For Brandy Chenault, being in the mining engineering program is about more than class material, grades and progressing toward a degree; it’s about belonging to a family. “Most of the students in the program have parents or relatives who have worked in mining, but mining has never been in my family’s history. It’s always a challenge when you don’t know much about something going in, but in the mining department we’re all family and we help each other out.”
Brandy has felt this sense of community through her interactions with professors, fellow classmates and tutors. “The teacher aid and student support have given me every chance to succeed,” shares Brandy. “Professors have reached out and helped me, I got incredible tutoring in my calculus classes and the faculty cares. Dr. Lineberry would ask me how I was feeling when I had been sick—and I’ve never even had a class with him!”
Like so many mining engineering students, Brandy has taken advantage of the unique opportunities available through student organizations such as the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), where she is the Secretary, and the newly founded chapter of Women in Mining, where she is the vice-president. Mine tours, trips to national conferences and visits to high schools to talk about mining engineering are a few ways in which Brandy has studied and promoted mining outside the classroom. But no experience has been able to match her summer employment at CONSOL Energy, located in southwest Virginia. “CONSOL has been very good to me and I’ve been making a lot of money during the summer. It’s made it possible to not have to work during the school year so I can concentrate on my grades.”
Soon, Brandy will be returning to CONSOL Energy for a second summer. “I’m really looking forward to working with the safety department and also spending time with the lawyers, learning about litigation in mining.” Safety and law are just two options among many for Brandy to consider when she graduates in 2013. “There are so many opportunities to choose from…but, fortunately, I don’t have to choose right now!” When the time comes, Brandy will be ready for the on-campus interviews conducted by leading companies in the mining industry every fall semester. “Especially in this economy, when it’s difficult to find jobs, it’s astounding to not have to look for jobs but have companies come to you!”