Then & Now: Meet Meagan and Colin from our St. John’s office

Long gone are the days when a student work term might have consisted of getting coffees for bosses and taking meeting minutes. At Cenovus Energy, our student and new grad programs provide relevant learning experiences and eye-opening opportunities, giving participants the chance to contribute to the industry early in their careers.

This early engagement and opportunity often result in students and new grads growing their careers with us for several years, even decades after graduating. Learn how two former students in our Atlantic region got their start ‘then” and where they are ‘now’.

Meagan Williams, Engineer in Training, Drilling

Meagan's journey with Cenovus began in 2017 when she joined our Student Program while attending Memorial University in St. John’s. Before graduating, Meagan completed three work terms with Cenovus, providing her with a variety of hands-on experiences in operations, including planning and preparing subsea projects, as well as learning about drilling operations and the well drilling and completions process. During her time as a student, she also had the unique opportunity to spend six weeks offshore on our subsea support vessels.

After graduating, Meagan joined our New Grad Program and spent three years working with our teams and operations in Western Canada. After the program, she returned to the Atlantic region where she rejoined the Subsurface Drilling Completions & Interventions (DCI) department, a full-circle moment as this is where she ended her time as a student. Today, she is supporting our West White Rose Project as a Drilling Engineer-in-Training, and she continues to learn something new every day. She also contributes to the Atlantic region’s social club and supports the recruitment and onboarding of co-op students as a DCI student ambassador.

Reflecting on her career to date, Meagan says, "The New Grad program was certainly the best decision I made, both for my professional career and my personal life." She appreciates the diverse experiences and continuous support from Cenovus, which have been invaluable to her growth and development.

Colin King, Senior Production Engineer

Colin joined Cenovus in 2012 as a student with our Atlantic region’s Pre-Development team where he assessed future development opportunities and potential technologies for our operations. He was immediately captivated by the challenging work, great people and culture, which led him to return for two more work terms while completing his studies.

After graduating, Colin joined our New Grad Program, and had the opportunity to work with five different teams at our locations across Western Canada. The program allowed him to see more of the business, gain new perspectives and grow his network across the industry.

After his time as a new grad, Colin joined the subsurface production team in St. John’s. This role provided him unique development opportunities, including the chance to work offshore on the SeaRose floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Today Colin is a Senior Production Engineer with our Onshore Production Operations team. He also continues to be engaged with new grads as a program ambassador for the Atlantic region helping the next generation of engineers start their careers.

Reflecting on his time with Cenovus, Colin says, "I continue to find new challenges and opportunities within my roles and have been fortunate to have leaders and mentors that have continued to support my development."