HIGH CLIMBER
From Gravedigger to the Upper Ranks of Chevron

Growing up outside Roseburg, Oregon, chemical engineering alumnus Darry Callahan (‘64) dug graves for fifty cents an hour and worked as a choker setter – one of logging’s most dangerous jobs. His grandfather logged with horses, his father worked in sawmills, and his mother made ends meet.

Those are pretty humble beginnings for an only child who ultimately rose to the upper echelons of management at one of the world’s largest oil companies. But Callahan is a humble, soft-spoken man, who is quick to credit his college education at Oregon State with his successful career that spanned almost 40 years at Chevron.

“Going to college was always something that was on the agenda, but we had very little money,” says Callahan, the first in his extended family to attend college. “Oregon State transformed my life. I didn’t have the slightest ideas as to what was possible for a kid with my background. Without OSU, I don’t think I would’ve had a chance.”

Callahan, who retired from ChevronTexaco in 2003 as executive vice president of power, chemicals, and technology, and has given generously to OSU, still seems a bit surprised by the rags-to-riches trajectory of his life.

“I would never, ever have dreamed that what happened with my career was even remotely possible for me,” says Callahan. “Some of it is thanks to Oregon State, and some of it’s just good luck. But OSU had a lot to do with it.”

Callahan graduated from OSU armed with what he calls “a very good tool kit,” something current Beaver engineering grads are widely known for in industry: work-readiness. “You could go right to work, applying what you’d learned in the classroom, and you knew how to work well on a team,” he says. “That got people’s attention very quickly.”

At Chevron, his career took him all over the world, from Saudia Arabia and Iran to the Bahamas and Tulsa, Oklahoma. He completed the Stanford Executive Program in 1986, but claims he earned his MBA in the “school of hard knocks.”

His advice for engineering students today? “Get a good grounding in engineering fundamentals, but also make time to learn about economics, teamwork, and entrepreneurship. All of that puts you further ahead when you get out into the workplace.”

One of his secrets to success is: “Don’t try to be somebody you’re not. Just be yourself. I never forgot my roots as a poor kid from rural Oregon, so I never flew first class. I still don’t.”

As for the future prosperity for the U.S., Callahan says innovation is the key. “There are a lot of smart people in other countries, and if we’re not very, very careful – what with all of our cutbacks – we’re going to find ourselves becoming a second-rate nation.”

Callahan believes we need to invest heavily in research and education, which is why he and his wife, Betty, are strong supporters of the OSU Foundation, the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, and have set up the Callahan Family Student Excellence Fund, an endowment that benefits students in Engineering…some of whom come to OSU from little means, but might one day climb the high ladder of success.