IRVIN BLOUIN
Irvin Blouin was just like a lot of other people in their mid 20's who want to better themselves through education, but unsure where to start. Blouin, a 25-year-old Gonzales resident, didn't know he'd start by landing a PTEC (Process Technology) scholarship. Blouin accidentally found the focus for his education and future career one day while listening to the radio."I was planning on going back to school, but I didn't know what I was going to study," Blouin said. "And I was listening to the radio one day, I believe it was a Donaldsonville station, and I heard an ad for PTEC scholarships. My mother got all the stuff together that I needed to apply, showed me how to fill it out and I went on the interview." And in spring 2002, Blouin received a PTEC scholarship from the Ascension Parish Chemical Industry Scholarship Program. BASF, Crompton, Honeywell, PCS Nitrogen, Rubicon, Shell, Vulcan and Williams participate in the program. "I had never really seen valves, pipes, compressors and all the different equipment used to run a plant," Blouin said. 'I had never been to a plant and wasn't familiar with all that. This semester I have a lab class and starting to see the equipment in use and I am getting hands-on experience.'

DWAYNE AUGILLARD
The words Dwayne Augillard's grandmother spoke more than 10 years ago still ring in his ears. 'My grandmother meant the world to me but she said I was never going to amount to anything,' Aguillard, a 28-year-old resident of Gonzales, said. 'And she gave me those words to push me to make me do better. It was hard to earn her respect. So, those words have always kind of been in the back of my mind.' Those words would be the driving force that would prompt Augillard to decide to go back to school and pursue a career in the chemical industry. In spring 2002, Augillard received a PTEC scholarship from the Ascension Parish Chemical Industry Scholarship Program. While he went back to school, Augillard maintained his job as a truck driver, making daily deliveries to local chemical plants. However, he never really saw himself pursuing a career in the chemical industry. But he did know he wanted more of a challenge in his career. 'It was hard to earn my grandmother's respect' Augillard said. 'When I came home from the Marines, she told me she was proud of me. Now that I'm trying hard to learn, it's like a whole new world ' a whole different outlook for me. Even though she passed away in 1994, I know me going back to school puts a smile on her face.'

DUSTIN SMITH
Dustin Smith's challenge wasn't getting into a chemical plant so he could work. His problem was staying there. Smith, a 1998 graduate of St. Amant, didn't have a career plan after high school and decided to try and get work with local chemical companies. Smith, a resident of St. Amant, caught on as a boilermaker with a Baton Rouge contractor, hired by chemical companies to install and repair equipment. The good news was Smith made pretty good money. The bad news was that it didn't last. 'I got laid off,' Smith said. 'It's kinda the norm in the industry that a turnaround will end and then you have to find out if that company has more jobs in other places or you have to go find other contractors. I found other contractors.' Smith was frustrated by the up and down cycle of working, getting laid off, working, getting laid off ' eventually he went back to school to enroll in PTEC. Just like his contractor work, Smith couldn't escape the yo-yo syndrome. Smith took 16 hours the first semester and his GPA rose to 3.8, but his bank account plummeted. Smith had taken an employment test at a local plant thinking maybe he could land a fulltime spot. 'I didn't even get a call back.' Smith. 'And paying for school ' for that first semester ' broke me.' His setback prevented him from applying for a PTEC scholarship from the Ascension Parish Chemical Industry Scholarship Program. So, Smith wound up back where he was trying to escape. He took the spring semester off from school and went back to working a 2-month turnaround for a local contractor. The plan was to make enough money and then go back to school in the fall. 'At that rate, it was going to take me a long time,' Smith said. To break the cycle, Smith applied for the scholarship and got it. Instead, Smith was told 'yes' ' and as he sees it, everything has changed. He goes to school fulltime and takes work from contractors when it fits in with his class schedule. And his goal of landing a fulltime job as a process operator by the time he turns 25 is within reach. Smith said he knows there are a lot of people just like him who could be given a new lease on their careers if they could get PTEC scholarships.

DANNY PRESTLY
Danny Prestly is a busy man these days. Prestly, a 26-year-old resident of Darrow, holds down a job at Blue Runner Foods, attends one school to learn about computers and also pursues a PTEC degree. Despite all his options, Prestly has made up his mind about which career he'll pursue. Prestly just used some simple math to help him decide which career to pursue. 'The shift work for me [in the chemical industry] is the difference,' Prestly said. 'You work six months out of the year and you get paid a full salary. 'If I was in the computer field, I would be grinding five days a week and taking work home with me especially if I was a programmer.' Prestly said it's also hard to turn down an additional option, especially when it's free. Prestly said he has to pay for the computer curriculum out of his own pocket. In contrast, Prestly applied for and received a PTEC scholarship from the Ascension Parish Chemical Industry Scholarship Program last spring. At first, Prestly favored a career in the chemical industry because he liked the security the job offers. But now he says the more he learns at River Parishes Community College, the more he likes. 'I like tracking the process and trying to understand what's going on ' what chemical's in that pipe, what chemical's in this pipe. If you can understand that then you'll be able to troubleshoot better and make better decisions if you ever have a problem.' And Prestly isn't too worried about getting a job soon after he graduates with a PTEC degree. 'There are internship opportunities that will be open to me and if you can do well in an internship, you're probably going to get a job,' Prestly said.

