Alumnus Joins World-Famous Rig in Return to Campus

Published 09.06.2012

News
Welding & Metal Fabrication
Diesel Truck, Heavy Equipment & Power Generation
Diesel Truck, Heavy Equipment & Power Generation
School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies News

Students get career advice from 2010 graduate Phil Delazio.Students take a closer look.Framed by campus greenery, the Schramm rig towers above the Earth Science Center.Jeff Roten shows students the vehicle's jumble of hydraulic hosesAn alumnus at the controlsThe job readiness and advancement potential of Penn College graduates was impressively in evidence at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center on Thursday, as Schramm Inc. – which employs a number of alumni and provides scholarships, internships and other ongoing educational opportunities for students – demonstrated a T130XD mobile drilling rig in the School of Natural Resources Management parking lot. The 97,000-pound rig, manufactured in West Chester and carrying a $1.2 million price tag, drew attention from a variety of majors, including diesel, heavy equipment and welding. Accompanying the rig were technical field representatives Phil Delazio, a 2010 alumnus of the college's heavy construction equipment technology: Caterpillar equipment emphasis major, and Jeff Roten. Schramm officials have noted the attractiveness of Penn College graduates' get-right-to-work qualifications, remarks borne out by the day's returnee. "I graduated on a Friday and was on a service call Monday morning," said Delazio, who maintains 25 rigs in the shale gas areas of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio –  and whose truck odometer reflects 57,000 travel miles in just 11 months. "Most of our new hires are from Penn College; in welding, manufacturing, service ... just about every department has at least one graduate from here." The T130XD rig has been exhibited for students before, but it is also a familiar presence on the international stage. It (and Roten) played a major role in reaching and rescuing 33 trapped Chilean copper miners in October 2010. Roten's advice to students: "Think big!"