Students Write - Prof. Martin's Class: Faolias

Goals in My Community: Cameroon and Houston
by Faolias Metang Sietcheu

On July 20^th, 2015, I graduated from high school at Polyvalent High School of Bonaberi, Douala in Cameroon. After my graduation, I went to University Institute of the Coast, in Douala Cameroon, where I started a major on Security Network, which was my first choice, but only for a year because I got a student visa for the United State of America. Then, I travelled in August 2016 as soon as I got that student visa, and I started planning how I would start my second choice which was Petroleum Engineering.

When I arrived in the USA ,I could not speak, listen, or even read English properly so I had to take English classes. After the level 3, my English was better, so I took the TSI test that I passed, then I was able to start my major which is petroleum field service. I think starting to take college classes will help me make new friends, and learn more about American culture, which will be a strength for me who have another culture, speak another language (French) since a lot of company look for bilingual or multilingual people in case they have project in other countries that don’t speak English.

This semester I enrolled in some classes for the prerequisites of my major. The first step is enrolling in an Associate's degree in petroleum field service, which is 60 credit hours at Lone Star College, the second one is to transfer to University of Houston to enroll in bachelor’s degree which is four years to graduate. The advantage of starting by associate first is that after the graduation I could start working and get some experiences and skills on the field, so by the time I will get my bachelor I will have good skills and experience.

I chose to be a Petroleum Engineer first because I like everything that reflects Chemistry and field work, and second because my country will open a new port and they discovered new natural’s resource which will be exploited by people who will have knowledge and experience in petroleum field service. Knowledge in oil refinery, or finding the best place to dig oil also know I to use those resources into fabrication of house utensil, so Cameroon will not have to import those stuff anymore. Moreover, the state of Texas is known for its big demand of tanker experiment on the ground doing my major in Houston will be a great advantage for me and for this community of Houston.

In conclusion, having my bachelors degree and becoming a petroleum engineer will not be only a benefit for me, but also for the city where I will gain that success (Houston) and also for my country (Cameroon). I will bring my knowledge in company here and do great work. Also, that knowledge I will bring it in Cameroon for its development in term of manufacturer and maybe more.