Brian Bloms is pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree at the North Dakota State University. Bloms spent more than six years working in the oil and gas industry as a lease operator where he tended to 75 wells. He intends to use his engineering degree to build on his previous experiences and become a production or reliability engineer in North Dakota. In his time away from school, Bloms enjoys farming with his dad, hunting pheasants and deer with his brother and friends, and spending time with his girlfriend and her two-year old son.

Lila Farden is a sophomore from Maxbass, North Dakota, and is attending the Hamm School of Engineering for construction management at the University of Mary. She has worked in the oilfield industry with her family’s third-generation business throughout her high school and college years. From an early age, she knew she wanted to work in the oil industry and provide a sustainable future for generations to come with resources from her home state. After graduation, she plans to continue collaborating with her father to take the business into the fourth generation to see western North Dakota blossom like it did when she was too young to be a part of it yet.

Jadyn Guidinger is a sophomore at the University of North Dakota pursuing a degree in chemical engineering. She is a native of Bismarck, North Dakota, and a 2021 graduate of Legacy High School. Jadyn interned this summer at the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. On campus, she is the Vice President of Engineers Without Borders and an active member of the Society of Women Engineers; she also is part of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program at UND.

Luke Kenner grew up on a hay and cattle farm in Northern Minnesota. After high school, he attended trade school for mechanics, worked a few years in the trades, and caught a break landing a job in the oil and gas industry. After working in the industry, he decided to pursue his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at NDSU. Luke is currently a senior and is planning to graduate in May of 2023.

Kate Kesler is an honors student majoring in chemistry at the University of North Dakota. She graduated from Mandan High School in 2021 and found her passion for chemistry during her junior year of high school. She currently participates in the UND Tennis Club, Undergraduate Medical Association, MedLife, Math Club, and Women in Science at UND. Kesler recently completed an internship with the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality Chemistry Division this summer and is looking forward to continuing her path toward a STEM career.

Paige Lang is from Bismarck, ND, and is a senior civil engineering major at the University of Mary. For the past two summers, she has been working at Apex Engineering as a water intern. This internship made her more aware of the water issues of civil engineering, and it also allowed her to work with some amazing engineers. She is excited to wrap up her studies at the University of Mary and enter into an engineering career.

Tomiwa Oguntade is a doctoral candidate and a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the University of North Dakota (UND). His research is dedicated to improving oil recovery in unconventional reservoirs using chemical-enhanced oil recovery methods. His study will improve upon the existing knowledge on the application of surfactant and foam in enhanced oil recovery of the Bakken formation. This work will develop a predictive model for surfactant and foam adsorption, which is essential for computational modeling. He has conducted several types of research on enhanced oil recovery and the application of machine learning in the prediction of drilling fluid properties. In addition, with his passion for adding value to the body of academics, he has authored and co-authored nine Scopus index journals and eight conference papers presented at Society of Petroleum Engineers conferences.

John Sturm is a mechanical engineering student at the University of North Dakota. From St. Paul, MN, he took on a truck driving career that took him over the country’s highways for three years and into wild lease roads of the Bakken for another four. When the price of oil fell so low that it forced him out of his job, he decided to return to school to study engineering, and hopes to return to the oil fields after graduation to join in the fight to make the nation energy-independent.

Maya Wald is a native of Minot, ND, and graduated high school in 2020 from Bishop Ryan Catholic School. She is currently attending the University of Mary and entering her third year studying computer science. After graduating, Wald plans to pursue a career in software development or a related field in North Dakota.