Name: Lori Ennis

Current work title:
Manager, Subsurface Developments (Acting), at Cenovus Energy in St. John’s

Degree(s) or Credential(s) Earned:
BSc (Hons.) Geology, and partway through a graduate diploma in Business Administration

Description of current professional role:
I currently manage a multi-disciplinary team of technical (geoscience and engineering) professionals, and we are responsible for evaluating or progressing work on offshore NL oil and gas prospects that aren’t discovered yet, or discoveries that aren’t sanctioned projects yet. It’s part of the front end work of the oil and gas industry.

What hobbies or activities outside of work do you enjoy?
My favourite activities outside of work are reading, climbing, and parenting my 5 year old daughter. 🙂

What is/was your connection to the Student Summer Employment Program (SSEP)?
I was a participant in SSEP in 1992, placed in the Earth Sciences department at MUN, which was my first introduction to geology.

What advice would you like to share with women who are considering a career in science or engineering?
Keep an open mind, try to get exposure to different areas of study, see where you have interest, look for opportunities that match up with your interests, and follow that.

Getting the match in Earth Sciences was the set up that led to subsequent part time jobs, which led to the courses and degree, which led to the job and career. Sounds very straightforward, but I don’t think the time with SSEP set me on a path, rather it gave me perspective on how many paths and options were out there. I spent a lot of time looking into various disciplines early on in my undergraduate days before figuring out geology was (after all) the right path for me, being a combination of many sciences which I found really interesting.

Any other thoughts you would like to share? For me, I never knew exactly what I wanted to do, or saw my career path clearly. I can still never answer the ‘where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years’ question. But I keep myself open to options, said ‘yes’ more than ‘no’, and don’t burn bridges. My advice: always apply! Even if you don’t think you meet every qualification, apply anyway, you never know what can happen. And career paths don’t have to be linear – changes can be just as (or even more) rewarding and informative and useful for professional development. And keep learning!