June 2012

Miners of Tomorrow

Welcome to Miners of Tomorrow, a look at how recipients of Mintec scholarships are faring. Trey Williams studies Mining Engineering at Colorado School of Mines, and received a Mintec scholarship this spring.

School life sounds busy. How’s the experience so far?
First, I would like to again thank Mintec for the scholarship; it has benefitted me greatly. Currently, I am a sophomore at the Colorado School of Mines, just getting into the bulk of my mining classes, and I am progressing well. I manage to get good grades in school and really learn all of the material that continually speeds toward me faster than any bullet could hope to travel. This summer, I was offered an internship with BHP Billiton New Mexico Coal, and I am very excited to move out to Farmington and get started with that venture. I am also a member of SME and on the Colorado School of Mines Mine Rescue team. I cherish every minute I get to be a part of these groups.

How did the scholarship come about? Did you apply or were you picked?
I am excited that I was selected to receive this scholarship from Mintec. I came upon this scholarship because I sent a letter to the Colorado School of Mines Mining Department asking for financial aid, and the department selected me to receive the Mintec Scholarship.

Did it pay for tuition, courses, living expenses? Presumably it helped in the midst of student loans, etc.
The scholarship is well appreciated and helped me pay for some tuition, because I managed to pay off a significant portion of previous loans incurred.

Do you use MineSight at CSM?
I am a sophomore at Colorado School of Mines and just starting to get into a significant portion of my mining classes, and just have not happened to take the classes that teach the use of MineSight. I will shortly be introduced to it as early as next semester, and possibly this summer.

What attracted you to a career in mining?
I think what most attracted me to the extractive industry was the outstanding job prospects and opportunity within the field. Also, while I was in high school, I read a paper about the existence of asteroids made of valuable materials worth billions and billions of dollars. I thought about how awesome and world-changing it would be to find a way to economically mine asteroids. But in the meantime, I enjoy being involved in an industry filled with good people. There’s a community feel to it, which is an interesting and attractive dynamic.

What are your life ambitions beyond career (family? travel?)
My life’s ambitions beyond my career mostly involve learning to do new things. I am really interested in learning a lot of different languages. I speak English fluently and Spanish pretty well, but I’m looking to expand that to all sorts of other languages. I also hope to learn to play different musical instruments. I can play guitar about as well as I speak English, and I suppose according to that analogy, my piano playing is about on par with my Spanish. Lastly, I hope to travel a lot, and I am convinced the mining industry will facilitate that goal. I think I am most interested in traveling to South Africa at least once.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
When I am not working or studying, which during the school year can get to be less and less often, I enjoy being outside. These activities range from hunting to camping to sports. My two most favorite outdoor activities are running and doing as little as possible. Relaxing outdoors is a bit surreal and possibly the most calming experience anybody can take part in. When I am not outdoors or studying, I enjoy being with my friends and having all sorts of fun adventures.

What’s fun to do in Golden?
I live in a house off campus with some of my friends. It is a lot of fun and it has been a great experience to have that extra responsibility of making sure everything stays clean, work still gets done, and rent gets paid. I think it actually helps me get more work done because there are too many distractions living on campus around everybody all the time. The School of Mines commons is a great place to relax, and that was a huge problem of mine all freshman year when I lived in the dorms. Off-campus in Golden is most interesting because of all the food. There is Mannie and Bo’s, Woodies, Golden City, and a myriad of local restaurants nearby that serve great food.

What’s in your iPod?
I have a huge music collection and music is actually one of my favorite things. My iPod has everything from For What it’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield to Pink Lady by Feed Me. By far my favorite genres are classic rock, techno, and jazz. One day I went through my iTunes and took a look at all the genres included and they range from classic rock, rock, dubstep, electronica, electronic, folk, glitch, hip hop, rap, jazz, some country music… and about a million more genres. I really enjoy listening to a huge mix.

What’s the last book you read for pleasure?
The last book I read for enjoyment was called “Speaker for the Dead,” by Orson Scott Card. I really enjoy the Ender series mostly because Ender is a well written and interesting character. I have read the vast majority of Shakespeare’s work, my favorite book is Catcher in the Rye, and I am currently reading Profiles in Courage, by John F. Kennedy.

Your top three dinner guests, dead or alive?
My first choice for a dinner guest would be Jimi Hendrix, because I play the guitar and really enjoy playing his music, and I wonder what he would be like in person. Also, if Jimi and I managed to have a chance to play some music together, I would be quite content. My second choice would be Ayn Rand because I have lots of questions for her about how she thinks about the world. Finally, I would have Louis Armstrong over so that he might impart some musical knowledge and prowess to me over a solid meal of mashed potatoes and steak.