WorldWide Drilling Resource

69 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JULY 2013 Reggie’s World by Reggie Stockert R.G. Stockert Drilling Co. Wow, can you believe we're in July! Here in my region, the year got off to a slow start. In January and February, it looked like there was going to be plenty of work, then the bottom dropped out; but it appears we're getting back on track. It's amazing the turns this industry takes. You don’t pick this line of work, you evolve into a way of life and it slowly becomes a career. As I watch my son Regis (who just finished five years of college and received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Akron) going to job interviews across the coun- try, one wonders what lies ahead. As a father I want what's best for him, and I pray he makes the right decisions at the start, middle, and end of his career. I guess time will tell, and I hope every day he goes into work is the best day of his life! Not many people enjoy that privilege. At the University of Akron, and for many colleges around the world, along with the standard “stick and ball” sports there are other activities not in the spot- light. One of those is Akron's Formula SAE ® race team where young engineers build a ¼-scale formula race car from scratch, and compete at timed events around the world. This year the first competition was at Michigan International Speedway where Akron finished third overall out of 130 other universities in the three-day events. Their next competition is in July start- ing in Germany, then on to Finland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and ending in Austria. They students spend countless hours in the garage all year while attending classes and working co-op jobs. The team be- comes a way of life for these students. During the years our son has been on this team, we were honored to spend time and get to know these fine young men and women. We wish them the best with their future endeavors. If any of you would like to see the work these students have accomplished, check out their Web page at zipsracing.com. Til next month, Reggie admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com will be competing the whole month of July, then home in August, and finish- ing the season in Montréal, Canada. At many of the events, companies send representatives to watch teams and target team members for placement in their firms. The majority of students receive handsome job offers as a result of their accomplishments at these com- petitions. Out of the 12 students Akron will send to Europe, all are not engineers. They also have marketing, accounting, and business majors. The schools are judged not solely on what the car can do on the track. The teams compete in auto cross, endurance, design, cost, and marketing just to name a few. These