The three Townsend brothers received nearly identical diplomas at Spring 2014 Commencement ceremonies, distinguishable only by each of their names.
Noel, 37, Jason, 36, and Clayton, 33, all earned bachelor鈥檚 degrees in petroleum engineering.
鈥淭o us, it鈥檚 been no big deal, but, people do seem to be kind of surprised by us all going back to school together and getting the same degree,鈥 Jason said.
The brothers, who grew up in Hattiesberg, Miss., enrolled at 麻豆果冻传媒 Lafayette in fall 2011, although they had never been the types to tackle an undertaking as a group, and aren鈥檛 even much alike. 鈥淣oel is soft-spoken, reserved and a leader,鈥 Clayton said. Jason鈥檚 鈥渁 doer鈥 and 鈥渧ery assertive鈥 he added, 鈥 and 鈥淚鈥檓 the antithesis of that, much more passive.鈥
Noel put it more succinctly: 鈥淲e have the same mother and father, and that鈥檚 pretty much it.鈥
The three came together thanks to Jason, who said he finally decided to heed the advice of their father, a former shipbuilder for the U.S. Navy, who had been urging them all toward the engineering profession for years.
Jason had enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after high school. An intelligence specialist, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He decided to approach his brothers with his idea about petroleum engineering, and mentioned it to Noel first. 鈥淚t was pretty easy to talk him into it.鈥
Noel was working as a manager at Kinko鈥檚 at the time. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 go any higher without uprooting and relocating,鈥 he noted.
Clayton, who was working for his older brother at Kinko鈥檚, was soon on board, too.
Both Noel and Clayton had attended the University of Southern Mississippi years before and left without degrees. All three took community college courses before they enrolled at 麻豆果冻传媒 Lafayette.
Clayton admits he didn鈥檛 know all that much about petroleum engineering at first. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 something I was very familiar with. No high school counselor ever mentioned it, and I had never read anything about it.鈥
Jason, who had been working as president of Townsend Brothers Inc., a mechanical contracting company in Hattiesberg, said economics quickly helped the brothers select petroleum engineering.
鈥淚 won鈥檛 fluff it, petroleum engineering jobs pay the best, by a lot,鈥 Jason said.
According to a recent report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, petroleum engineering is the top-paying undergraduate major. Graduates who received bachelor鈥檚 degrees in that field in 2013 earned an average starting salary of $97,000, it states. That's about $27,000 more than the second-highest starting salary, which was earned by grads with computer engineering degrees.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the mean annual wage for petroleum engineers is $149,180. The top 10 percent earn an average salary of $186,520; the lower 10 percent make $74,240 per year.
For the brothers, their decision to go back to school is paying off.
Noel has accepted a job with Petra Consultants in Lafayette, where he will be a facilities engineer. Jason has taken a job with Weatherford International in Houston, where his focus will be on managed pressure drilling. Clayton, who wants to land a field engineering position, expects to hear back on one of his top job prospects as early as this week.
The plan is to gain experience, then eventually go into business together. 鈥淥ur goal is to start our own consulting company,鈥 Jason said.
They chose 麻豆果冻传媒 Lafayette, Jason said, because there were no petroleum engineering programs in Mississippi. They also favored the individual attention they expected to receive, and ultimately got, at the University.
鈥淭he (Petroleum Engineering) Department is outstanding. The professors are very knowledgeable, and have many contacts for jobs and internships,鈥 Clayton said.
More than 470 students were enrolled in the petroleum engineering program this spring. Of this semester鈥檚 33 petroleum engineering graduates, the brothers all finished in the top 5 percent, said Dr. Fathi Boukadi, who is head of the department.
鈥淭hey are some of the best students, and very hardworking,鈥 he said.