The potential of West Virginia University graduates just goes to show that not everything is bigger in Texas.
Petroleum, West Virginia native Zeke Davis will graduate this December with a degree in energy land management from the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design before heading to Texas in January for his new job as a structural analyst for NextEra Energy.
“If you work in oil and gas and you get far enough into the industry, you’re going to end up in Texas at some point,” Davis said. “Starting out down there will get my foot in the door. The industry experience I'll get from working in what is considered the hub of oil and gas will be invaluable.”
Although Davis is now experiencing success with his new degree, he didn’t even know about it when he started college.
“I initially came here to study engineering, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. So, I went to the WVU Academics website and started looking at all the majors and their descriptions. That’s where I saw energy land management,” Davis said. “I had never heard about this degree before. I started reading about it, and it sounded really interesting.”
Since becoming an energy land management major, Davis has gotten involved in the American Association of Professional Landmen and the Energy Land Management Association. He received the Engineering Excellence Level 2 Scholarship, as well as the Landman Trust scholarship from the American Association of Professional Landmen. Davis interned with NextEra Energy in the summer of 2022 and with Allstar Ecology in the summer of 2021.
“Growing up in West Virginia or anywhere in Appalachia, you see a lot of energy development—oil and gas, coal, nuclear, hydro and solar,” Davis said. “I’d always see well pads and other things, but I never really knew a lot about the energy industry. That’s why I was drawn to it. I wanted to learn more about what I’d been seeing my whole life growing up here.”
Although he is not excited to be 19 hours away from home, Davis said it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. As a structural analyst, he’ll be involved in risk management, scheduling and blowout prevention, which were tasks he experienced during his internship with NextEra Energy. Now, he’ll get to be involved in special projects related to land information storage as well.
Davis said he is looking forward to the next chapter of life. His advice to students who are still working toward graduation is to focus on their time management skills.
"There's a lot going on in college,” Davis said. “It’s important to get your assignments done on time and done well—but make sure you build in time to take a break, have fun and go out with friends. Time management is a crucial skill to learn.”
The Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design envisions a world sustainably fed, clothed and sheltered. To learn more about the Davis College, visit davis.wvu.edu. Keep up with the latest updates and news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by following @WVUDavis.
-WVU-
ls/12/12/22
CONTACT: Leah Smith
Public
Relations Specialist
Davis
College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
304-290-8680;
lnestor2@mail.wvu.edu
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