10 years of a proud Petroleum Engineer - My 10 to-dos for students and YPs (part one)

This is the second article of the series "10 years of a proud Petroleum Engineer". If you haven't already, you can access the first article here: "The Beginning"

In this second article, I explore 5 of 10 things I did and learned as an undergraduate student that helped me to succeed personally and in my career so far. Obviously, there is no recipe for success that can be replicated in full, but I believe that adapting lessons from people we admire can have a great impact on our journey.

So, here we go.

First. Define your success measure - calibrate it as you go!

When I started my bachelor's degree, I was not entirely sure how to measure success. Getting a job in the industry, visiting different countries, and helping my family were some of the KPIs that came to my young mind. However, I quickly realised that these alone wouldn't fulfill my inner self.

I had to push myself harder.

Time passed and I began to establish connections not only with my classmates but with older individuals in my department, professors, students from other courses, etc. I kicked off a research project on gas hydrates exploration with Prof Novaes and Forlan La Rosa Almeida , who was in his last semester at UFPel at that time.

I gained a reputation as someone who knew many people. I discovered my knack for networking and that brought me great joy.

Gradually the pieces of the puzzle started to come together. Nonetheless, it was only after attending the I Petro-Sul, a workshop organised by the SPE UFPel Student Chapter , in December 2013, that everything became crystal clear.

During that week, I had the opportunity to meet numerous outstanding O&G professionals, among them Felipe Mota , a Reservoir Engineer working for 哈里伯顿 at that time. Felipe wasted no time and wholeheartedly encouraged me to join the Society of Petroleum Engineers International as a volunteer at the UFPel Student Chapter. He was doubtless to say that would have a significant impact on my journey, and indeed it did.

Following that week, I found myself defining my own success criteria for the first time. My goals were clear: to cultivate numerous meaningful friendships, continuously embrace challenges, and make a positive imprint on the world!

Second. Focus on the half-full glass - positive energy will help a lot!

In life, there will be both good and bad days. Most likely, there will be no perfect ones. Extracting the best from each situation, although a hard task, is for sure one of the key things I had to learn early on.

During my time on the farm, I had a tendency to adopt a pessimistic outlook which often annoyed my father. I used to spot problems everywhere and although I was good at fixing things, my negativity was often devaluing all the good work our family was doing. I had to change and I did!

When I started at UFPel, the university lacked infrastructure, some classes did not have hired professors, there was no connection with the O&G industry, and none of our professors had offshore experience. Besides, Pelotas is ~2k Km far from Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian O&G hub.

These may seem like valid reasons to complain, right?

Actually not. There was a big half-full glass in this story. Most of the existing professors were renowned Geologists and Geophysicists, well-known for their academic achievements in Brazil and abroad. Moreover, there was an open-door policy that welcomed anyone willing to help the course thrive. We had a blank canvas to fill and a story to build, and I felt a great sense of pride in being part of that journey.

Third. Get involved in extracurricular activities.?Dip your toes in different waters.

I liked the idea of having multiple streams working in parallel and I found it difficult to turn down new opportunities. In my initial years of university, I simultaneously supported the paleontology professor as a teaching assistant, led the SPE Student Chapter, and conducted three research projects (gas hydrates exploration and production (1), coalbed methane modeling (2) and, application of differential equation in the engineering courses (3)).

That was too much, I must admit. Saying "no" was something I had to learn later on.

Nonetheless, my intention was simply to be open-minded and explore my true interests. It is really hard to determine your passion without giving them a try. So, go ahead, embrace new opportunities, and venture into the unknown. In the early stages of your career, it is better to say more "yes"!

Fourth. Join the SPE. Go above and beyond! Learn from the mistakes!

The Society of Petroleum Engineers International changed my life.

Volunteering is always a good idea, but there is no better opportunity to develop yourself as an oiler than by joining your local SPE Student Chapter. From personal experience, I can attest that it serves as the ideal platform to express ideas, foster leadership abilities, build a valuable network, forge lasting friendships, and, most importantly, make a meaningful impact on society.

Upon Felipe's recommendation, I joined the SPE UFPel as a Public Relations officer in February 2014. The chapter, established in 2012, was still in the process of consolidating its presence and our job was to focus on its sustainable growth.

A dynamic group of energised new members, along with experienced officers ignited a series of initiatives that would propel the chapter to global recognition for its accomplishments.

On the social front, we pioneered the Energy4me program at UFPel, one of the earliest implementations in Brazil. The program focused on visiting schools to engage in discussions about the Oil and Gas industry, its challenges, and opportunities. These visits were often accompanied by food/clothes donations, further reinforcing the social aspect of our work.

Additionally, with a focus on social impact, we organised blood donation activities every couple of semesters.

