Chemical engineering senior continues leadership momentum

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 John Woodson is spending his summer thinking about what most other people around the nation are thinking: the price of oil and its effect on the bottom line. The big difference is Woodson is focusing on this subject on behalf of one of the largest chemical companies in the world. Woodson, a chemical engineering senior, is doing a summer internship at Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. As a sales and marketing intern at the company's Texas headquarters, Woodson is studying various markets to determine how John Woodson poses outside Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. Woodson, a chemical engineering senior is doing a summer internship with the company. oil and gas prices are going to change. "I am working to develop a list of key metrics of the primary cost drivers for each product such as crude oil so that it is easier for CPChem to determine how the market is going to look," Woodson said. "I am analyzing the rise in energy prices so we can make sure that our prices adjust accordingly to cover our costs." Woodson didn't set out to be a chemical engineer. "I didn't even know what a chemical engineer was," he said. "I decided on chemical engineering because I really just enjoyed chemistry and math in high school. "I actually started off in chemical engineering with a pre-med option," Woodson said of his first year at OU. "But I fell in love with the prospect of just doing engineering so I dropped the pre-med option." Woodson's dedication to chemical engineering helped the Lawton native get his first internship with Chevron Phillips last summer, working in the company's Marietta, Ohio office. Woodson said the experience he's getting in the sales and marketing department combined with what he learned as a technical service intern last year will make him more rounded when he enters the job market after graduating in 2010. "At OU, our professors and deans encourage all of us to get a broad base of education and knowledge because that makes us more marketable," he said. Acquiring a broad education has been Woodson's focus since he came to the College of Engineering. Woodson was president of E1, the First Year Engineers' Club, his freshman year. The next year he became the president of the E-Club, a position he still holds. "He's a natural leader," said Lance Lobban, director of the School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering. "He was the first sophomore I knew of to be president of E-Club." Although engineering is a discipline that requires a lot of study, Woodson said being involved in extracurricular activities has enhanced his studies and helped him secure internships. Lobban agreed. "It's to any engineer's advantage to be involved in these kinds of activities, and the company recruiters will tell you the same thing," he said. Woodson also is a member of the Dean's Leadership Council, a group of upper-classmen engineering students who serve as mentors to first-year engineering students. "I enjoy getting to know the freshmen and watching them grow on their academic journey," Woodson said. "I have had such a wonderful experience in the College of Engineering and I really want them to have that same experience." Woodson credits his positive experience in the College of Engineering to his strong relationships with professors and deans. "The college feels like home," he said. "That's been my favorite thing."

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