Left students from section B are enjoying the volleyball net they brought, while below students take a break while taking notes.
Mike Leibovitz and Andrea Passman joined from Caerus . Andrea is the COO at Caerus and a Mines alum who recalled some memories of camping in Massadona when Ramona led the field session. Mike did a fabulous job presenting the companies efforts in developing the Mesa Verde in the Piceance basin and highlighted the impor- tance of geologic understanding in those efforts.
Matt Stratton and Kevin Stratton from Production Logging Services (PLS) drove out to Golden from Vernal, bringing tools, items and industry experts for show and tell. PLS arranged for Nathan Wiser, from the EPA to present regulatory topics on wellbore classification, and Jim Smolen taught on wellbore testing methods.
Although the students only spent one-week camping, they did earn a two weeks Massadona merit badge as the camp grounds and cab- ins had been untouched since 2019. There was only one shriek in the middle of the night due to critters in the cabins.
This year’s field session was a true success primarily due to the ef - forts of the Professor Wes Buchanan, Lead Geoscience TAs Dessy Sa- pardina, Cankut Kondakci, and all the excellent geoscience TAs. The geoscience team has done a remarkable job on the technical content of the field session, and in supporting the student’s geoscience un - derstanding. A special thank you to Denise Winn-Bower and all the PE TAs for their help, too.
One of the most notable marks of this year’s field session were the demographics be - tween the two sections. Section A was in line with historic averages where the majority of students were from the USA with several international students. These students had a great attitude and worked hard as they completed every assignment. Section B was a new experience dominated by students from Saudi Arabia making up approximate - ly 75% of the class and USA students could be counted on a single hand. Expecting the Middle Eastern students to experience wild west culture shock from Massadona, it was the faculty that was shocked as volleyball nets were sets up, music, and fun was in- troduced. The festive environment was contagious as all students were included in the fun and it was positive reminder of how diverse and inclusive the oil industry can be. It was the faculty and TAs job to remind the students this was not supposed to be an enjoyable experience, but sure enough we too were caught in the first Massadona Students vs. Professors/TAs volleyball invi - tational. Although the students barely won the volleyball games, it was TA Berk Coskun- er who won the push up contest.
Above is everyone from section A while below is section B.
PETROLEUM .MINES. EDU 23
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