Key Points

• The 2024 Summer Youth Program at Marathon Petroleum’s Los Angeles refinery marked its 33rd year with 32 students from a half dozen nearby high schools.
• Students gain hands-on experience in refinery operations and career exploration while also participating in team building and community projects.
• At the end of the seven-week program, students celebrated their accomplishments at a graduation ceremony attended by family, friends and refinery employees.

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Marathon Petroleum’s Los Angeles refinery continues its commitment to nurturing future leaders through its long-standing Summer Youth Program, which is now in its 33rd year.

The 2024 group included 32 students from six nearby high schools who participated in a seven-week internship, gaining hands-on experience in safely operating a refinery and exploring careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), among other fields.

“It completely changed my perspective on working at a refinery,” said Summer Youth student Asha Marin. “There are so many opportunities I never considered before.”

Many students grow up near the refinery without knowing much about it or its products.

“I had no idea what all a refinery makes, or the different jobs needed to run it safely and efficiently,” said Victoria Gutierrez, who is considering a career in engineering. “This experience has opened my eyes to possibilities I wasn’t aware of.”

During the internship, students engaged in team-building exercises, toured local community colleges, and explored the Port of Los Angeles on a sailboat from the Los Angeles Maritime Institute. For many, like Fernando Salgado, sailing was a summer highlight.

“I’m so thankful to everyone who makes this program possible. It helped me believe in myself and taught me to grow from setbacks instead of letting them hold me back.”

“Going deep into the ocean and raising the sails was a really cool experience,” he said.

The program also includes a community service project. This year, in partnership with Sharefest—a longtime partner of the refinery dedicated to empowering underserved youth—students beautified The Academy of Medical Arts at Carson High School just in time for the new school year. They installed landscaping, fresh soil and mulch, and painted inspiring murals and motivational quotes along the school’s corridors and lockers.

“Watching it all come together and knowing we were working as a team to better our community and give back was an awesome feeling,” said Summer Youth student Arturo Jr Marin Vega.

Additionally, students assisted at the refinery’s two open house events this summer at the Wilmington and Carson sites.

The program concluded with a graduation ceremony celebrating the students alongside their families, friends and refinery employees.

“I’m so thankful to everyone who makes this program possible,” said Cecilia Herrera Gutierrez, a student who spoke at the ceremony. “It helped me believe in myself and taught me to grow from setbacks instead of letting them hold me back.”

With over three decades of history, the program has produced many success stories and opportunities for its graduates. Notable alumni include Luisa Wiggins, Senior Planning & Optimization Engineer at the refinery and one of the program coordinators.

“I learned so much from the program when I was part of it, and I owe my success to all the people who helped me back then,” Wiggins said. “I am so happy that I've come full circle and can do this for them too.”

Like Wiggins, other graduates of the program have found a home at Marathon Petroleum creating futures they never thought possible.

“I was with Summer Youth in 2014, ten years ago—I went to CAMS High School. The application was there; I took it, filled it out, turned it in, and it was life-changing,” said Fernando Hernandez, now an Instrument and Machine Technician at the refinery.

Five years later, Hernandez says that supporting the current Summer Youth Program students and watching them learn and grow, just as he did, makes him emotional.

“I was in their shoes,” said Hernandez. “Coming up, I didn’t know what was out there. It really transformed me. I became a professional, I got educated, and I earned my four-year degree.”

“When CP Patsatzis, the refinery’s Vice President of Refining, tells these students to shoot for the stars and dream big, he means it.” said Wiggins. “We all do. What we do is nourish those ideas and dreams. Helping them believe that if they can think about it and dream about it, it can happen one day.”