Construction Training Program Graduates 16 in Texas

By: Stephen Whitaker
Source: The Eagle, Bryan, Texas (TNS)

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute hosted a celebration on Friday as 16 members of the summer 2026 Highway Construction program graduated from the program ready to build the roads of Texas.

Brian Pickard, who grew up in Carthage and lives in Brenham, was one of those graduates. Pickard, who served in the Army for more than a decade, heard about the program from a friend working for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

Pickard was looking for something that would set him up for a new career and so he signed up to take part in the five-week program. He hopes to use his experience in the program to get on with the TXDOT construction inspector program but is open to other opportunities as well.

“I’ve got a construction background, but I didn’t have anything in the highway [construction], specifically what they do,” Pickard said. “Through this program I have learned everything I needed to know. All the terminology, the methods, why things happen, how to fix them, how to prevent, all that stuff. I’ve made some more connections while I was here and able to do some more networking. It’s nice to have opportunities.”

The five-week program is conducted in a partnership between Texas A&M University, the Transportation Institute, Blinn College and the Texas Asphalt and Pavement Association.

Program includes hands-on equipment training

Students in the program ranged in age from 17 to 44 and had both recent high school graduates, college graduates and people looking to get into a trade. The cohort took part in classroom instruction and hands-on instruction with construction equipment and in the TTI laboratories. The capstone project involved the group assisting in the resurfacing of the streets in the Castlegate subdivision in College Station.

This year’s cohort of 16 was the largest of the four since the program began two years ago. Charles Gurganus, associate professor of pavement management in the Texas A&M Department of Construction Science, was excited to see such a large class and that the directors of the program were able to learn from the size of the cohort as much as the students were learning from them.

“We condensed this one [from six weeks to five]. We found we could speed it up a bit,” Gurganus said. “It’s five days a week, eight hours a day, but during our capstone paving project they had to work two 10-hour days which is pretty indicative of what happens in the industry. You work until you get it done. Sixteen students might be kind of a sweet spot because we want to make sure we get everybody the right amount of hands-on time. We want to make sure we give them enough hours of training that when they get to the industry, they’re ready to go.”

None of the 16 had to pay for the course as has been the case since the beginning of the program, Gurganus said.

Friday’s celebration included a barbecue lunch and speeches from Texas A&M Transportation Institute Director Gregory Winfree; Marshall Rich, Blinn College dean of applied technology, workforce and economic development; Luiza Barros, director of quality advancement for Texas Materials; and Gurganus.

The common theme among the speakers was congratulations to the students and excitement at seeing what they would accomplish in the future. Barros spoke to the four women in the cohort on her experiences as a woman climbing the ladder in the construction world.

“I take great pride in working in this industry. I’ve been working in it for seven years already and it has been such a welcoming environment,” Barros said during her speech. “I’ve had an opportunity to really grow and that for me there’s no price, no paycheck that pays for that. [The industry] can be intimidating but give it a shot. Give it an opportunity. Give your all because I promise you it’s going to surprise you. This is an amazing opportunity.”

Graduation speaker from Big Creek Construction

After a short video, the main guest speaker, Kent Dalsing, general superintendent of Big Creek Construction, told graduates to never be afraid to try something and never be afraid to speak up if something didn’t look right.

Jack Brown, originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, also was a graduate. He has worked in radio for a number of years and decided to try a new career path after hearing about the program.

Brown visited with The Eagle and spoke on his experience in the program and what he wants to do in the road construction industry.

“I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and do something new. Joining this class was perfect because it allowed me to do that with a group of people to help push me,” Brown said. “I’m really fascinated with the lab technician side, testing different asphalt mixes and stuff like density and air voids, making sure the asphalt they are paving is good.”

Both Brown and Pickard said they would recommend the program to anyone. Pickard felt it was a good program for anyone looking to start a career in the road construction industry and anyone who is willing to work hard and learn.

“To anyone thinking of getting in this make sure you want to work in the heat and do physical labor,” Pickard said. “Make sure you can handle criticism whether it’s good or bad and have the maturity to not take things personally.”

Brown’s advice to those considering the program was to go for it. Brown also shared that the front loader was his favorite piece of equipment to operate during the camp.

“I’d say to jump into it, 100 percent. Jump in and try it,” Brown said. “There’s no better feeling at the end of the day when you stepped out of your comfort zone and did something new.”