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Passing on the baton... get the most from your SPE membership!

By Mitchell Sherston posted 07-09-2013 06:39 PM

  
Hi everyone,

This is my first attempt at blogging so bear with me...

I've been a pretty active member of SPE, hmmmm, since about 2005 when I was in university. Since then I've been fortunate to serve in multiple roles within SPE. My most recent has been as YP Chair for the Western Australia section and boy does it feel like a bag of mixed emotions.

SPE is a fantastic network that has allowed me to develop as a professional and as a person... it has introduced me to world leaders, given me opportunities to address large groups of YPs and has allowed me to travel to places that I would never have ventured otherwise.

Like all volunteering service, you get out of it relative to the effort you put in. I have served as YP Chair now for the past 3 years and often I find myself putting more energy into SPE than my normal employment. Suffice to say, it was a great time to pass on the baton.

What I'm trying to say to you is this... use SPE to it's full potential... as a YP in the industry, it has the ability to provide amazing opportunities to you! Throw yourself into a SPE role, swim as a fast as you can for a while then tag your team mate and let them carry the baton...

Perfect ways to do so can include -

Join a YP committee
Give an ALP presentation
Become a SPE eMentor
Write an article for TWA

So go on, get out there and give it a go! I promise you won't regret it...
4 comments
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Comments

Mitchell Sherston
09-18-2015 02:52 AM

Hi Domingo,
It's great to hear of graduates wanting to share their work with the rest of the industry. To make contact with the editorial team at The Way Ahead magazine, you can email them at spethewayahead@gmail.com.
All the best with your contact and future endeavors!
Mitchell

Domingo Vazquez
08-06-2015 11:34 PM

Dear Mitchell,
I'm a recent graduate Petroleum Engineer, from UDO - Venezuela. Right now I'm rediscovering my skills, and I found that I am very interested in the Natural Gas market and the global energy business. Recently I finished a specialized course of gas and I've been making some progress in my studies. As I am a starter in the petroleum engineering career and looking forward for energy studies as a petroleum economist, maybe you can give me some advice to share my ideas with SPE. One of my first goals is to write a well researched article for TWA, but I don't know how to reach the editorial staff for working out this goal I have as a technical writer.
Regards,
Dovaz.

Mitchell Sherston
04-06-2014 10:19 PM

Hi Jorge,
I believe Spain has a SPE YP committee that you can contact for more information on how to volunteer your time to help out on SPE events. Her name is Marie and can be reached on email - mariemolinam@hotmail.com
If you do not get a reply, contact me directly and I'll be happy to see if I can help some more.
You may even consider starting your own SPE YP committee under a formal SPE section in Spain. To look into this, please contact the current Spanish section Chair, Mr Galindez via email - nicolas.galindez@repsol.com
I wish you good luck and success in becoming more involved with the industry and SPE.
Kind regards,
Mitchell

Jorge Cubelos
03-29-2014 06:22 AM

Hi Mitchell,
I am Spanish and, in my country, it is really hard to get involved in Petroleum Industry. That is because we don't have a specific education concerning Petroleum, being Mining Engineering the closest Master of sciences to the Oil&Gas industry.
I want get involved in this industry since the early days of my professional career, and that is the reason why I am trying to ask you for some advices.
I don't know which steps should I follow right now. I am spreading the word about becoming a SPE member to my colleagues and helping in the SPE forum if I see the opportunity, but I am kind of disorientated about what should I do next.
Thank you for your constant support.
Regards,
Jorge.