(Katy, Texas) – Katy ISD’s Morton Ranch Junior High is celebrating its second year of a unique partnership with Wood Group Mustang via the company’s Founders Legacy program. Launched in 2007 in honor of the company’s 20th anniversary, Founders’ Legacy honors Mustang founders -Paul Redmon, Bill Higgs and Felix Covington – and fulfills a company core value of giving back to its community. The program encourages Wood Group Mustang employees to become personally involved in campus activities throughout the school year. “The Founders Legacy program focuses on middle school youth because of their impressionable age and the critical crossroads they face in terms of future education and career choices,” said David Jackson, community support program manager at Wood Group Mustang.
Ashley Railey, Global Engagement Specialist-Wood Group Mustang, David Jackson, Community Support Program Manager-Wood Group Mustang, Morton Ranch Junior High Principal Mark McCord and Jessica Chiotti, Technical Safety -Wood Group Mustang
Wood Group Mustang sponsors the TAME’s (Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering) science exhibition trailer visit to Morton Ranch JHS twice a year serving over 400 students. This trailer contains hands-on and interactive exhibits that provides students the opportunity to learn about space, bio-technology, energy, aerodynamic and weather. Wood Group Mustang Young Guns members also serve as presenters.
The Wood Group Mustang initiative features a multi-faceted approach, helping teachers and students at their partner school through financial support and face-to-face volunteer efforts. The Morton Ranch Junior High partnership began with a generous contribution of funds (that helped the school purchase iPads) then quickly turned into a generous contribution of time, talents and resources. Of the 18 Wood Group Mustang KEYS mentors who work with students in Katy ISD, nine of them mentor at Morton Ranch Junior High. The “Journal Pals” initiative helps students improve STARR reading scores by writing in a journal then sending it to their Mustang journal pal. Mustang also sponsored an innovative contest giving students the opportunity to create their own interpretation of Wood Group Mustang’s core values, each of which has an icon graphic. A student favorite activity is when the 40-foot trailer “Trailblazer” made a trip to campus. A one-of-a-kind museum on wheels, this scientific behemoth is used by young Mustang engineers to teach kids about weather, energy, aerodynamics and biotechnology. It’s a hands-on experience that allows students to learn much and dream big.
The Morton/Mustang partnership has transcended to a true friendship, giving everyone involved an opportunity to help kids be better students and citizens. Principal McCord described the relationship by saying “The Wood Group Mustang employees have become a part of our MRJH family. Their values, commitment, and heart for students are a perfect match for our campus.”
About Katy ISD Partners in Education – Katy ISD Partners in Education creates school-support opportunities for parents, businesses and the community by offering a wide variety of options amenable to every schedule, talent and expertise. We bring volunteers into Katy ISD classrooms at each campus and all grade levels. To learn more, visit Partners in Education under the “Community” tab at www.katyisd.org.
Wood Group is an international energy services company with over $7bn sales and operating in more than 50 countries. The Group is built on Core Values and has three businesses – Wood Group PSN, Wood Group Kenny and Wood Group Mustang – providing a range of engineering, production support and maintenance management services to the oil & gas, and power generation industries worldwide. Visit Wood Group at www.woodgroup.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Wood Group Mustang provides award-winning services to the global energy industry. From concept to completion, Wood Group Mustang delivers project management, construction management, engineering and procurement services to the offshore, onshore, oil sands, pipeline, refining, chemicals, industrial and automation services, operating in countries throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin American and North America. For more information visit www.mustangeng.com.