Scout Scholarship

The energy industry has always been part of my life. My dad worked as a roughneck for 14 years at Cactus Drilling, and his stories about the challenges and rewards of working in the field gave me a deep appreciation for the people who power our world. Now, my brother is following in his footsteps, pursuing a petroleum engineering degree at The University of Oklahoma. Watching their journeys has inspired me to carve out my own path in the energy sector, where I hope to make my mark as a landman. For me, becoming a landman isn’t just about negotiating contracts or conducting title research—it’s about connecting people. Landmen play a vital role in building relationships between energy companies and landowners, and I want to be someone who helps bridge that gap. My goal is to ensure that both sides feel respected and valued while promoting responsible resource development. This career allows me to combine my love for working with people with my passion for the energy industry. As a sophomore at The University of Oklahoma studying Energy Management with a minor in Finance, I’ve gained valuable insight into how the energy sector operates. My classes have taught me the fundamentals of energy markets, contracts, and negotiations, and my finance minor has sharpened my analytical and problem-solving skills. But beyond academics, I’ve grown up understanding the dedication and hard work it takes to succeed in this field. My dad’s stories about long hours on the rig and my brother’s determination to excel in his petroleum engineering studies have instilled in me the drive to work hard and make a difference. I want to make my mark in the energy industry by becoming a landman who prioritizes ethical practices, sustainability, and clear communication. The energy industry is evolving, and I believe it’s essential for landmen to adapt by fostering positive relationships and promoting transparency in every deal. Whether it’s securing land for drilling or collaborating with landowners to address their concerns, I want to leave a lasting impact by creating value for both the company I represent and the communities I work with. My experiences at OU, including being in the Energy Management Student Association, have taught me the importance of teamwork, resilience, and effective communication. These skills will be critical as I pursue my goal of becoming a landman who contributes to the energy industry’s success while ensuring that landowners feel confident in the process. I’m proud to come from a family with strong ties to the energy industry, and I’m excited to build on that legacy in my own way. My mark in the energy industry will be one of collaboration, integrity, and meaningful relationships. I look forward to the opportunity to make a positive impact and continue the tradition of hard work and dedication that my family has shown in this field.

The challenges for the energy industry, specifically petroleum engineering, come from many different angles. There are challenges internally about the transition to renewable resources and energy development in third-world countries. Other challenges come externally from poor public stigma and opinion. As an industry, we are constantly fighting a battle on all fronts while continuing to supply the world with not only energy but basic products that have, in time, become necessities for the public that judges us. The internal challenges mainly come from economic and political issues about carbon capture utilization and storage and how to start moving towards renewable energy. This is not an issue of “Can we do it?” but “How can we do this smoothly and economically?”. Carbon capture is not a new magical technology; it is just expensive. This is a very profitable industry, and the heads of major companies are willing to do this expensive process to save public image and keep profits. This is a challenge that can be overcome using a bit of ingenuity. If companies can keep their integrity and are willing to push through, we can find a way to break even where carbon capture is concerned. There is also the challenge of the need for more energy in the future for developing countries. I recently attended a lecture lunch where Exxon projected that the need for energy will rapidly expand in developing countries from 2025 to 2050. This is a competitive global industry, and it is going to be a mad scramble to get these countries energy. This is going to cause geopolitical challenges because of the change in international relations related to energy. The challenge of public image is very direct and apparent. You see it on the news, social media, and even from family and friends. I have been told by classmates in my humanities classes that I’m not going to have a job because oil and gas will be dead in five years. I have had close friends from high school berate me and call me immoral because of the major I decided to pursue, totally ignoring the fact that we went to school in New Mexico, where oil and gas paid $1.4 billion to the public school system in 2021. My Papa supported my family on oil and gas in Farmington, New Mexico, and most of my family works for oil and gas, so how could that be immoral or evil? This simple fact is that it is not. Mistakes are all over the news to make our industry seem evil. In 2023, BP’s Olympic Pipeline leaked roughly 25,000 gallons of gasoline near Mount Vernon in Washington state, and before that, BP was notorious for the tragedy known as Deepwater Horizon. These were both preventable mistakes that have permanently damaged the view of the industry. People tend to ignore the fact that oil and gas also provide for communities. As stated before, $1.4 billion was given to the public school system in New Mexico from the oil and gas industries in 2021. I also looked more into Scout Energy as the provider of this scholarship, and they have partnered with six non-profits, including Children’s Health, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the Trevor Project. Almost all oil and gas companies give large sums of money to local communities and non-profit organizations. In conclusion, the challenges this industry faces are numerous and complex. There are no black-or-white solutions to these problems, but there are solutions. There are great minds here that are willing to solve any problem, and we should be given the chance.

