THE MYSTERIOUS NEIGHBOR
Philadelphia Energy Solutions
Personal Statement
Nice green grass, little baby ducks waddling, beautiful pink flowers. I know what you’re thinking, a park, maybe a zoo or even a nice neighborhood. In the contrary, it’s a description of an oil refinery, Philadelphia Energy Solutions in southwest Philadelphia. I have to say, this oil refinery is like nothing I’ve seen before. It’s mesmerizing on the outside and ugly in the inside.
To be completely honest I never noticed the refinery until I decided to work on a school project, Design Your Own Learning. It’s was truly an amazing experience, I will surely never forget. I never thought taking pictures at an oil refinery would buy me a label of a terrorist. It’s crazy how events from the past can influence us very aggressively in the present. The policemen who escorted us told us that the 9-11 attacks were the main reason why they were forced to detain us. But I honestly why don’t understand why a group a brown teenagers should be attained to these stereotypes.
Overall, Design Your Own Learning was one of the most dramatic occurrences that had happened to me. Two, this project has changed the way I look at climate change and the earth. Third, it’s probably the most impactful project I’ve done for an audience and feel pretty damn proud.
Esperanza Gonzalez
Senior At Science Leadership Academy
Class of 2016
Having this experience was neither bad nor good. A shocking yet common story became my reality when exploring for the oil refinery for my project. My only experience with the refinery prior to this project was just my daily ride across the Passyunk Ave bridge. I would often drive past the refinery but I would never pay much attention to it.
I was informed that 72% of Philadelphia's air pollution comes from the refinery. Immediately, that caught my attention and I wanted to investigate. With the help of my teachers and peers, I was able to take a deeper look into it how the refinery affects the city of Philadelphia.
On the day we went to the refinery to take pictures, we noticed that the closer we got the thicker the air got, there was also a pretty foul smell in the air.
Taylor Washington
Senior At Science Leadership Academy
Class of 2016
Tiarra Bell
Senior At Science Leadership Academy
Class of 2016
The day we visited the oil refinery..
My group members and I were standing on the Passyunk Avenue bridge taking photos of the refinery when I saw two security trucks driving below in the facilities. One truck drove a head and the other just sat there and waited. Suddenly, I began to get nervous, so I told my group members that we should head back to the car. As we started to walk down the bridge, one truck was slowing following us, then we saw two security officers waiting at the bottom of the bridge! At that moment the last thing I want was to get arrested or worse, so I told my friends to just be calm and cooperate with them. Finally, we got to the bottom of the bridge; the officers questioning us, wondering why we were taking pictures. First, they stated that they had contacted the police, then they went on to explained that ever since 9/11, they are strict with people taking pictures of government facilities. I believed that they perceived us as terrorist. The officers then walked us off the bridge and down steps until we were in front of their facilities. I explained to them that we are doing a school project on the oil refinery. They then asked for, we gave them our school ID's which they took pictures of, then they took pictures of us, and they wrote down my phone number and my address. Fortunately, since we cooperated, they let us go. This will definitely be an experience that I will not forget, being accused of being a terrorist is one of the scariest things I’ve ever face.
