“Don’t settle, and don’t be afraid to do things that other people don’t do,” advised Brijuan Dace. “I feel like we all have this cliché attitude where everybody just follows what people before them have done. Just because it hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean that it can’t be done or won’t be done by you. If it’s something that you want to do, go do it.”
Brijuan Dace has never been one to just settle. He has always pushed himself to be the best possible, whether it was in the classroom or out on the football field.
He graduated from Quitman High School in 2017, and his hard work and dedication left a lasting impression in the school system. Anyone who had the honor of having Brijuan in the classroom can easily recall his strong work ethic.
“Brijuan was always such a hard working student. He always went above and beyond in class,” recalled Michelle Davis, Brijuan’s tenth grade English teacher. “I know his parents always expected the best from him, but I know he was also intrinsically driven to be successful. His grade had some very competitive students, in the classroom and on the football field, and Brijuan shined as a leader among them.”
His hard work and competitive nature paid off, earning him one of the top spots in his class.
“I graduated in the top three in my class at Quitman High School,” stated Brijuan. “We were in a four way tie, and they had to go four places behind the decimal to determine our ranks.”
Once he graduated high school, Brijuan started attending college to pursue his goals for his future. He has been very successful in college with his academics and football career.
“I’m a student at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. I played football down here for my first two years in college,” expressed Brijuan. “I’ll graduate on May 14 with my Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering.”
His hard work has been rewarded through various honors and scholarships over the years, and he is excited to be able to start the next part of his journey in life.
“They have a group here called the Black Faculty and Stealth Group, and they have awarded me every semester and given some scholarships for being one of the top black students on campus,” said Brijuan.
Not only has Brijuan made sure to maintain excellent grades in college, but he has made sure to participate in various organizations that will help him in the future. Through the clubs he participates in, he is able to volunteer and experience different things.
“I’m in a bunch of different clubs. I’m in the International Association of Drilling Contractors. I’m in the Society of Petroleum Engineers. I’m in the American Association of Drilling Engineers. I’m in the National Society of Black Engineers,” stated Brijuan. “We have different events sometimes that I have to participate in. Some of it is career services where we try to get future engineers to do career pathing. We do golf tournaments where we try to get big companies like Chevron and others to donate their money to our school and things of that nature. When I graduate, I will continue to be in each of those clubs. Those are very prestigious clubs in my field. It pays to be a part of them, and it’s a pretty good thing. Most of the time, it helps with recruiting and talking to younger kids. We have career fairs here at the school where we can demonstrate our technology and everything, so it keeps your interest.”
Once he officially obtains his degree on May 14, Brijuan will have made a major achievement in his family.
“In my immediate, and extended family as far as I know, I’ll be the first male to graduate with a four year degree,” declared Brijuan. “I have family members who have certifications and two year degrees, but I’ll be the first one I know of with a four year degree and definitely the first one with an engineering degree.”
He majored in petroleum engineering, but Brijuan has much larger goals he would like to achieve. His job in the petroleum engineering field is just the first step he has to take to reach that goal.
“I plan on using my college degree as more of a stepping stool than to actually have a 20-30 year career in petroleum engineering. I actually want to do real estate and stocks. I’m all about trying to build generational wealth, and I don’t want to punch a time clock for the rest of my life,” explained Brijuan. “I want to have financial freedom and freedom with my time to be able to do whatever I want to do and still make a lot of money. I want to eventually be more of an entrepreneur than a worker.”
Brijuan does more than just focus on academics and his future job. He has different activities that he enjoys doing, and spending time with his family is his favorite thing to do. In fact, one of his favorite memories is involved with simply spending time with those he loves.
“I like to mud ride, fish, go to gun range, bowl, and I really like just spending time with my family and friends. Most of the time we’re only doing things like playing family games, cards, and stuff like that,” said Brijuan. “My favorite memory would be my grandma’s recent birthday party. We played cards for about six or seven hours straight. I just enjoy spending that time with her because she’s getting older.”
Even though he has had some great accomplishments already in life, Brijuan is very humble about everything he has done.
“I’m just like everybody else. I’m just a regular person, so I don’t like to be looked at differently. If I can do it, other people can do it as well,” expressed Brijuan. “I don’t really like to be looked at with the spotlight on me like I’m doing something so different from other people because other people can do it as well.”
With his drive to succeed and positive outlook on life, Brijuan is sure to achieve all of his dreams in the future.
