‘Country bumpkin’ points way to petrochemical industry

Paul Chance teaches process technology and safety at Lee College. He draws on 23 years working for Bayer Corp.

“I’m just a country bumpkin from Arkansas. I grew up poor, just like a lot of the people I teach who are going to school with help from different assistance programs. They’re trying to make a better life for themselves. My objective is for them to be successful, to get a good job and to be able to move up in life.

“I’ve been there and done that. When you’re 71 years old, there are lots of life experiences to pull from. I roofed houses and worked on a chicken debeaking crew. I worked in egg processing plants and mobile home factories. I managed grocery stores and was a salesman for E.J. Brach and Sons Candy Co., where I drove around in a brand new station wagon wearing a white shirt and tie every day. But it didn’t pay enough. I went to work as a plant operator because I needed to make more money.

“These days, there’s nothing else around here you can do that pays the kind of money this petrochemical industry pays. Our department head, Dr. (Charles) Thomas, likes to call this area the Silicon Valley of the petrochemical industry.”

— Paul Chance