Engineering beckons to many

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Even though Occidental of Elk Hills, Inc Production Operations Manager Alan White could not be there in person, students Kayla Nelson and Ashley Pickett wanted to pose with him wearing the same gear he does on the job.

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Everyone was happy at the Occidental booth - Garces Memorial High students Zachary Seatton and Chris Harper because they got forms to apply for internships and Oxy Facilities Engineer Logan Johnson because they came by.

When approximately 500 junior and senior high school students descended on the Kern County Museum for two days, Feb. 18-19, they had in mind more than just finding out about the county’s grand history. Their focus was on making history as engineers, as they attended the National Engineers Week career event sponsored by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Kern County Superintendent of Schools and the Kern County Museum.

It offered students the opportunity to meet with industry representatives and find out about careers in engineering and geology. Event coordinator John Kaiser, Society of Petroleum Engineers community outreach director, said the event had two goals — to entice those with strong math and science backgrounds to become engineers and to help an industry where there is a real shortage of qualified professionals.

"In five-to-seven years, 50 percent of the engineering workforce in this country will be facing retirement," Kaiser said. "Look around us. We need engineers to develop the wind farms, solar systems and other sources of alternative power as we move away from a dependence on oil and towards renewable energy. And we still need plenty of petroleum engineers because that conversion is not going to happen overnight."

The Society of Petroleum Engineers feels so strongly about investing in the engineering-minded youth of today, that it even pitched in to pay the transportation costs for some schools that would not have otherwise been able to attend because of the slumping economy.

East High’s Carolyne Yabiku, Karla Castro and Erica Timmermans attended, even though all three have been accepted to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall as engineering students. Castro heard there were internship possibilities with several engineering companies and wanted to see what was available and how to apply. Yabiku said she was keeping her "options open," listening to various industry speakers and touring vendor booths, although she is leaning toward a career in civil engineering because she wants to "design structures and buildings." Timmermans has her sights set on "agricultural engineering" and wanted "to see what might be available close to home in that field for summer interning." She is intrigued to "see how things grow" and wants to concentrate on "developing hybrids and making things grow more efficiently."

All agreed on one thing. Engineering appealed to them because they "love math and science."

Surprisingly, one of the guest speakers, Kern County Roads Department Engineer Manager Mark Evans, told his young audience, "I didn’t love math and science, but I liked them a lot, plus, I come from a family of teachers and engineers. The field just seemed a natural to me. What do civil engineers do? Take a look around you at Rabobank Arena Theatre and Convention Center and the Amtrak Station. Those were built by civil engineers. We get involved in some really interesting projects that serve the community, and that is fun to be apart of. If you are someone who wants to give back to your community and have the technical training, you can do both."

One student raised his hand to ask if roller coasters fit into what civil engineers do.

Evans’ reply was, "Yes," and he reminded the young man, "Next time you ride one, know that someone designed it so you will have a safe ride."

Students had plenty to see. There was an open exhibition area that featured projects, industry demonstrations and hands-on activities with industry representatives offering information about the availability of careers and other valuable resources. Just as Evans demonstrated, the presentations focused on the growing importance of engineers in the workforce. Other topics included an emphasis on required skills and how to earn internships.

Students toured the museum, including the interactive oil history exhibit, Black Gold: the Oil Experience, and had a barbecue lunch provided by Halliburton. Some of the major energy forces in Kern County were actively out educating and recruiting for the future. They included: Aera Energy LLC, Chevron, Occidental of Elk Hills, Inc, Pacific Gas & Electric, Western States Petroleum Association, Bonanza Creek Energy Operating Company, Processes Unlimited International Inc, Bureau of Land Management and many others.

They were probably glad to see the Castros, Yabikus and Timmermans among those attending — especially with their optimistic and confident mindsets about the future. As Castro put it, "I look at structures and say, ‘I want to build that more efficiently.’"


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