I began working in the oilfields of north Texas when I was growing up, because I had older brothers in the industry.
Overall, I worked the rigs as a forehand and driller in Texas and Oklahoma for 15 years. Then in 1996, I went to college at Oklahoma State University and got my degree in environmental occupational safety. I graduated in 2000 with a 4.0 and went to work for bigger oil and gas companies as a safety consultant, and now I'm a safety director. Basically, I ensure that all our safety policies are implemented and that everybody's doing what they're supposed to be doing ... our biggest concern is that people get in between objects or struck by objects.
I've worked in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and West Virgina. I've worked down south in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma -- and I've also worked as far north as North Dakota. There are oil booms going strong everywhere in various parts of the country, and it's my job to be there and make sure workers are following safety procedures.
All the moving around is difficult, but I can get along with people pretty well and I'm pretty flexible. Missing your family and friends and having to make new friends all the time is the hardest part. It takes an open-minded kind of person who understands the bigger picture -- and it takes a person with a good work ethic.
I have a home base in Oklahoma now, and I have two kids and a two-year old grandson who all live there. While it's exciting to travel and see new things, and it's pretty amazing to have been so many areas, it gets old pretty quick. So I hope to stay working near Oklahoma for a while.
Quiet Kansas farm towns are quickly transforming into energy boomtowns along the southern border of the state more attractive.
