If you’re in school – or think back to when you were in school – there are days when you wonder why you’re wasting your time getting an education. On those days, when you’re thinking of dropping out, some encouraging, older, person invariably tells you, “It’s worth hanging in and graduating  ‘cause you never know what you might end up doing with your degree.” If you need living proof of this advice, you could point to Aileen’s guests on this edition of Out to Lunch.

Jaime Glas got a BS in Petroleum Engineering from LSU and started out working as an engineer in the oil field. Working on rigs, Jaime realized that the protective clothing she and other women were given to wear was designed for men. It was ill-fitting, and baggy in the wrong places. It didn’t just look bad – it was actually dangerous. So, Jaime designed a line of protective, fire retardant, clothing for women. She calls it Haute Work. The 22% of the oil and gas industry that is made up of women are loving Jaime’s designs, and wearing them.  

Willem Mast got a B.A.Sc – a degree in Applied Science – from Queen’s University in his native Canada – then went to work in the oil field in New Iberia. For Haliburton. When Willem got laid off during a downturn, he helped someone come up with a set of drawings  for a prototype piece of equipment – which the guy went on to sell, to none other than Haliburton. That experience, 20 years ago, gave Willem the confidence to start up his own drafting and design business – which he called WMD Squared – which stands for Willem Mast Drawing and Design.

Today, Willem has 13 employees and a wealth of clients in fields as diverse as marine, motorsports, and oil and gas, who use WMD Squared as their company’s design division.

Photos at Marcello’s Wine Market Cafe by Lucius Fontenot.