CSLAP-Ruiz Erectors 2021
Bryan Ruiz
This summer, I was given the opportunity to serve as an intern for the McAllen based construction company Ruiz Erectors LLC. Working alongside the College Scholarship Leadership Access Program (CSLAP), I learned vast amounts of information that will help me strive in my coming years.
This internship was intended to teach high school and college students insights on how the steel industry functions and how Ruiz Erectors LLC operates. There was a total of four interns: two business majors, including me, and 2 engineering majors. From the start of the internship, we worked as a team to solve problems and look for solutions. We were taught how to read blueprints, communicate with businesses, and do critical thinking.
At first, we were overwhelmed with the amount of information and work because we never experienced working in the steel industry. It took us multiple attempts to understand blueprints and to distinguish the materials needed in each plan. Not only that, but we were also given the chance to manage projects and communicate with businesses to fulfill projects.
Moreover, Ruiz Erectors partnered with CSLAP, and the executive director, Thomas Ray Garcia would visit us every Tuesday to hold leadership and professionalization workshops. The main goal of these workshops was to teach us about being leaders and how to improve our performances.
We were responsible not only with helping Ruiz Erectors, but we also assisted CSLAP as well. Early in the internship, we initiated a project with the goal of fundraising scholarship money for high school graduates. We were to sell as many chicken plates as we could, making the most revenue while keeping our total costs as low as possible. As the weeks progressed, we slowly gathered all the needed materials and connected with people willing to assist us with our mission to give back to the community.
On the day of the fundraiser, we all coordinated with each other to get the work done. We established a system where two interns would carry out a specific role whereas the other two would take on another job. As the day went by, we managed to hand out the plates and account for the money made. Overall, we had a great turnout when it came to the profit made, making it a successful fundraiser.
What I would like to let the reader know is that you should go beyond your comfort zone and try new things. Make connections with new people and explore the resources you have at your disposal. You don’t know when you will be able to take advantage of them in the future.
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