The three Townsend brothers received nearly identical diplomas at Spring 2014 Commencement ceremonies, distinguishable only by each of their names.
Noel, 37, Jason, 36, and Clayton, 33, all earned bachelor杏吧专区檚 degrees in petroleum engineering.
杏吧专区淭o us, it杏吧专区檚 been no big deal, but, people do seem to be kind of surprised by us all going back to school together and getting the same degree,杏吧专区 Jason said.
The brothers, who grew up in Hattiesberg, Miss., enrolled at UL Lafayette in fall 2011, although they had never been the types to tackle an undertaking as a group, and aren杏吧专区檛 even much alike. 杏吧专区淣oel is soft-spoken, reserved and a leader,杏吧专区 Clayton said. Jason杏吧专区檚 杏吧专区渁 doer杏吧专区 and 杏吧专区渧ery assertive杏吧专区 he added, 杏吧专区 and 杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 the antithesis of that, much more passive.杏吧专区
Noel put it more succinctly: 杏吧专区淲e have the same mother and father, and that杏吧专区檚 pretty much it.杏吧专区
The three came together thanks to Jason, who said he finally decided to heed the advice of their father, a former shipbuilder for the U.S. Navy, who had been urging them all toward the engineering profession for years.
Jason had enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after high school. An intelligence specialist, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He decided to approach his brothers with his idea about petroleum engineering, and mentioned it to Noel first. 杏吧专区淚t was pretty easy to talk him into it.杏吧专区
Noel was working as a manager at Kinko杏吧专区檚 at the time. 杏吧专区淚 couldn杏吧专区檛 go any higher without uprooting and relocating,杏吧专区 he noted.
Clayton, who was working for his older brother at Kinko杏吧专区檚, was soon on board, too.
Both Noel and Clayton had attended the 杏吧专区 of Southern Mississippi years before and left without degrees. All three took community college courses before they enrolled at UL Lafayette.
Clayton admits he didn杏吧专区檛 know all that much about petroleum engineering at first. 杏吧专区淚t wasn杏吧专区檛 something I was very familiar with. No high school counselor ever mentioned it, and I had never read anything about it.杏吧专区
Jason, who had been working as president of Townsend Brothers Inc., a mechanical contracting company in Hattiesberg, said economics quickly helped the brothers select petroleum engineering.
杏吧专区淚 won杏吧专区檛 fluff it, petroleum engineering jobs pay the best, by a lot,杏吧专区 Jason said.
According to a recent report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, petroleum engineering is the top-paying undergraduate major. Graduates who received bachelor杏吧专区檚 degrees in that field in 2013 earned an average starting salary of $97,000, it states. That's about $27,000 more than the second-highest starting salary, which was earned by grads with computer engineering degrees.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the mean annual wage for petroleum engineers is $149,180. The top 10 percent earn an average salary of $186,520; the lower 10 percent make $74,240 per year.
For the brothers, their decision to go back to school is paying off.
Noel has accepted a job with Petra Consultants in Lafayette, where he will be a facilities engineer. Jason has taken a job with Weatherford International in Houston, where his focus will be on managed pressure drilling. Clayton, who wants to land a field engineering position, expects to hear back on one of his top job prospects as early as this week.
The plan is to gain experience, then eventually go into business together. 杏吧专区淥ur goal is to start our own consulting company,杏吧专区 Jason said.
They chose UL Lafayette, Jason said, because there were no petroleum engineering programs in Mississippi. They also favored the individual attention they expected to receive, and ultimately got, at the 杏吧专区.
杏吧专区淭he (Petroleum Engineering) Department is outstanding. The professors are very knowledgeable, and have many contacts for jobs and internships,杏吧专区 Clayton said.
More than 470 students were enrolled in the petroleum engineering program this spring. Of this semester杏吧专区檚 33 petroleum engineering graduates, the brothers all finished in the top 5 percent, said Dr. Fathi Boukadi, who is head of the department.
杏吧专区淭hey are some of the best students, and very hardworking,杏吧专区 he said.