The Power to Succeed

The unconventional journey that led Scyller Borglum to a career in energy engineering—not to mention a term as South Dakota lawmaker and now the author of a highly regarded book to motivate STEM students—surprises her to this day.

“It took me a long time to figure out what I really wanted to be, and what I would need to do in order to get there,” said Borglum, vice president and national underground storage market sector leader for Power and Energy at WSP in the U.S.

Scyller Borglum

In her current role with our firm, she oversees multiple facets of design, construction and management for underground energy storage—one of the most critical components in the growth of the clean energy market. As a leader in engineering salt caverns, hard-rock caverns and porous media for liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons and compressed air, WSP has worked on more than 300 cavern projects that provide reliable space for storing reserve energy resources until needed.

Underground engineering was the furthest thing from Borglum’s mind when she began her pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in international business. Initially she had no plans to continue beyond that point academically, but as her interests developed, she eventually earned five post graduate degrees, including a master’s degree in theological studies—and eventually, three engineering degrees that would shape her career path.

Her interest in the energy industry was sparked as a Fulbright Scholar in Norway, where she conducted multiple interviews and research of Norwegian oil and gas development companies for her international business thesis on sustainable development.

“I discovered a love for anything and everything to do with energy and how it moves civilizations forward,” she said. “After graduating with my business degree, I spent five years in pharmaceutical sales, but I never lost that love for the energy industry.

“But career-wise, I just didn’t know how something like that could be possible.”

Fifteen years later she hadn’t abandoned that dream, but it was only after a friend suggested she pursue a petroleum engineering degree that the path began to clear.

“Those of us on the outside of this field had no idea what it was or what to do to join it,” Borglum admitted. Doubt crept in as well. Sure, she did well in her high school math and science classes; but after all this time, how much would she remember?

The only way to know for sure was to dive in and take college classes in calculus and geology. Fully committed to her studies, she soon realized that that those STEM skills never left her, and becoming an engineer became an exciting possibility.

She enrolled at Montana Technical University, earning a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in petroleum engineering. She didn’t stop there either, eventually earning her doctorate in geological engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

This new path led her to a satisfying career change where she worked with engineering staffs at several energy companies. She also served as a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from August 2018 to December 2020 where she worked on legislation related to energy development and decommissioning requirements.

When she joined WSP in 2021, Borglum’s focus shifted to one of the most critical but often overlooked components of the energy industry—storage.

She is responsible for helping midstream energy companies plan and design sustainable underground storage facilities for natural gas or hydrogen, using natural formations such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs, salt caverns or saline aquifers.

“Until I got into this role, I didn’t fully appreciate how important underground storage is for energy infrastructure,” she said. “We use natural gas as one of our main energy sources. It is pumped out of the ground, cleaned and then stored until needed.”

Currently, the U.S. stores nearly 10 percent of the country’s total natural gas usage in reserve. However, the rapid increase in artificial intelligence data storage technology and the overall rise in electricity usage is driving a need to increase natural gas production for power plants to generate electricity.

“What’s fascinating is that we can use caverns that once held oil and gas to store natural gas because of the porous media in that subsurface,” Borglum said. “You don’t have to build an expensive tank or line the cavern—these sustainable reservoirs have been effectively trapping gas for millions of years. These are enormous cavities, some the size of the Empire State Building.”

As the need for more energy and electricity grows, the need to efficiently store the reserve supplies expands with it. “To ensure we have enough of a buffer while still increasing electricity usage will require significantly more underground storage,” she added.

Looking back at her journey, Borglum felt her experiences could help others facing similar situations. The result was her latest book, “STEM Study Habits: Successfully Navigate Math, Science, Engineering and Life for your Degree.”

Borglum recalled consulting her high school guidance counselor about career options and being asked if she was thinking about being a nurse or teacher. She said neither.

“Hopefully today we are doing a better job of showing women that they have many more opportunities beyond those two career pathways.”

Her book highlights the value of a STEM education, and outlines lifestyle habits and studying strategies that helped her successfully balance her intense academic studies with a sales career. But she said these are effective strategies useful for anyone pursuing a STEM degree at any stage of their academic life.

Borglum recently shared her inspirational story with the Engineering Management Institute’s Civil Engineering Podcast, “STEM Success Secrets Revealed for Engineers.”

She continues spreading her excitement to others, especially women, considering an engineering career, using her story as an example of how to begin and sustain a successful pursuit.

“We are desperately in need of more STEM professionals,” she said. “Even if you are in your 30s, 40s or 50s and want to go back to school to be an engineer or another STEM professional, you can … and you should.”