Euclid, Biggers, and Schlumberger
Through my eighteen year career with Schlumberger, I have been able to blend my passion for engineering and volunteering. I will share my story hoping it will inspire you to help shape the company and community you join after graduation. An excerpt from a colleague’s book The CSTEM Challenge best captures the spirit of my story:
“Schlumberger recognizes the importance of developing individuals that will one day join the workforce in STEM fields. This is one of many reasons that you will see Steve Gomez at every CSTEM event. With his backpack and baseball cap, he might pass as a student, but do not be fooled. Gomez has degrees from MIT and Stanford and currently serves as a robotics expert at Schlumberger, the leading Oilfield Services provider.
When the staff at CSTEM starts talking about him, it is best to grab a seat because they have lots to say. While volunteering in Fort Bend Independent School District, The CSTEM staff met Steve Gomez and they hit it off immediately, bouncing ideas off of one another, brainstorming how best to get disadvantaged students interested in STEM subjects, and dreaming of ways to use all resources available to them to make an impact.
Eventually, they concluded that they should join forces and do something truly noteworthy. As Gomez said, “Alone we were doing great things, together we would reach new heights.”
So in 2007, they launched the CSTEM Challenge.
Gomez is the leading inspiration behind the creative concept. His commitment to the environment combined with his passion for John Bigger’s artwork, led him to suggest an expansive competition that would draw out students’ diverse talents.
Gomez, an engineer, teacher, and veteran robot builder, envisioned a competition that would be about more than just constructing faster, more efficient robots. He wanted a competition that would require students to think about thinking itself; that would encourage mechanical students to bond with artistic students; that would tie together theoretical concepts and real-life applications; that would connect younger students to older students and link all students to the larger community and world.
The first CSTEM Challenge accomplished all these objectives- and more. It told a story.
The annual theme Everyone is an Artist and an Engineer is an open invitation to all involved to integrate both STEM and art into the fabric of life.”
Since 2007 the story continues, the CSTEM Challenge has grown to International status and was honored by the White House in March 2014.