Student Chapters Share More Success Stories
Students Share
Last monthwe shared success stories from AAPG student chapters at the University of Texas-El Paso and the University of Bucharest.
This month three more outstanding student chapters share their experiences and advice for success, starting with one of the oldest – Stephen F. Austin State University, formed 25 years ago.
Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches, Texas, U.S.A.; Student Chapter formed in 1982
Adviser –
LaRell Nielson; current president –
Joe McShane.
- Describe the key factor essential to the success of your student chapter.
Essential to our success has been an accommodating geology department and adviser, and a core group of student officers committed to the success of the chapter. In addition to running the chapter for their term, student chapter officers need to keep the chapter’s future in mind and plan for the years to come.
- What information do you know now that you wish you had known when starting your student chapter?
We wish we would have known how beneficial interacting with other AAPG student chapters could have been.
- What has been the greatest challenge for your student chapter – and how have you overcome that challenge?
Much like the entire energy industry, the greatest challenge has been adapting to changing interests in the fields of geology. In the last few years there has been a trend for more students to focus on other aspects of geology (i.e. environmental). We have overcome this challenge to maintain membership by marketing ourselves to prospective members by emphasizing the environmental and mining divisions of AAPG.
- Describe the most effective methods for increasing membership in your student chapter.
We increase membership by maintaining an active, tight-knit group. We keep busy throughout the year by organizing service projects, in-house lectures from industry geologists, and by sponsoring departmental social events.
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[PFItemLinkShortcode|id:12049|type:standard|anchorText:Last month|cssClass:asshRef|title:Last month|PFItemLinkShortcode]we shared success stories from AAPG student chapters at the University of Texas-El Paso and the University of Bucharest.
This month three more outstanding student chapters share their experiences and advice for success, starting with one of the oldest – Stephen F. Austin State University, formed 25 years ago.
Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches, Texas, U.S.A.; Student Chapter formed in 1982
Adviser –
LaRell Nielson; current president –
Joe McShane.
- Describe the key factor essential to the success of your student chapter.
Essential to our success has been an accommodating geology department and adviser, and a core group of student officers committed to the success of the chapter. In addition to running the chapter for their term, student chapter officers need to keep the chapter’s future in mind and plan for the years to come.
- What information do you know now that you wish you had known when starting your student chapter?
We wish we would have known how beneficial interacting with other AAPG student chapters could have been.
- What has been the greatest challenge for your student chapter – and how have you overcome that challenge?
Much like the entire energy industry, the greatest challenge has been adapting to changing interests in the fields of geology. In the last few years there has been a trend for more students to focus on other aspects of geology (i.e. environmental). We have overcome this challenge to maintain membership by marketing ourselves to prospective members by emphasizing the environmental and mining divisions of AAPG.
- Describe the most effective methods for increasing membership in your student chapter.
We increase membership by maintaining an active, tight-knit group. We keep busy throughout the year by organizing service projects, in-house lectures from industry geologists, and by sponsoring departmental social events.
- Describe the activity or event hosted by your student chapter that attracts the largest attendance.
Every spring semester we try to make it a priority to have at least one speaker visit and conduct a presentation or short course.
- Advice or best practice to share with other student chapters.
Your chapter will never grow or survive unless you do more than meet every few months and send one or two people to the national convention. You have to provide frequent events and activities for the members in order to maintain their interest.
Imperial College London
Department of Earth Science and Engineering, London, England; student chapter formed 2000
Adviser –
Howard Johnson,; current president –
Rachel Kieft
- Describe the key factor essential to the success of your student chapter.
We benefit from more than 200 enthusiastic post-graduate students plus 200 undergraduates studying geology, geophysics and environmental geoscience. Together, they help maintain a solid, diverse membership of wellmotivated students, interested in petroleum geology and the broader global energy challenge.
Our student chapter’s connection with a strong department within a college such as Imperial helps us attract interesting speakers to discuss diverse topics. We maintain close links with the Society of Petroleum Engineers Student Chapter, and organize talks of common interest and encourage early professional integration.
We are lucky to have a dedicated committee, prepared to devote time and effort into making the chapter a success.
But perhaps most important to our success has been the assistance received from Steve Veal, AAPG’s European Office director. His enthusiasm, passion and support of our goals has been key.
- What has been the greatest challenge for your student chapter – and how have you overcome that challenge?
Our biggest challenge was getting seven members of the AAPG Executive Committee in the same place, at the same time, talking on various petroleum-related topics, for a half-day seminar! It was hugely successful, with a great student attendance – and despite the challenges involved, we are planning something similar in 2007.
- Describe the most effective methods for increasing membership in your student chapter.
During the first 30 minutes of a student’s life at Imperial College, each masters of science in petroleum geoscience student is strongly advised by faculty to start supporting professional groups through active membership. We urge new students to join one local society, in our case the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain, and the premier international society, the AAPG. During registration and enrollment, new students are given membership application forms for both societies!
Many geoscience students (bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. alike) come to Imperial College because they intend to pursue a career in the petroleum industry. The faculty here view AAPG membership as a natural first stepping-stone in developing the professional credentials of young petroleum geoscientists. This is further reinforced by existing students who advertise the chapter to each new intake of students, along with details about forthcoming talks. Recommendation to join AAPG by existing fellow students adds extra weight.
Many new students are already familiar with the AAPG, which definitely makes recruitment easier. Halliburton’s and Chevron’s global sponsorship of student membership fees is enormously helpful.
- Advice or best practice to share with other student chapters.
Our advice to other chapters would be to use all the willing support from the AAPG, industry and other student chapters, like our own.
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria, Africa; student chapter formed in 2003
Adviser –
Kalu Mosto Onnuoha; current president –
Sunny C. Ezeh
- Describe the key factor essential to the success of your student chapter.
The factors that have guided our chapter this far are commitment, unity and collective contribution of ideas irrespective of our individual backgrounds.
- What has been the greatest challenge for your student chapter – and how have you overcome that challenge?
Our greatest challenge has been trying to register all our members in AAPG and the renewal of membership due to inadequate funds by most students. However, the Halliburton and Chevron sponsorships have helped us overcome this challenge.
- Describe the most effective methods for increasing membership in your student chapter.
Our annual membership drive campaign has been the most vital activity in sustaining our membership.
During this event the student chapter members, particularly the chapter executives, organize a campaign to enlighten the geoscience students within the university about the benefits that the student chapter offers.
By informing students that membership provides access to recent geologic findings, workshops and seminars on tropical geologic issues etc., they are encouraged to join.
- Describe the activity or event hosted by your student chapter that attracts the largest attendance.
The most memorable and attended student chapter event is our annual NAPE/AAPG Day. During this event, experts from the Nigerian oil industry are invited to speak on topical issues. There are also student paper contests and field trips in which everybody is assured of participation at low or no cost.
The 2006 ‘NAPE/AAPG UNN - Schlumberger Day’ was voted as the “best ever organized.”
- Advice or best practice to share with other student chapters.
We advise that unity, commitment and professionalism should be the driving goals. Also, no member should be disregarded due to racism, religion or ethnicity. Understanding of individual differences during meetings and the ability to make everyone feel important is very essential.
Indeed, leadership is all about service and human management, thus the leaders in each AAPG student chapter should take this into consideration.