Joseph Jensen:  

Life After West High... Attend Iowa State University from 1973 to 1977. I earned a BS in Geology with a minor in Secondary Education. After graduation I worked in Des Moines with Northwestern Bell Telephone Marketing from '78 to '79. I returned to Iowa State for a Master's in Geology from 1979 to 1981. I was hired by Mobil Oil where I started in Dallas, Texas. I've lived in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, TX. I've worked assignments in Argentina, Indonesia, Russia and Kazakhstan. I've done geology field work in the U.S. Rockies, Belize, Kazakhstan, and the British West Indies. I've had my work published in two technical journals and have lectured at a number of universities and professional conferences. While in Midland, I was introduced to Victoria Roush, (originally from Carlsbad, NM) in the vestibule of St. Ann's Church on Dec 28, 1985. We were married Dec 6, 1986 at St. Ann's. Our daughters Marta (2/14/93) and Emma (11/08/94) were born in Midland. We were transfered to Houston in 1995 with Mobil. In 1998, after 17 years, I resigned from Mobil to join Halliburton Energy Services. My last assignment with Halliburton was geological manager for a joint development project in Nizhnevartovsk, Russia (Western Siberia) with the Russian oil company TNK. I worked 28 days in Russia and had 28 days for travel and days home in Houston. The contract was canceled early by the Russians and I returned to Houston and was promptly layed off in 2002. I then joined PetroKazakhstan in 2004 and worked in Kyzylorda, a small city in south-central Kazakhstan. I was the manager for the Reservoir Geology Group and worked closely with petroleum engineers in drilling and producing oil and gas. I worked 35 day in country and had 35 days off. Kazakhstan is a great country with people of emence pride and culture that the old soviet system couldn't put down (aside: if I could I'd horsewhip that jerk 'Borat' for his Kazakh impersonation). Back in Houston, our family activities included dance and piano lessons, swim team, and camping at our favorite Texas state parks where we fish, bike, and bird watch. When I can get away on my own I play golf....kind of. In Midland we moved to piano lessons, recitals, concerts, church functions, meeting boyfriends, prom pictures and just a little golf...even "da girlz" have given golf a shot...Ha! High School Biography:Who remembers? Didn't we have 760 grads? I was just a "Regular Joe" at West. I felt my presence was more like part of the herd; I was part of all that background noise. I did enjoy Spanish Club and some notable people like: Dan Keller, Bruce Roberts, Debbie Groth, Cheryl Laude, Kelly Clausen, Dennis Cassatt, Dan Gogulich, Tony Gomez, Bev Brace, Gary Moore, Barry Ryan, Martha Steele, others include: Craig Hentermeister, Herb Kellher, Gerry O'brien and so many others...maybe I should try to make the 40th reunion... secret crushes...OMG, Jean Flickenger! Dianne Hummel, Linda Hunt...Joni Rose...what did I know? And the list goes on...Class of '73...Kimmy Koegler, Dianne Prust... Sorry if I missed anyone. I keep getting reminders when some people sign my guestbook. I've had some surprises. HEY! Everyone...put in your own picture in Classmates. Face it, we're all 57-58 and that's the best we can do! The notable teachers: Pat Sheehey, Mary Conlan, Dick Armstrong, Jack Hudson, Pat Knopick, Aaron King, Sharon Boyd, Don Jepsen, Don Swim, and notable only because she was so scary: Julie LeGrand (aaahhh!!!!). Remember Janet Moline? Sophomore biology...who taught zoology? The rest are just a blurrrrr...so was I.... I was a "Boy Scout dork." I earned Eagle Scout and I was a summer camp counselor at the Loud Thunder Scout Reservation near Andelusia, Ill. It was a great way to spend 8 weeks each summer during high school. College: Pledged Alpha Sigma Phi with Mark Nordeen and Todd Marolf - WHS '73. Political Science major for a short time. I was thinking law school . The fraternity closely resembled "Animal House." I worked part-time at the ISU Library as a shelver and the evening proctor. As proctor, it was me catching the flasher...waking up the drunks (in a library?) call the campus keystone cops. I had a college sweetheart. She was older and it didn't end well. I even did the classic drunk midnight call when I found out she was getting married. I still wonder how it could have worked out. Remember ISU in the winter? "Little Siberia" and "warm cuts?" There was also the Student Union: the coffee, the Arab corner, the hippie corner, the professional students table, the radical fringe. I really did like the Union. I even kept some office hours there for my lab students while in Grad School. I ended up changing my undergrad major in 1974, baffling the parents. "Why geology?"...why not ?!" I never had shown any tendancies toward rocks in my early years. It was something that just clicked when I took an intro course. Great field trips...nose to the outcrop, beer in one hand, a rock hammer in the other. I changed major and never looked back. My fraternity was big into intramurals: swimming, hockey, water polo, and favorite; coed water polo (wet fun with girls and inner tubes!). Afterwards? Beer at Dugan's Deli. A geology degree at ISU included summer geology field camp in 1975. 8 weeks of rocks and beer in Wyoming. A fantastic ex...Expand for more