Stanley Hosts T4 Summit
Stanley Public Schools hosted the T4 Summit at the Mountrail County South Complex and Fair Building on Wednesday, Sept. 30 and Thursday, Oct. 1. The summit was coordinated by the planning committee of the T4 team of North Dakota Energy Educators, staff from Stanley Schools, Mountrail County Extension and many volunteers.
Schools from around the area were invited to send middle school and high school students, with each school able to choose which grades they wanted to include. Wednesday was set up for high school students, while Thursday was for middle schoolers. Over 500 students from Stanley, Powers Lake, Berthold, Burke Central, Bowbells, Divide County, Ray, North Shore Plaza, and Tioga took part in the event.
T4 stands for “Tools, Trades, Torque and Tech”, which is similar to the concept of STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
Led by Shawn Brink, the North Dakota Energy Education Coordinator, the T4 summit allows young people to participate in industry career exploration with hands-on activities that can help them learn what careers are available in North Dakota. Students are introduced to skills needed in local industries, the training options, and workforce needs of local employers, and networking opportunities with industry leaders and technicians.
After an opening session telling students what to expect, they broke out into different sessions throughout both buildings. Those session included Wizard Electronics; Gas Processing and Pipeline Operations; Catch the Beat: Think, Move, Make Music; Let’s Build a Pipeline; Electrical Boards and Meta/Virtual Glasses; Pipe Fittings Kits, VR Headsets, and Energy Bike; Power Plant Puzzle; Can Chemistry Bring a Dead Oil Well Back To Life; Exploring Geology and Chemistry; Refining and Instrumentation; Hands-On Oil & Gas Equipment & Demonstration; Reclamation; PLC/HMI Exhibit; Gas Processing Equipment; Equipment Simulator; Explore the Core of NDDOT; Diesel Technician Schematic; and Agriculture Equipment.
Facilitators leading the sessions came from Chevron, Pembina Pipeline Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Creedence Energy Services, True Companies/Bridger Pipeline, Chord Energy, ONEOK, University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center, North Dakota Petroleum Foundation, Lignite Energy Council, Butler Machinery, Local 49, Gooseneck Implement, Bismarck State College, NDDOT, and Border Plains Equipment.
Sponsors included the Lignite Energy Council, the ND Petroleum Foundation, ConocoPhillips, Marathon, Chord Energy, Chevron, Alliance Pipeline, ONEOK, Enbridge, Devon, Aux Sable, TC Energy, ND Oil And Gas Research Program, Pembina and Kraken Resources. Lunch was sponsored by EOG Resources.
One of the goals of the T4 Summit is to improve students’ knowledge of career options, encouraging them to develop and work towards goals during their critical years. Once students know what preparation is needed for specific industry careers, participants are better able to set realistic goals for themselves and pursue them. Students participating in industry career exploration programs are more likely to enroll in career, technology and academy courses based on their future goals. Connecting students to industry career exploration at an earlier age is imperative to raise awareness of and interest in the area’s career, internship, and apprenticeship options available today and in the future.