There are numerous challenges the energy industry faces, especially oil and gas. One of the largest challenges is the transition to renewable energy. The issue lies in the complete conversion to clean energy rather than an integration and coexistence with non-renewables such as gas and coal. The expectation is to eliminate oil and gas and depend on renewables solely. The United States is often compared to countries like Germany who obtain significant amounts of energy from renewable sources. The most important factor often overlooked is that Germany designed renewable sources as secondary to non-renewables, this measure being taken to compensate for reliability issues. This reliability is one of the most important qualities our energy sources should have. We depend on energy too much in the modern world to begin having issues with reliability. Modern medicine is heavily reliant on this sufficient supply of energy to simply operate. When evaluating the effects of non-renewables the, media and Congress seem to focus on the negatives. Gas is the cheapest and most reliable source of energy we currently have. Despite this, Congress desires to create legislation eliminating the use of non-renewables. Oil and gas continue to produce energy on a cloudy day whereas solar cannot. Wind turbines depend on wind currents while oil and gas do not. There is no argument that the future should have a system incorporating renewables, but it should not depend on them entirely. One of the challenges the oil and gas industry faces is poor publicity. The BP oil spill of 2010 is one of the most significant tragedies that many think when discussing oil and gas. Most of the public simply saw that a big oil company made a mess and it gave bad publicity for all operators alike. For many years, it was deemed those in the industry did not care for the environment and only desired to make money. Contrary to this, the modern industry contains standards that prove otherwise yet these values are not conveyed well to the public. The reality is that the industry is still recovering from this tragedy and the publicity remains. The ‘green movement’ is another contributor to this poor publicity of oil and gas. Fossil fuels are deemed ‘bad’ and renewables are deemed ‘good’. Numerous college students do not desire to work in oil and gas because of the propaganda that has been relayed. This misinformation is not only conveyed from media outlets but also by the institutions themselves. Universities that offer programs for the oil and gas sector have administrations that discourage students from obtaining degrees in these fields. These future professionals are being driven away due to an increase in propaganda. Students are taught fossil fuels are going to be eradicated and renewables are the future. These factors all contribute to a lack of interest in the oil and gas sector. The energy industry must combat this narrative as it will hinder the industry's growth if not addressed promptly.

So many people offer their input on my future college major, many saying there will be no jobs in the future because it is said to be a “dying industry”. I can not wait to prove each and every single one of them wrong. The world of petroleum is so far from a “dying industry” it is unfathomable, what people forget to acknowledge is that petroleum is a vital resource in a plethora of aspects in our daily lives. Petroleum is everywhere, of course it is in the form of gasoline, but many are unaware that petroleum is found in synthetics, plastics, pesticides, perfumes, paint, contact lenses, bandages and the list continues. It is unfathomable to imagine a world that lacks petroleum. It is a core resource that keeps our economy and society running smoothly. The environmental impacts can not be ignored but they certainly should not scare current college students out of wanting to major in an industry that needs intelligent minds so we can continue to further our knowledge and optimize the situations at hand. The importance of petroleum engineering is astronomical, but so are the new generation of students who need to grow in the field and further the exploration of petroleum. These are some of the few reasons that make petroleum engineering a passionate topic of mine. I am not sure where I want to make my mark but as a freshman with zero experience, I want to try absolutely all of it. I desire to get my foot in the door and start learning everything and anything I can. I think it is important to address environmental risks and ways to improve our systems that promote longevity of energy and our resources. We can continue to improve in safety of the oil and natural gas industry with a focus in promoting safely of the environment whilst continuing to improve extraction methods that promote the financial aspects of a company. Continuing to improve and find a balance between financial gain and longevity of the resources and environmental aspects that come into play when drilling and extraction. I have big ambitions for my future, having a managing position in an oil and gas company would be my first choice of making my mark on a company. As a woman, I want normalize females in engineering settings, and make it more common place to see women strive to be in STEM centered industries.