about how his non routine job changes daily.  Richard Zaunbrecher, a deepwater exploration team lead with Shell also talked about his experience as a supervisor in the petroleum industry. Partnering with LSU made this event a great success! The college and workforce perspectives helped the students understand what it means to be a petroleum engineer. Other participants included Teddy Yao a freshman at LSU and James Stiernberg a graduate student from LSU.

Learn more about becoming a petroleum engineer.

SPE Delta Section Visits Thomas Jefferson High School

Author: Guest Author; Published: Mar 1, 2011; Category: Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Education, Engineering Careers, Environment, Renewable energy, Science, SPE members, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Careers, Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, Energy4me, Engineering, Engineering Careers, Environment, School, SPE, Speaker, Student, Volunteer; Comments: Comments Off

Guest Author – Courtney Sample, SPE Delta Section

On February 11th, three SPE members visited Thomas Jefferson High School to discuss oil and gas to two 12th grade classes, AP Environmental Science and AP Chemistry. We began by introducing ourselves explaining our individual paths leading to a career in the Petroleum Industry. Pete Lensing, who works for BOPCO, as a production engineer emphasized the benefits of working in the field as an intern and as a new hire.

Next, we presented a few power point slides from the energy4me prepared presentation. Before the presentation students were connvinced renewables would be the only source of energy in 2030. After an explanation and the World Energy Demand slide, they realized oil and coal would still be a vital source of energy in the future. Courtney Sample, a reservoir engineer for Chevron explained how Chevron and other petroleum companies have devoted whole Buisness Units to renewable energy and energy efficiency. At Chevron it is called Chevron Technology Ventures.

Sean OBoyle, a consultant for ExPert E&P talked about the opportunities in the petroleum field. He informed students about the different options for a Petroleum Engineer. He explained how he has had the opportunity to travel around the world and also live in the state of Louisiana.

The students had lots of questions about the industry and about education. One really good question was about school and life balance. We encouraged the students to pursue petroleum engineering so that the energy industry has more creative minds in the future to find innovative cost effective ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

Learn more about a career in petroleum engineering or energy sources. 

SPE Delta Section Visits Morgan City Jr. High School

Author: Guest Author; Published: Jan 26, 2011; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Education, Engineering Careers, SPE members, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Careers, Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, Energy4me, Engineering, Engineering Careers, Petroleum, School, SPE, Speaker, Student, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

Guest Author – By Jenny Young, SPE Delta Section, YP Chairperson

On January 21st, four Society of Petroleum Engineer (SPE) members visited Morgan City Jr. High to discuss oil and gas to five 8th grade Earth Science classes. We began by introducing ourselves explaining our individual paths leading to a career in the Petroleum Industry. Josh Black, who drills wells for Shell in the Magnolia field, emphasized the benefits Nicholls State University offers with its work-study program.

Next, we presented a few power point slides from the energy4me prepared presentation. When asked where the students use petroleum products in their day-to-day life, they thought of the gasoline in cars and lawnmowers. However, they were baffled to learn that their desk chairs, aspirin, newspaper ink, shaving cream, and even lipstick are petroleum derived. Oscar Pasache, a student at Nicholls State University and working one week shifts offshore, brought bottles of crude oil and its extracted water and a flow meter and explained how the oil flows through the meter to tell us how much oil has been produced for the day.

Patrick Johnson, a full-time student at Nicholls State and president of their SPE-Delta student chapter, tested the students’ energy IQ with fact or fiction questions from the energy4me kit. He mystified the students when stating the fact, “Hydrogen is the cleanest burning fuel.” Although it is the cleanest, the dark thick crude oil that was passed around is what all of us use on a daily basis. We encouraged the students to pursue petroleum engineering so that the energy industry has more creative minds in the future to figure out cleaner and more efficient ways to provide energy.

Recognition to the SPE members who volunteered their Friday to reach out and inspire the rising generation at Morgan City Jr. High, impacting 170 students: Josh Black, Oscar Pasache, Patrick Johnson, and Jennifer Young.

Learn more about giving a classroom presentation or starting an Energy4me program!

Start a Local Energy4me Program!

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Jan 25, 2011; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy Education, Energy sources, Engineering Careers, SPE members, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Careers, Children, Education, Energy, Energy4me, Engineering, Engineering Careers, School, SPE, Speaker, Student, Teacher, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

If you’re an SPE member, starting an Energy4me program for your section could be a great way to connect with young people and get the word out about important energy topics. You may even inspire a talented future engineer!

Energy4me makes it easy. Start by gauging your section’s energy education interests. You can do this by conducting member interest surveys through your section newsletter or by brainstorming with section subcommittees. Are your section’s members more interested in working “behind the scenes” or interacting face to face with students? Would they rather have an energy program that is active throughout the year, or one that hosts one or two large annual events?

Once you’ve determined your section’s interests, you can put Energy4me’s resources to work. We offer tips on how to make fantastic classroom presentations, information on how to start a scholarship program, and free handouts that you can give to students (career brochures, bookmarks and more). You can even purchase Energy4me Kits, which are full of educational materials, for local teachers, and if you give a classroom presentation, we’ll donate a copy of our colorful “Oil and Natural Gas” book to the classroom in your name.

Energy4me makes it easy for SPE sections to make a difference in students’ lives! 

Energy4me’s educational materials are also available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

SPE Student Chapter Education Outreach Efforts in Pakistan

Author: Heather Stanford; Published: Oct 6, 2010; Category: Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Education, Energy sources, Engineering Careers, SPE members, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Careers, Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, energy challenges, Energy Conservation, Energy4me, Engineering, Petroleum, School, SPE, Speaker, Student, Teacher, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) NED University Student Chapter in Karachi, Pakistan, conducted six Energy4me presentations in secondary schools, colleges and universities in Pakistan. Hernan Buijs, an SPE Young Professional Coordinating Committee member from Argentina, worked with student chapter member Mohammad Turab and his team, also known as the “Ambassadors for Pakistan,” to create an energy education outreach initiative. The student-run program promotes SPE and educates the surrounding schools about the oil and gas industry and the challenges facing it today.

Energy4me and SPE would like to express our thanks to the commitment and continued efforts of this student chapter. Behrooz Fattahi, 2010 SPE president said “My congratulations to Hernan Buijs and Mohammad Turab for doing such a fantastic job with Energy4me. With people like you guys, I am confident our industry will do great and SPE will benefit immensely from your contributions.”

Energy4me encourages young industry leaders to get involved in their community by giving classroom presentations or holding educational outreach programs like the SPE NED student chapter. These presentations make a huge impact and inspire future generations!

Share with us your contributions and outreach efforts in your community that you are already making with Energy4me and email us at energyed@spe.org or read more on how you can get involved in your community!

Thank you to the SPE NED University Student Chapter on your continued education outreach efforts in Pakistan!

View the video on the outreach efforts of the “Ambassadors for Pakistan”.