Marathon El Paso Refinery hosts fifth annual STEM conference for El Paso students

Marathon El Paso Refinery hosts fifth annual STEM conference for El Paso students by Staff Thu, November 12, 2026 at 5:56 PM 7 VIEW ALL PHOTOS Marathon El Paso Refinery hosts fifth annual STEM conference for El Paso students (Credit: KFOX14/CBS4) Comment on this story 0 Comment Share story Share topics: STEM Marathon Petroleum El Paso Refinery Environmental engineer Women in STEM Internships Ysleta ISD EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Junior and senior high school students from across El Paso got an up-close look at science, technology, engineering, and math careers during Marathon El Paso Refinery’s fifth annual STEM conference. The Marathon El Paso Refinery Women’s Employee Network hosted the STEM Conference on Thursday, giving students hands-on experience through activities and tours of the refinery. Students attending included junior and senior grade-level participants representing Ysleta ISD, El Paso ISD, Socorro ISD, and private schools, according to event organizers. Speaking to KFOX14/CBS4 on Thursday, Rebecca Ayala, an environmental engineer for Marathon Petroleum, said the conference is designed to show students how STEM applies in the real world. “We talk to them about different programs that they should get involved in. We talk about the refinery. We talk about what is needed to kind of make it in a STEM field, the kind of internships they should be getting, what they should be majoring in, what are the subjects that they should be focused on,” Ayala said. Ayala said students came ready to engage and learn about how STEM concepts connect to refinery operations. “A lot of these students are very eager, and they have lots of questions, and they're very excited about the industry. And we do open their eyes to a lot of systems that they weren't aware are actually STEM processes, right, or that it actually takes a mathematical equation to figure out how to do some of the things that we do out here,” Ayala said. Carla Sousa, a senior at Emmanuel Christian School, said she was eager to learn more about the technical side of refinery work and hear from women working in the field. “I was really looking forward to just the experience in general, learning more from these women who have been so prevalent in their field. They seem so energetic to talk about it. We've had two speakers speak to us about the refinery, all of the chemical and just engineering and mathematical aspects that come into it, and it's so mind-blowing and eye-opening. But I don't think I know exactly how much,” Sousa said. Sousa said she hopes to pursue mechanical engineering and wanted to explore different career options. “I myself want to go into mechanical engineering, so just looking into this, especially the different career paths you can do. No career path is finite, so just opening my eyes to what there is. I'm incredibly grateful just to hear about these women in STEM as someone who's aspiring to be a woman in STEM. 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