In August 1957, upon arrival in the United States, Schalkwijk took an airplane to New York, picked up his car and started a road trip to fulfill his boyhood dream inspired by reading National Geographic. The trip took him to Houston where he registered for courses in oil pipe design. One of his colleagues prompted him to enroll in Stanford University to study oil engineering. He drove to San Francisco, passed the entry exams and before the start of classes, drove to Calgary in search for a job.