SCOTT WAGGENSPACK
Scott Waggenspack could have stayed at LSU and gotten his degree in chemical engineering, but there was just one problem. He didn't think he'd enjoy being a chemical engineer. And he should know. Waggenspack, a 21-year-old resident of Prairieville, has been around the chemical industry in one way or another all his life. Waggenspack's father has worked at Shell Chemical for more than 25 years. And Waggenspack, has been working summer jobs at local plants since he was 18. The challenge was finding the right job. 'Ever since I turned 18, I've been working in chemical plants doing construction jobs,' Waggenspack said. 'I always knew I wanted to end up working in a chemical plant. One summer I was working at Occidental as a warehouse worker and I delivered tools and supplies and documents throughout the plant and I got to know the engineers and saw what their job and lifestyle was like and I felt like I wouldn't be particularly happy. Every time I saw them they were inside, in front of a computer. I never saw them outside walking around and do anything physical. I know they do but I never saw it.' Waggenspack said for him it wasn't the academic challenge of being chemical engineer that made him change his career plans. He was just afraid he'd never get his hands dirty, or at least not dirty enough. Waggenspack moved his LSU credits to Baton Rouge Community College to pursue a PTEC degree, the standardized curriculum for a two-year associate of applied science degree that prepares people to work as process technology operators in the Louisiana chemical industry. And with the PTEC scholarship he was awarded by the Ascension Parish Chemical Industry Scholarship Program, Waggenspack received his PTEC degree in December 2002. The good news for Waggenspack is that he landed a job at Shell Chemical, where dear old dad works. Now that he has a fulltime job, Waggenspack says his first two major purchases will be a townhouse and a TransAm. 'All my friends are still pursuing their degrees at LSU and some of them have a townhouse and a nice car,' Waggenspack explained. 'But that's daddy's car and that's daddy's apartment and he can take it away anytime he wants. What I have now is my independence.'

REGINALD HARRIS
Reginald Harris decided that instead of continuing as a carpenter's helper, he needed to adopt plans to build a better future. Harris, a 24-year-old resident of Prairieville, decided to go back to school and pursue a PTEC degree. In his construction job, Harris often found himself working inside chemical plants but still feeling like he was on the outside. 'Working in the plants, I got the idea of what an operator did and thought it was kind of in my field and that I might like it, but I didn't know the ropes ' who to contact or what to do to try and get a job.' Harris applied for and received a PTEC scholarship from the Ascension Parish Chemical Industry Scholarship Program in Spring 2002. Making the switch from construction to pursuing a career in the chemical industry wasn't hard. 'I got into construction to make fast, easy money but there's no retirement,' Harris said. 'By the time you get some time in on a job, there's a lay off and you have to start all over somewhere else. But working in the chemical industry will be something that's for the long term.'

CAROLYN SCIENEAUX
Just like any other parent, Carolyn Scieneaux, of St. James, sits down every school night for a homework session with her kids. The only difference is Scieneaux gets help with her algebra from 14-year-old daughter, Crestell. Scieneaux, 35, finds herself hitting the books for the first time in more than 17 years after being awarded a PTEC scholarship from a group of St. James Parish chemical companies. Scieneaux had been a food preparer at an Ascension Parish deli, a job she said she enjoyed. 'I loved that job, but I knew I could achieve more,' Scieneaux said. Now that she's back in school, Scieneaux said she enjoys her English and process technology classes. She admits that math, specifically Algebra, is giving her trouble. But that's where Crestell comes in. 'She's an honor roll student and she helps me with the Algebra,' Scieneaux explained. 'She is very encouraging. She tells me, 'Mamma, you're getting it. You're getting it.'' Scieneaux said she's pursuing PTEC because it's going to provide her something past jobs couldn't ' a future. 'I want a career, not just a job, Scieneaux said. 'I can get to a higher level through PTEC. Over the past five years, I've just been paying bills. I haven't been accomplishing much other than that.'

MARK DORSEY
Mark Dorsey always knew he would make his way back to the classroom. He just didn't know how or when it would happen Dorsey, a 32-year-old Donaldsonville resident, always knew he would go to college and attended The University of New Orleans after graduating high school. After marrying his wife, Shalanda, and the arrival of two daughters, the plan had to change. 'I had obligations so I had to put schooling on the back burner,' Dorsey said. 'Somewhere in my heart I knew I was going to back to school and get a degree.' Dorsey took work with contractors hired to build and repair equipment at local chemical plants. He developed specialties in instrumentation and electrical work. He likes the work but knows working fulltime for a plant will give him more of a future. 'You do a job at Shell, Dow or Marathon, get the job done and then move onto the next plant,' Dorsey said. Then Dorsey found out about the Ascension Parish Chemical Industry Scholarship Program and received a PTEC scholarship. The first day of class at Louisiana Technical College-Ascension Campus in Sorrento couldn't come soon enough for Dorsey. 'I was extremely anxious,' Dorsey said. 'I could not wait to get back into class, take notes from the instructors, ask questions.' And his family, which has now grown to four kids, is pretty excited about having something in common with Dad. 'They told me, 'You're going to school like we're going to school and you're going to have homework like we're having homework. And Dad, we can all do our homework together,'' Dorsey recalled. 'I said, 'Yes we can.'' Dorsey said he couldn't go back to school without help. Triad, the contractor that employs Dorsey, rearranged his work hours to accommodate his class schedule.