UC chemical engineering student finds home at Marathon

University of Cincinnati’s cooperative education (co-op) program exposes students to the professional field while still in school. For Kareem Elgafy (chemical engineering ’19), the program also launched a career.

Elgafy, who is completing his senior year in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, recently accepted a full-time position with the nation’s largest oil refiner, Marathon Petroleum Corporation. After he graduates, he will move to Marathon’s corporate office in Findlay, Ohio, where he will work in the Supply, Distribution and Planning Department.

As a high school student, Elgafy applied to many colleges and nearly committed to one before visiting UC. But when he toured UC’s campus on an admissions visit, everything changed.

“When I stepped on campus, it just clicked,” he says. “It felt like a different environment, and I could really see myself going here.” Hearing about co-op and ACCEND – a program that allows engineering students to combine a bachelor’s degree with a master’s degree in a shortened timeframe – sealed the deal.

Elgafy always knew he wanted to be an engineer, but it wasn’t until he fell in love with chemistry in high school that he knew chemical engineering was his field. At UC, he built upon his passion for chemistry and learned more about the problem solving, critical thinking and processes required to become a successful chemical engineer. 

It was around this time when he met his future co-op and full-time employer, Marathon Petroleum. Like many UC engineering students, Elgafy was certain he would co-op with several different companies before he graduated, but something about Marathon changed that. Five co-op rotations with Marathon Petroleum later, and Elgafy couldn’t be happier. 

“Marathon gave me so much responsibility and respect, and they allowed me to work on multimillion dollar projects from A to Z,” he says. “If I had to sum up my whole Marathon experience in one word, it would be empowering.”

On campus, Elgafy is actively involved in Undergraduate Student Government, Engineering Tribunal, ROAR Tour Guides, Student Alumni Council, Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society and the UC President’s Office. He has also assisted in planning the upcoming UC Bicentennial Celebration and other special events as an intern at the UC Foundation.

He attributes his on- and off-campus success to a willingness to take risks. “Moving away to Texas on co-op was one of the scariest and most exciting moments of my life,” he says. “But it was a risk I was willing to take, and it paid off.” That same risk-taking mentality also pushed him out of his comfort zone to run for student government, where he currently serves as a Senator.

With its recent acquisition of Andeavor, Marathon is now the largest refinery in the US, refining more than three million barrels of crude oil a day within an interconnected system of 16 refineries. Elgafy is excited for the challenges and opportunities that come with the merging of two companies and two cultures.

Looking back on his time at UC, Elgafy has appreciated how his co-op experience at UC has shaped his future.

“I cannot imagine my life without co-op,” he says. “It has solidified what I want to do in my career.”