About the author: Hi, my name is Nathan and I grew up in Yukon, OK, in a neighborhood sitting on the land which my great-grandfather claimed in the Oklahoma land run more than 100 years ago. After graduating from Oklahoma State with a degree in mechanical engineering, I moved to Tulsa to marry my college sweetheart and start my career with Williams. At Williams, I am currently a rotational engineer working in New Mexico.

Adventure is out there. This statement from the Pixar movie “UP” is the same premise that my wife and I decided to set for ourselves when I accepted the rotational engineer position with Williams. The program is designed to give its graduates six years of experience jam packed into three.

So what does that look like for a rotational engineer like me? It means that every year or so for three years I’m given a different job. With each new job, comes a new place to live, and that is just the situation in which you now find me writing this blog. For my first rotation I worked in the rotating equipment group in Tulsa. For my second rotation I am now living in Durango, Colorado, working in a field engineering position. Next year I will move to another location to start a new job.

Our first three months in Durango have been a real adventure. Before we even moved in, we were already looking for opportunities to get plugged into the town. Quickly my wife found a volunteer position at the local pregnancy center assisting young mothers with their new babies. Both my wife and I are now involved with volunteering at a Christian group at the local college. Through this group we go camping with the students in the mountains and make sure they get a home-cooked meal on a regular basis.

We truly have fallen in love with the area and with the people here. The community of this small mountain town has welcomed us and made us feel like family. Since moving from home, we have experienced many new things. We have learned to tube whitewater rivers, roast and skin green chilies, and climb mountains. We have made new friends and learned how to fit into a whole new culture.

The biggest lesson I have learned is that adventure is out there, you just have to get out there and find it!