Ready for the Real World

April 19, 2018
man with 3D glasses on
Samuel Mallory in the Shell 3D Visualization Center’s 3D CAVE

A summer internship helped Samuel Mallory put his UW skills to the test. 

By Micaela Myers 

Samuel Mallory’s interest in the energy industry stems back to ninth grade, when he attended the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources’ weeklong Energy Summer Institute. Mallory finished high school in Cheyenne and chose UW, majoring in energy resource management and development, with a concentration in professional land management and a minor in honors. With a wealth of experiences under his belt, Mallory feels ready to begin his landman job with Royal Dutch Shell this summer.  

Standout experiences at UW included a summer internship with the Wyoming Business Council (WBC) doing work for Gov. Matt Mead’s ENDOW (Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming) initiative—an opportunity Mallory’s professors helped connect him with.

“We have a lot of professors and advisers who are working really hard to help students network and be thrown into the middle of opportunities,” says Mallory, who graduates this spring.

Using geographic information system (GIS) experience he gained through his program, Mallory helped the WBC create asset maps of the state. The maps illustrate the components of an industry sector—important information for growing each industry. All together, the WBC created about 60 maps that reflect a variety of industry sectors, and they also created an online platform so the public could access the maps.

“The internship threw me into the middle of a project and gave me the opportunity to network, work with a variety of professionals and get a lot of perspectives on different approaches to developing the economy, to business as a whole, to energy and to resolving some of the issues and challenges we face with it,” Mallory says.  “It also forced me to jump into a working situation and have a deliverable to meet. All of that combined afforded me a big step in being able to apply my knowledge from school into a real-life situation and then be able to learn and gain from that. I think that was a big resume booster, too.”

Mallory compares his UW experience to a business incubator, as he had all the resources to learn and grow. He was also able to pursue a wide range of interests during his time at UW, including photography, videography, outdoor recreation, honors societies and honors classes, registered student organizations and helping lead UW’s hockey club sports team. 

“I think the resources available and the opportunities available for the cost we pay are just astounding,” Mallory says. “I’ve always felt that if I have a passion or interest in anything, I can pursue it, and UW will help facilitate that passion.”


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