Saeed Abbas A. Aloqili has been selected as the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ student marshal for Penn State's spring 2020 Commencement ceremony, which will be held virtually at 2 p.m. on May 9.
Aloqili is graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 grade-point average in petroleum and natural gas engineering and a minor in energy business and finance. His faculty marshal is Luis Ayala, the William A. Fustos Family Professor in Energy and Mineral Engineering.
“I am honored to represent the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences as the student marshal,” Aloqili said. “I’m very thankful for the support of the professors and peers in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering program.”
Aloqili selected Ayala as his faculty marshal because of his excellent teaching skills.
“Dr. Ayala is recognized by students in the petroleum and natural gas engineering program as one of the best faculty members,” Aloqili said. “His classes are a mix of student engagement, technical and interactive lectures, discussions about the petroleum and natural gas industry, and discussions about the challenges the students might face in their future careers.”
Aloqili has been honored with numerous awards and scholarships. He attended Penn State with a full tuition scholarship, with highest honors, from Saudi Aramco. Among his many Penn State honors received include the President’s Freshman Award, President Sparks Award and Evan Pugh Scholar Award. He recently was selected by faculty in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering program to receive the Senior Undergraduate Merit Award, which is awarded to the most talented and dedicated student based on academic performance, industry engagement or leadership qualities. He received a Student of The Month Award from the Society of Petroleum Engineers Society: Pittsburgh Section.
During his undergraduate career, Aloqili also amassed an impressive list of research and design projects. He conducted analytical reservoir performance evaluations; designed and generated wellbore performance and vertical lift performance; produced an economic analysis to optimize and evaluate a natural gas investment; conducted reservoir numerical simulations; and modeled and optimized a horizontal well completion process.
As the event organizer for Penn State’s Al-Ghadeer Association since 2017, Aloqili has volunteered his time to organize annual social and spiritual gatherings for the Shia muslim community in State College.
After graduation, Aloqili will be working as a production engineer at Saudi Aramco's Southern Area Oil Operations. He will be stationed at the surface production facility in Udhailiyah, Saudi Arabia, where he will supervise the processing of heavy, sour reservoir fluids into sweet crude oil and natural gas ready for transport and sale. He plans to attend graduate school after a couple years of experience in the field.
“The high-quality education I received from Penn State will help me to excel in my future job, especially during these difficult times that the industry is facing,” Aloqili said.
Aloqili is the son of Abbas and Amna Aloqili from Qatif, Saudi Arabia.