On the morning of Friday, May 9, 2025, bp Whiting Refinery, hosted its annual Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event. 25 high school juniors and seniors from throughout the local community were invited to learn about the facility’s operations along with the many career opportunities that the STEM field offers. The students hailed from the Hammond Area Career Center (ACC), Hammond High School, Whiting High School, East Chicago High School, and Highland High School. The Whiting Refinery, the largest bp refinery in the Midwest, has been putting this event on since 2016.
Gwen Miller, processing engineer at the bp Whiting Refinery, is the coordinator of the Girls in STEM event. Miller says that this is the sort of program she would have wanted to participate in when she was in high school and appreciates the fact that she can offer this experience to the young women of the Region, right in their backyard. She lists several reasons why she believes the bp Whiting Refinery is uniquely suited to offering the Girls in STEM program.
"This event enables us to support the community by inspiring these young women to pursue careers in STEM,” Miller said. “It is also a chance to connect them with many of the leaders here at the refinery, an opportunity these students are not likely to have. As one of bp’s largest refineries in the world, we have so many wonderful engineers, operators, and other employees here who can help lead presentations and provide insights into our experiences as women in the STEM field. The Whiting Refinery also has a lot of large-scale equipment that these students wouldn’t see if they went to one of bp’s off-site facilities. My hope is that the girls leave feeling inspired and connected."
The program kicked off with a safety overview, during which the students learned about topics like safety protocols and the various types of personal protective equipment that refinery operators wear. They went on to learn about a variety of other topics, including how bp sources, purifies, and distributes its oil. The students also participated in a number of interactive activities, one of which allowed them to manipulate a scaled-down simulation of the refinery’s distributed control system, a network that controls multiple aspects of the facility’s operations.
Julie Jones, work-based learning coordinator at the ACC, views the Girls in STEM event as an excellent way to encourage young women interested in the field to apply their talents here in the Region.
“This is a wonderful event,” Jones said. “These students are from the surrounding area and they don’t realize how many opportunities there are for them here in Northwest Indiana. Even after one presentation, they’ve been asking what kind of degrees they would need for certain occupations. It’s wonderful seeing them get so engaged with this program. It’s giving them a direction for their path and I hope it opens up new possibilities for them.”
Another interactive activity that the students participated in allowed them to learn about the engineering principles of managing power levels during the starting and stopping of pumps. Nisha Jellbauer, refinery optimization manager at the bp Whiting Refinery, gave a presentation about her experience as a woman in STEM, describing her career path and offering advice and encouragement to the audience members.
Orlan Drummond, a junior at Highland High School and attendee of the ACC, has a passion for learning how things function and looks forward to pursuing a career in welding after completing her studies. Her interest in STEM and love for hands-on work was sparked when she helped her father design and construct golf holes for a virtual golf tour that the Boys & Girls Club put on in 2020.
“I’ve learned so much today,” Drummond said. “This refinery has such an intricate system of operation and it all works together for the betterment of the community. I’ve always had a fear that I would be discriminated against as a woman in the workplace. I wanted to go into STEM, but I didn’t want to be alone. Meeting other women who have worked in STEM was very reassuring because I see that I’m not alone. I have people who can support me and I can support them.”
The final portion of the Girls in STEM event was an exclusive tour of the Whiting Refinery’s 1,400-acre facility, which included a stop at the bp Whiting Refinery Fire Department. Each participant went home with bp-branded drawstring backpacks full of swag and informational materials. Most importantly, they left with a renewed sense of purpose.
For more information on bp Whiting Refinery’s services and upcoming events, please click here.