Key Points

• An up-close look at Marathon Petroleum’s El Paso, Texas, refinery has given a group of local high school students insights into career options they’ve never explored.
• The refinery held a STEM conference at the site with presentations, tours and hands-on activities to provide familiarity with technical jobs in the refining industry.
• The event involved 40 participants who were selected from a pool of 100 applicants

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Fashion shows on the runways of Paris or Milan may not feature personal protective equipment (PPE) worn in industrial settings like refineries. However, a fashion show at Marathon Petroleum’s El Paso, Texas, refinery showcased PPE as a fun way of introducing a group of high school students to a broad range of career possibilities during the site’s Girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) Conference.

“Conference presentations and panel discussions focused on educating the female students about different types of technical jobs in the refining industry,” said Advanced Environmental Engineer Rebecca Ayala, who led the organizing effort by the refinery’s Women’s Employee Network (ARISE). “There were also hands-on activities as well as a refinery and laboratory tour.”

The event at the end of 2024 involved 40 juniors and seniors who were among 100 applicants from high schools across El Paso County. Organizers chose the attendees by evaluating their application essays, community service, academic performance and extracurricular activities.

The participants heard from refinery employees in engineering, operations and science-related positions about their duties and had opportunities to ask questions. Additionally, employee demonstrations addressed topics such as the mechanics of a pump and a flange. Organizers also placed an emphasis on getting direct experience.

“The students were allowed to work on a model of a tank field (storage tanks) and turn valves and make transfers between tanks,” Ayala said. “There was also a sustainability activity where they were challenged to design the best water filter. This activity continued in the refinery laboratory where they actually tested the water that they filtered.”

The event was the El Paso refinery’s third annual STEM conference. Ayala pointed to comments from participants as evidence that they were inspired to think about their futures in new ways.

“At the end of the day, several students gave us great feedback. Many didn’t know what happened within a refinery,” said Ayala. “Many others stated that they would love to come back as interns in the summer.”