Building relationships can be just as important for career advancement as increasing your expertise. Providing opportunities to make meaningful industry connections while strengthening students’ skills is the ethos of SAIT’s Student Petroleum Society (SPS).

The SPS gives students across oil and gas programs within the MacPhail School of Energy the chance to create lasting links between one another and the fossil fuel industry in Alberta. It not only helps them build social and professional relationships, but also offers them the chance to go on field trips to rig and fracking sites and earn their H2S certificate — which students need to work in environments where hydrogen sulphide hazards might be present.

One of the core priorities of the SPS’ 2023/24 student board was helping newcomers to Canada feel welcome in the program and the province.

“At the beginning of the term, the society always goes out to Banff,” says incumbent SPS President Brett Trentham (PET ‘24). “The trip is educational — the mountains play a major role in shaping the petroleum geology of the province — but it also gives students the chance to get to know Alberta a little bit more.”

Alongside Trentham, SPS board members John Cantong (PET ‘24), Kay-Lee Eckhard (EAM ‘24), Yuvraj Vansadia (PET ‘24), Alok Sunil (PET ‘24), and Arslan Salishev (BAPT ‘24) dedicated themselves to reinstating important initiatives to better support both current and future members.

“Our two main goals this year were to bring back the Student Petroleum Society Industry Night, which hadn’t happened in person since before COVID, and to reinstate a scholarship for SPS members,” says Trentham.

The society successfully hosted a sold-out Industry Night in April at the Calgary Petroleum Club for more than 200 students and industry professionals. The event combined the allure of the Petroleum Club’s exclusive legacy with a laid-back atmosphere.

“An important thing for our board was creating informal settings where students could meet people in the industry, because it can be very intimidating to talk to a potential future employer or colleague,” says Trentham. “We wanted to provide spaces where people could show their personalities and connect on a person-to-person basis.”

The board also achieved its goal of reestablishing a scholarship for incoming SPS members. To set up the scholarship, they needed to raise enough money to fund the scholarship for three years. Through event ticket sales, the board set aside $3,000 to provide three $1,000 scholarships for future students.

In recognition of their contribution to the SAIT student community, the SPS received a 2024 President’s Student Leadership Award. For Trentham, the award is simply the cherry on top of a wonderful experience.

“I’m just so proud of our board members and how we came together. It was a phenomenal year. We battled through adversity well, and we executed a fantastic product,” he says. “The award means a lot to us, and I think it will also mean a lot to our academic chair and faculty advisors. In a world that’s sort of turning a blind eye to petroleum, it’s nice to have the recognition that it’s still an important part of our lives.”