Exploring Industry expo takes students inside CPET

San Jacinto College's LyondellBasell Center for Petrochemical, Energy, & Technology hosted the Exploring Industry Expo on Feb. 14.

Students from South Houston, Pasadena Memorial, and Sam Rayburn high schools heard from industry speakers, current students, and alumni and received a tour of the state-of-the-art facility.

"Hosting events like Exploring Industry gives an opportunity for students to think about career paths they never would have considered before," said Yessenia Jimenez, San Jac manager of strategic initiative projects. "These are high-paying careers that they can train for at a community college with very affordable tuition."

The event featured speakers from different industries who gave students firsthand knowledge of their paths to success. Each speaker noted the importance of industry-guided education when it comes to progressing in their respective fields.

"Students are going to be better prepared because industry is able to advise on some of the curriculum decisions that educators make to prepare them to be better employees," said David Gosnay, an operations manager with LyondellBasell.

The second half of the day included tours of several of the facility's labs. Faculty members led the way with stops in the non-destructive testing, process technology, and electrical labs. Here the students were able to see directly what makes CPET so special.

"People are able to come here and actually live out dreams of being welders, pipefitters, and instrument techs where at other colleges you might not have those opportunities," said Chad Whetro from Performance Contractors Inc. "San Jacinto College has jumped all over forward-thinking."