Memories from summer camp can last a lifetime, like finally working up the courage to jump off the rope swing or the excitement you felt performing with your friends in the talent show. When it’s a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) summer camp – those experiences can also ignite a lifelong passion.
What comes next for returning service members varies greatly. For McNeill and Harbin, both found rewarding work that instilled pride in them not too dissimilar from what they felt serving their country - in the fuel refining and petrochemical industries.
Over the past two decades, as the HollyFrontier Navajo Refinery has more than doubled its output, the surrounding community of Artesia, New Mexico has developed its local business district to support this unprecedented growth.