A Texas Member Shows Her Colors in the Oil Patch
Out in the oil patch, workers treat their hard hats like their car bumpers. “In reality, there are so few women in the field,” says Wilderness Society member Sandy Campbell, “that the stickers on our hard hats are probably the last thing the guys notice, but I wanted to do something to show that the environment is important to me.” So she asked us for one of our decals.
“I’ve always loved the outdoors and believe that we need to respect and preserve our mountains, forests, and wildlife,” she says. “Obviously, I don’t oppose all oil drilling, but it should be done responsibly and only in appropriate places. The same thing goes for dirt bikes, snowmobiles, and ATVs. They don’t belong in national parks. You don’t need a machine to enjoy wilderness. Then it’s no longer wilderness.”
Campbell grew up near Denver and in Briarcliff, N.Y., and she earned a degree in chemistry from Texas Woman’s University. She has worked in operating rooms, done cancer research, built homes, and worked as a golf caddy, among other things. “I’ve had an eclectic work history,” she notes. In 2005 she signed on with Geoservices as a mudlogging engineer outside Houston. “We identify and log the rock strata that are being drilled through, and we monitor downhole drilling parameters,” Campbell explains.
Besides supporting The Wilderness Society, she also contributes to the National Arbor Day Foundation, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the National Wildlife Federation. “I count on The Wilderness Society to make sure that we keep our wilderness just the way it is,” Campbell says. “I want to believe that it will always be out there.” She enjoys camping, backpacking, and birding, and she often takes along a camera to capture places and animals that appeal to her. An amateur genealogist whose family roots are in Scotland, Campbell loves to visit that country, especially its western coast. “One of the stickers on my hard hat is the Scottish flag,” she observes. “I’m a quiet person, but I like to show what I’m proud of.”
