Transformed Thoughts of Good Works

Do not conform to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve

what God’s will is—

His good, pleasing and perfect will.

(Romans 12:2)

Have you ever witnessed your personal flip-flop on an issue? Have you ever been for something, until you were against it? Were you divided by corporate, fiscal obligations rather than moral, community responsibilities? These are the questions fueling my struggle in having a definitive position on the Keystone Pipeline.

I first became aware of promises of oil sands, or tar sands, in 2008. I was working for a Fortune 1000 industrial manufacturing company. We had a wear resistant technology that provided productivity gains in the processing and transporting of bitumen in the mines of Alberta Canada. I worked in Strategic Marketing, as an internal consultant to business unit leaders, evaluating the potential risks and financial rewards for investing resources into this adjacent energy sector. Back then, I was a proponent of oil sands, conforming to the thoughts of energy giants like Shell and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, who were forecasting an economic boom.

Fast forward to 2011 and I was an entrepreneur opening a manufacturing consulting office in Port Arthur, TX--the terminal destination of a proposed pipeline to transport oil sands crude from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast ports and refineries. Our first ad in the local business journal ran in the same issue headlined by a story of protesters targeting the Keystone XL Pipeline.  I attended a community meeting as a member of the chamber of commerce, supporting the promise of jobs and economic stimulation expected from constructing the pipeline. What I walked away from that meeting with were alternate thoughts on the negative impacts on the community, both environmentally and economically.  This ignited my internal struggle as an industrialist vs. a concerned community citizen and the ongoing battle between my support of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources.  Most importantly, I wanted to know more about the real jobs numbers, both temporary and permanent.

Collage made from September 2011 issue of the  Port Arthur  Business  Journal

To read more on the jobs debate, read the argument presented by TransCanada, the company pushing for the pipeline expansion:  

http://keystone-xl.com/its-time-for-a-better-discussion-about-jobs/

Where do I stand on support of the Keystone Pipeline today? Admittedly, my support has transformed based on having different information and personal experiences.  I have watched local citizens not get jobs in favor of work crews temporarily relocated from other parts of the country. I have witnessed the destruction left behind when a pipeline unexpectedly bursts (re Mayflower, AR in 2013). And I have become weary of the current political debate that fuels more separation rather than solutions toward a real jobs plan. My faith lets me know that regardless of who is in the White House, one day we will know His good and perfect will on this matter. What are your thoughts on the Keystone Pipeline? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

A Promise of Good Works

And this shall be a sign to you,

You shall eat this year such as grows of itself;

and the second year that which springs of the same:

and in the third year

sow you, and reap, and plant vineyards,

and eat the fruit thereof.

(Isaiah 37:30)

 I do not know what is about being in Arkansas that makes me write as if my life experiences were a metaphor for agriculture: sowing, reaping, planting, harvesting… I digress. Ever felt like you were in a wilderness, a place where nothing seems to grow? Sometimes, you simply have to weather the seasons, do the work, and continue to plant and sow until the harvest. Succeeding at anything in life, like farming, is a process that is not for the faint.  However, you keep toiling, looking for the sign of the fulfillment of the prophecy, or the promise…

Are you familiar with the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp? The camp provides 48 rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students the opportunity to enhance their proficiency in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education while living on a college campus - all at no cost to the child or family. I became aware of this program sponsored by The Harris Foundation when we lived in Beaumont and knew some of the beneficiary attendees from the Lamar University camp. Well, the twenty sites for the 2015 camp season have been announced. I am glad to see that the University of Arkansas – Little Rock is one of the named camp locations. (NOTE:  I am still researching to see which school districts are recruiting students for the competitive 48 spots.)




Summer 2015 Summer Science Camp Sites

To be eligible to apply, students should:

• Be members of a traditionally underserved and underrepresented population;
• Be entering 6th, 7th or 8th grade in the fall of 2015;
• Have a GPA of at least “B” overall in mathematics and science;
• Score at the median to superior level on standardized mathematics and science tests;
• Write a 250-word essay describing their interest in the camp and STEM;
• Be interviewed, if deemed necessary;
• Have exhibited an interest in mathematics and science; and
• Have strong recommendations from their current mathematics and science teachers.

To learn more, visit http://theharrisfoundation.org/sitecontent/565/summer-science-camp/category/457/education.aspx

 
The science camp opportunity reminds me of my first exposure to opportunities in STEM related fields. I did not attend my first on-campus camp until the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, but I remember how the experience motivated me to toil harder. Imagine the promise that lies ahead for the students who are exposed and graced to attend these camps in the 6th, 7^th, or 8^th grades! Imagine the promise of how this type of engagement could change the trajectory of children who live in the wilderness of those underserved, underrepresented communities and populations!  If not this camp, how can we advocate to get more of our young people exposed and engaged in other STEM focused camps? What are you doing in your local community in teaching children that it is never too early to begin toiling and working toward the promise of good works? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/


Strength for Good Works

I will lift my eyes to the hills,

from which comes my help and strength…

(Psalm 121:1)

http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/. 

For all who have emailed or asked about the status of the Purposed Work blog, let me assure you: I’M BACK!!! My lived experience is that it takes a solid year to adjust to a new community. In trying to balance the requirements of being a working wife and mother, a business owner, and a blogger, something had to give. Temporarily, I made the decision to use the time committed to the maintaining a blog to making sure that the needs of my family were exceeded. All is well and I am back with a renewed commitment to using this platform to advocate for workforce readiness for careers in industrial manufacturing.

In taking care of my family, I also took a little time to focus on me. It is no coincidence that I chose today to begin blogging again. Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary since my last post; while today, I pay homage to Whitney Houston, whose song became one of my anthems during the period of rediscovery:

 

I didn't know my own strength

And I crashed down and I tumbled but I did not crumble

I got through all the pain

I didn't know my own strength

Survived my darkest hour, my faith kept me alive

I picked myself back up, hold my head up high

I was not built to break

I didn't know my own strength

My strength grew from a personal experience with mercy, which I heard described as the outward ability to deal with pain. Pain comes in different forms. My pain came through trying to force a fit in a community that was not ready to embrace the type of works in which we advocate. No worries… stepping outside our comfort zone, or in this case, across a county line, we found the audience and market needed to grow where we are planted, in order to educate and prepare young people for careers in manufacturing.

For the past year, I rediscovered the source of my strength. Sometimes, temporarily stepping away from something you enjoy frees you up to rediscover what you are purposed to do. Expect to see more information shared, not simply about career options, but more specifically, who’s hiring and how to get the skills need to qualify for those jobs. Do you want to pass on information about industrial manufacturing activities in the area? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

 http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/whitneyhouston/ididntknowmyownstrength.html