Tennis Skills Bounce Grad into Energy Career

David Warren is really good at tennis.So good, he used the tennis court to bounce into bigger things. 

“It enabled me to attend the school of my dreams,” said Warren, who received a scholarship to play tennis for prestigious Rice University in his hometown of Houston.  

Like many freshman students, when he first started university, Warren did not know what he wanted to study, but then chemistry happened. 

“I ended up kind of falling in love with engineering,” said Warren, who graduated with a bachelor's in chemical engineering.

Warren's new love and college major led him to a job offer in the oil and gas industry even before he graduated.

“The guy who called me said it’s going to be for a production engineering role, and it’s going to be in Midland, Texas," Warren recalled, "And when I heard that I was super excited.  I was actually hoping it would be in Midland.” 

Midland is in the middle of the Permian Basin in west Texas that has been called the largest oil field in the United States, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).Warren said he looks forward to working in the field.

Because energy technology is constantly changing, he's had to be well read on world news and where new discoveries are being made.He said companies are also investing in renewable energies such as wind, solar and hydrothermal power.

“Trying to understand what’s happening in the world is important, and I still think this is one of the most exciting times to get into energy.There’s been a lot of changes," Warren said."I don’t think oil and gas is necessarily going to go anywhere any time soon, but I do think that at the same time there will be some changes in our lifetime that will be exciting and something that I hope that I can be a part of.”

He said he dreams of making a difference in the world, “Climate change, affordable energy, making sure that people in poverty have access to that energy, I think, are some of the problems that I hope to address.” 

As he prepares to move to Midland, Warren is looking forward to playing tennis with his new roommate, who is also avid about the sport.Warren is also excited to get his hands dirty in his new job and bring the best of himself to Midland.

“I might not be the smartest guy.I might not be the best tennis player, but I think I do a decent job making other people around me better, in bringing a good ethic and just kind of being a straight-shooting kind of guy.”