Small space, big ideas: Mastermind Youth impresses Imperial Oil during visit

Industry leaders visit Mastermind Youth to see how funding is turning into hands-on experience.

Mastermind Youth held an open house on March 17, 2026, at its HQ in the Locheil Kiwanis Community Centre, inviting Imperial Oil, the Journal, and NextVoice to tour the space and see what MasterMind has been doing for the community.

Imperial Oil has been one of the generous sponsors for Mastermind since Autumn 2025, to support STEM education with equipment and resources to educate Sarnia youth through one of Mastermind’s many programs.

Mastermind held this get together to have Imperial see what they've done so far with the funds, and get in touch with the small community they've sparked with Mastermind. So, let's shed some light on Imperial Oil and see what they think!

NextVoice: "Tell us about yourself and what brought you here today?"

Jonathan Morgan: “I grew up in Mississippi, where I was interested in STEM as a kid. I did lots of math and science and wanted to do engineering in college and university. From there, I've worked in the industry for many years with Exxon-Mobile, in different places. They asked me to come up here and be a part of Imperial as well. So, that's what brought me here to the area. And then Kristina, she's the one that identified Mastermind, found you and started working on the relationship and the conversation between us. She saw what the leaders were doing and wanted to make sure that we were able to help.”

Kristina Zimmer: “I read about it [Mastermind] in the paper. It said ‘Mastermind has gone to a tournament!’ I had never heard of Mastermind. I thought it was literally just storage. And so I sent Sean an email. And I said, ‘Tell me about Mastermind!’ I saw the article and we're always looking for STEM/educational funding opportunities. And that's what we did!”

NextVoice: "What do you hope for the future of Imperial and MasterMind Youth’s relationship?"

Jonathan Morgan: “This is our first year sponsoring and being a part of it. And it's been really cool for us to see. The leaders of Mastermind have creative ideas and a vision for what they want Mastermind to be. We wanted to really come out and help from a charitable standpoint, to provide opportunities, to build from there. We hope that you can use that creativity, and team members can use the creativity, to really grow. And hopefully, make that part of their future education.”

NextVoice: "What do you think of Mastermind Youth?"

Kristina Zimmer: “They use a lot of the same terms that we use in our industry, and they’re passionate about safety. When you have equipment like this, I look at it and think, ‘Oh my goodness!’ The professionalism behind their leadership will go a long way in ensuring safety, and the fact that they’re engineers really stands out. Our company is made up of engineers as well, so a lot of what Mastermind does and the values they have really replicate our own and what we do at the site.”

NextVoice: "Can you reveal any exciting plans for 2026 that Imperial has?"

Jonathan Morgan: “We have a big turnaround this year, which is kind of what we're mainly focused on outside of community building. So, that's kind of the big project for the year. Part of that turnaround we're actually starting up part of our SAP unit. Which is a big investment for the area and in the community. A turnaround is essentially where we shut down one of the units in our refinery, and we do a lot of maintenance at once. It's going to be down for a significant period of time, more than just a couple of days. There's units that sometimes run three, four years without getting shut down. It's one big shutdown, 30-40 days. You put a lot of resources into it. You put a lot of effort into it. They're going to have about a thousand people working on that.”

To summarize, NextVoice interviewed Vice President Jonathan Morgan, and Public and Government Affairs Manager Kristina Zimmer, who were given a tour of Mastermind's space. During the visit, they were shown the progress of the organization’s robotics program, including a recent competition robot, as well as the safety measures in place to ensure students are prepared and capable in emergency situations. Afterwards, with thorough questioning, NextVoice concluded that they were satisfied and impressed with what Mastermind Youth did with the funding and hopes to see the program flourish in the future.

NextVoice appreciates Imperial’s time and openness in sharing their perspective. Mastermind Youth is looking ahead to another year of STEM funding, with plans to continue growing its programs and offering more opportunities for youth in the community.

NextVoice is a youth-led newsroom created through the Mastermind Youth Foundation, where teenagers across Sarnia-Lambton share stories that matter to them and their community. Every piece is written entirely by local youth, reflecting their own ideas, perspectives, and voices, with a clear commitment to original, human-created work. Learn more here.