Dr. Bryan Maggard,
First of all, I would like to thank you and the Department of Petroleum Engineering for allowing me to participate in
the study abroad program at Qatar. It was an unbelievable experience both academically and culturally. I am extremely grateful
for the nomination.
My expectations for the semester were to be able to travel, learn about new cultures, and make new contacts while
pursuing my academic degree plan. During the first few days, the people in charge of us did a very good job of introducing us to
the country, its people and its culture. I felt safe and comfortable from the beginning. The first few days felt more like a
vacation, and it was difficult to set my mind to school work. Eventually, all the orientations were over and I found myself sitting
in lectures full of people I did not know and in a completely different environment. Getting used to this and getting to feel “part
of” the lectures took a few weeks. Nevertheless, once it happened, things changed pretty dramatically. People ended up being
very nice, just a little shy in the beginning. Teachers were very well qualified, knowledgeable and extremely helpful. I definitely
enjoyed small classrooms, where interaction with instructors is promoted. I found myself learning and understanding the
material much faster in a small classroom environment compared to large lecture halls. On the other hand, lecture content and
format was very similar to main campus.
An unforgettable experience I had during the semester was being invited to a regional SPE Conference. After being
nominated by the SPE Chapter at TAMUQ, Maersk Oil Sponsored my participation in the SPE Conference titled “Well and
Reservoir Management: Oil and Gas Field Monitoring”. This 3 day event alone made the semester worth all of my efforts. Me
and a few other students were given the task to participate as scribes for the event. Besides learning a lot from presentations, I
got to meet very important people in our industry from multiple countries and companies in the Middle East. I feel that sharing
a few words, interacting and asking for advice from these industry experts helped me develop as a future professional in ways
that I believe are needed to be successful. This experience also showed me how big SPE is and how it can help you be part of a
huge network.
In terms of travel and exploring, I could not completely satisfy my expectations mostly because of academic priorities,
visa limitations and other program limitations. Even though I got frustrated with these limitations at times, I do not have any
major complaint about them since they were all understandable. During the semester, I had the opportunity to visit
neighboring countries and explore Doha beyond Education City, which is isolated from the reality of the city. Visiting markets,
hotels, the bay, the artificial islands and the desert definitely filled the tourism expectations I had before the trip. Local friends
made sure to show me the most amazing places and teach me more about their culture.
I would definitely encourage the PETE Department to keep promoting this program in the same way as I would
recommend other students to apply for it. I believe that opportunities like this one are part of what make our Department
known around the world. Living in a country (and region) that basically runs on natural resources was very interesting as it
exposes some of the global power of our industry. Also, after the semester abroad, I learned that I would happily work in the
Middle East for a few years if the opportunity ever presented itself. I would also be willing to discuss my experiences with other
students who are considering the semester abroad.
Sincerely,
Pablo Prudencio