Chris Hosek, Principal
With the recent hurricane impacts to Texas, many corporations made generous contributions to the relief effort. With both money and manpower, businesses in Texas overwhelmingly responded to this disaster. The energy industry itself quickly stepped up with multi-million dollar donations to relief efforts across Texas. These significant gifts are not new to those in the industry. This is an instinctive reaction of many companies who give back to their local communities in need.
While times of disaster truly highlight their generosity, day-to-day, and month-to-month, energy industry companies give back to their local communities in ways the general public never sees. 📷
A perfect example of this community-oriented attitude is QEP Resources. QEP is an independent crude oil and natural gas exploration company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. They have operations in North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Louisiana, and Texas. In the states where they operate, they are making a significant impact not only on jobs, energy production, and tax revenue but also in education.
QEP’s corporate giving program, QEP Cares, supports the growth and development of local communities. They prioritize giving in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. QEP believes that in order to succeed in this new, information-based and highly technological society, students need to develop their STEM capabilities to levels far beyond what has been acceptable in the past. Scientific and technological innovations are critical to providing the benefits and meeting the challenges of both globalization and a knowledge-based economy.
QEP also recognizes that not all schools may be able to afford the latest state-of-the-art equipment. So, QEP donated $200,000 for a SmartLab for one of their local school districts, Grady ISD, in Lenorah, Texas. This high-tech STEM classroom will engage students of all interests and abilities through personalized learning and intrinsic motivation. Students will work with leading-edge technology and develop critical skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, project management, and communications.
In addition to this new Smart lab, QEP has awarded an annual $20,000 college scholarship to assist a local outstanding high school senior in pursuing a STEM degree. They also award annual scholarships for students in energy-related fields at Texas Tech University and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Since its creation in 2011, the QEP Education Foundation has awarded $280,000 in Scholarships to college students in Texas.
Although they are making a significant impact on Texas students, QEP does not seek fanfare for this action – it is just part of their corporate culture. It will probably go unnoticed by most but I, for one, would like to salute them.
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