WorldWide Drilling Resource

21 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JULY 2013 Environmental Monitoring by Thomas Kwader, Ph.D., P.G. The Value of Education and Training - A True Story The suggested topic for this month’s article is “education, careers, and train- ing.” I feel uniquely qualified to write on this subject, since I barely graduated on time from high school, but have gone on to have a successful career as a hydrogeologist. My first year of college was not much better than high school, considering my Western Civilization teacher called me into her office after I turned in my first term paper and: 1) asked me how I ever got out of high school and 2) immedi- ately enrolled me in reading and writing classes (classes you pay for, but don’t get any graduation credits for). Looking back on it, it was not so much that I was so stupid, I just liked sports (foot- ball, track, baseball) more than studying. During the first year in college, my life reached a huge fork in the road, with three options: 1) drop out of college and get a job; 2) struggle through college with mediocre grades (at best); or 3) buckle down, study seriously, and try to catch up for all the time I did not do my homework or turn in assignments. My financial situation provided the motiva- tion to choose the third option. Being the oldest of six poor kids, there was no family money available to go to col- lege, and receiving a grant or scholar- ship was not going to happen. I decided to try college while working two part- time jobs to pay for school. The part- time jobs were very labor intensive and I was actually working with adult men with families at home to support, who by the way were making about a dollar an hour more than the minimum wage I was making. This experience was the greatest motivation to stick to my edu- cation more than any other reason I could imagine. I simply did not want to go through life, possibly supporting a family, on the small amount I was mak- ing. Although I truly liked the folks I worked with, I did not want to go through life living paycheck to paycheck. To make a long story short, I com- pleted my two-year degree with not much more than a 2.5/4.0 (C+) grade point average; but I felt it was a success. I had a strong desire to succeed; my com- petition was only myself, not the person next to me. I completed my B.S. degree in Geology with a B average, my Master’s degree with an A average, and my Ph.D. with an A average. Persevering with my education led to other accomplishments including vice president of a major con- sulting firm (30 years); licensed profes- sional geologist in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina; chairman of the Board of Professional Geologists in Florida; holder of a U.S. patent for a well development tool; and author of over 400 articles on groundwater, geophysics, modeling, and well drilling. This year, I also became a paid professor to teach a graduate level environmental class at a major univer- sity. I say all this not to brag. I feel I have a lot more to learn, but my advice to everyone is never stop learning or helping others to learn, and always push yourself to be a good listener. The best thing we can do is invest in our education, training, and careers. Tom Tom Kwader may be contacted via e-mail at admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com Monitoreo Ambiental por Thomas Kwader, Ph.D., P.G. El Valor de la Educación y Capacitación - Una Historia Real El tema sugerido para el artículo de este mes es “educación, carreras y capacitación.” Me siento únicamente calificado para escribir en este tema, ya que a apenas me gradué a tiempo de la preparatoria, pero he logrado tener una carrera exitosa como hidrogeólogo. Mi primer año de universidad no fue mucho mejor que la preparatoria, con- siderando que mi profesora de Civilización del Oeste me llamó a su oficina después de haber entregado mi primer trabajo del semestre y: 1) me preguntó como logre graduarme de la preparatoria y 2) inmediatamente me inscribió en clases de leer y escribir (clases pagadas por los alumnos pero que no recibían créditos para graduación). Al pensar en aquello, no era tanto que yo era muy estúpido, solo que me gustaban los deportes (fútbol, carreras y beisbol) más que estu- diar. Durante el primer año deUniversidad, mi vida llego a un punto donde el camino se dividía y tenia que escoger entre tres opciones 1) dejar la Universidad, 2) bata- llar en la universidad con calificaciones mediocres (cuando eran buenas); o 3) abrocharme el cinturón, estudiar seria- mente y tratar de recuperar el tiempo perdido al no hacer las tareas o entregar trabajos. Mi situación financiera me dio la motivación para escoger la tercera opción. Al ser el mayor de seis niños pobres, la familia no tenía dinero para ir a la universidad y no podía suceder que recibiera alguna beca. Decidí entrar a la universidad mientras trabajaba 2 Hector Leos Translator Kwader trans. cont’d on page 24.