Looking for a sustainable future for the chapter, we persevered through challenges achieving a debt-free mark and reporting free cashflows within a year. It would be crucial to grant some comfort to the future teams that would join the SPE UFPel.

We created processes to attract and retain members not only from the Petroleum Engineering course but all others that could be interested in joining the SPE.

In addition to our immediate focus, we also recognised the importance of planning for the future of SPE UFPel. We understood the need for a continuous pipeline of talent which led us to establish a trainee program to recruit new volunteers.

Despite the challenges of being far from Rio and the declining state of the O&G sector from mid-2014, we managed to run impactful technical events. With limited sponsorship and the distance factor, bringing renowned speakers to Pelotas required diligent partnerships and a lot of negotiation. Thanks to our exceptional team, we achieved this, exemplified by the success of IV Petrol-Sul and many other examples.

The SPE UFPel was really the experience I was seeking. Within months of joining as an officer, I progress through the ranks, starting as a Secretary, then Vice-President, and ultimately serving as President between 2015 and 2016.

Our hard work and dedication paid off swiftly. In 2015 we were recognised with the SPE International Gold Standard Award.

In 2016, we got the world.

We were awarded the Outstanding Student Chapter Award. The ceremony happened in Dubai and the chapter treasurer Lucas Bampi received it from Helge Hove Haldorsen , acting SPE President at that time.

In less than 3 years, our journey was filled with countless memorable moments. We expanded our reach and became known. As SPE officers, we had the incredible privilege of connecting with diverse individuals and making friends while we attended events in many different locations.

But life is not just about ups, there are downs and as a growing leader at SPE, I experienced the two faces of the coin of being a decision-maker.

I made several mistakes. The genuine desire to deliver and achieve what was planned, on some occasions, resulted in unplanned outcomes.

The learning had to come. To be honest, some took years to crystallize in my mind. The focus should not only be on the end goal, but on the process and especially on the people involved.

Today, these mistakes are lessons learned that I use on a daily basis. As a believer in the "fail fast" philosophy, I am grateful for having failed sooner.

In 2016, after intense years with the SPE UFPel, it was time to give space to the new generation. I trusted the process we had constructed and knew we had a talented team to make our chapter even greater.

Our Faculty Advisor, Professor Valmir Francisco Risso , would not worry. Augusto Klaus and Rafael Ghirotti were in charge and the years to come were even brighter.

Fifth. Do not be afraid. Be yourself at your best!

A "colono" (southern Brazilian small farmer) in petroleum engineering. That was the way I was seen early on at the university.

My class was very diverse in gender and geography. There were students from all regions of Brazil and very different ways to speak the same Portuguese. Coming from a small city, colonised predominantly by Italians in the 19th century, my accent could be differentiated very easily.

One day I received a frank recommendation to speak more as an urban individual. I thought for a second about making the effort and adapting myself to the new world I was just joining. But that did not seem correct to me.

Similar caution notes were made about wearing our gaucho's traditional clothes and drinking our traditional drink, chimarr?o or mate (for the Argentinians and Uruguayans) during visits to O&G events in outside Rio Grande do Sul.

I didn't need much time to decide. I stuck with my accent, my mate, my bombachas and alpargatas (traditional gaucho clothes).

My origins were never up for negotiation, and looking back I can say that being firm and keeping my traditions helped me to stand out from the others.

So be your best self!

And with this, we finish the second of three articles. In the next one, I complete the list of 10 to-do suggestions for any engineering student or YP.

Thanks for reading!

Credits to my friends in the pictures.

Pic 1 - Alisson Lafuente , Danielle Lima , Luiza Rodrigues Soares , Laura, Suelen , Mariane Sulzbacher , Mateus Moura , Leonardo Cruz , Renan

Pic 6 - Faruk Bakri , Mauren Costa da Silva , Luiza, Rafael Ghirotti , Matheus Bierhalz , Lucas Bampi

Pic 7 - Bruno Vernochi , Marina Simplicio da Silva e Mauren

Pic 8 - Gabriel Pan , Mauren, Victor Fischer , Iago Neves

Pic 10 - Rosberguer Camargo

Pic 12 - Luziane Rodrigues Dornelas , Ant?nio J. dos Reis , Marina Rangel Justiniano , Larissa de Farias Nunes , Rodrigo Ruschel , Pedro Henrique Ribeiro Nogueira , Max , Filipe Duarte , Eduardo Lobo, CAPM , Izabella Spoladore , Jo?o Casemiro de Oliveira Neto

Pic 14 - Renan, Prof Valmir, me, Gabriela, Luiza Rodrigues Soares , Mauren Costa da Silva , Rafael Ghirotti , Bruno Sabará , Augusto, Bruno Vernochi , Lucas Bampi !