Halliburton Visits MacArthur High School to Talk About Oil Industry and STEM Careers

Disponible en: Español

Engineers and scientists converged at the campus to ignite student interest in STEM. The acronym stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

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Dr. Kristin Craft stands with the Halliburton crew. Rich Byrnes stands next to her. Byrnes serves as vice president of global consulting at Halliburton. Craft is the principal at the campus.

The [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]number of students in the U.S. completing degrees in science and engineering barely budged over the past decade. [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]If the U.S. is to remain competitive, the country needs to produce more STEM workers in these areas. Halliburton hopes to inspire young people into these fields. Nearly 20 Halliburton employees spent an hour with [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]MacArthur High School students on Jan. 27. The STEM presentation formed part of the company’s community service initiative. The Houston-based company has offices within the Aldine community.

Science and engineering professionals from a wide range of fields and backgrounds visited 10 classrooms. Approximately 250 students in grades 10 through 12 had the opportunity to meet the STEM role models.

Rich Byrnes worked with the campus to coordinate the visit. Byrnes serves as the vice president of consulting at Halliburton. At the campus level, Marguerita Guerra worked with teachers to schedule the visit into plans. Guerra serves as an assistant principal at the campus.

“I hope that we help demystify the world of STEM careers,” said Byrnes. “We need more young adults to consider the wide variety of opportunities and fields in STEM. We need them to be scientific leaders and creative thinkers to solve not only today’s problems but tomorrow’s as well.“

The Halliburton team talked to students about the rewards and challenges of their fields. They spoke of their own career paths and discussed the hottest careers in science. The students learned about the many byproducts of petroleum. They described how companies use these to produce everyday products toothpaste, makeup and aspirin. The experts gave students examples of applied science. For example, the pump used in the oil field is also the same pump in miniature used for “your broken heart.” Most people don’t think of NASA when they think of the oil and gas industry. But the energy sector is applying some of the technology used in exploring space, too. Consider the Curiosity rover now on Mars. The oil industry is exploring the technology that’s used to decide where and how to drill on Mars. This could be a new pathway for changing how the oil industry works.

Dr. Kristin Craft enjoyed sitting in on the presentation in one class.

“This was a great opportunity for students to listen and talk with experts in STEM,” said Craft. “They expressed passion for science. It was really incredible to have an exciting group of role models on campus to inspire the next generation of science leaders.”

There were many female engineers and scientists that took part. They hoped to encourage young women to become interested in STEM careers.

But every expert shared similar sentiments. They encouraged students to pursue STEM. The STEM fields need more creative people to help solve problems and to figure out how to build the things that benefit society.

Craft felt the visit proved a mind-opening experience for students. The [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]campus strives to prepare students’ for the future.

“I think this helped open up career opportunities for students,” said Craft.

“Many students for example might say they want to be a doctor. Probably because most have been to a doctor and have an idea of what a doctor does. But they don’t necessarily get a chance to meet an engineer or scientist every day or on a regular basis. Since they don’t know what an engineer does, it may seem intimidating or they simply don’t think of this as a career possibility. Today they got to hear from real experts and ask questions. They got a better idea of what these folks do and how they are making a difference.”

Before the Halliburton team left, Byrnes spoke to Dr. Craft. He lauded the students for the behavior and interest in the presentation. He hoped to work with Craft to develop an ongoing program or initiative to keep students motivated in STEM careers.