What is the Future Energy Professionals committee all about?

Feb 15, 2019 / News

Written by: Natalie Guillot, FEP Committee Chairman

After starting college, I was faced with doing some career searching before figuring out Engineering was my calling.In 2008, I graduated from LSU with a Chemical Engineering degree. I landed a job that was very rewarding, however, there was still something I felt like to needed to do to feel fulfilled.In 2011, I moved back to Cajun Country and was looking for anyone to give me the opportunity to give back to the community that provided so much for me, hoping to assist the youth with their future goals. With my experience of searching for my calling in the beginning of my college career, I wanted to be the catalyst in surfacing buried passions within students that haven't been exposed to the industry.

Not long after I moved from Baton Rouge back to Acadiana, I happened upon a very driven group called the Young Professionals of LAGCOE (YPL). This journey started with a vision of being a positive impact on the community and finding a way to be someone that the future leaders could lean on when in doubt about their next step beyond high school. YPL exceeded my expectations beyond belief when they accepted me as a member of the steering committee that developed the Future Energy Professionals (FEP) program.

The 2013 Expo welcomed 100 students to the show by providing them with a VIP tour along with the opportunity to connect with influential industry leaders. The feedback from the inaugural tours exceeded my expectations beyond words, but what really was notable was the look on the faces of the industry's future leaders when the connection was made on how they can be a piece in the puzzle.

The FEP committee knew that the impact was significant, but we wanted to make sure that we also helped the students that were impacted by the tours with the means to achieve their goals. This is when the scholarship program was born. In May of 2018, our first scholarship recipient graduated with an engineering degree. My passion is fulfilled knowing that I am a part of such an amazing team that is focused on helping inform the future leaders of the many career options in our industry along with providing them with a network that can be contacted for advice along their journey.

Knowing that I have been a part of something so much bigger than myself has left me yearning for more. FEP has tapped into my passion for STEM, all the while providing students with a place to learn about the many facets of the oil and gas Industry. If you think that you are being called to give the youth of our community a safe haven to grow and learn, we would love to have you join us for the Future Energy Professionals LAGCOE 2019 tours. Please feel free to contact Lori Gauthier, LAGCOE Education Coordinator, (Lori@lagcoe.com) or Natalie Guillot ( natalieguillot@alumni.lsu.edu) for more information.