Guido Construction, City of San Antonio educating future leaders of the construction industry

(March 13, 2020) — The University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) and the City of San Antonio hosted representatives from Guido Construction Company (GCC) of San Antonio to participate in an enhanced educational experience for the students in the UTSA Construction Science and Management Program.

Tulio Sulbaran, professor of the Construction Capstone, and Kathy Rodriguez, Deputy Historic Preservation Officer for the City of San Antonio, invited representatives from Guido, a member of the AGC San Antonio Chapter, the City of San Antonio, and UTSA to provide unique perspectives for preservation projects in San Antonio. Albert Gutierrez (VP/Project Executive), Diego Arroyo (Sr. Project Manager) and Myriam Faz (Project Manager from Guido Construction) shared with the UTSA construction students their project experiences in the preservation, rehabilitation and restoration of historic buildings in San Antonio. Katie Totman, Specialist with the Office of Historic Preservation, provided an overview of the City’s preservation program and best practices when working with historic resources. Providing an explanation of City code and permit requirements for construction was Amin Tohmaz, Deputy Director for the City’s Development Services Department. John DeLaHunt, Adelaida Torres, and Scott Swetnam from UTSA shared with the UTSA Construction students their knowledge on safety and risk management.

In addition to presentations from local subject matter experts, UTSA construction students will participate in hands-on activities focusing on increasing their knowledge of traditional building trades, materials and methods. These activities take place at the Kelso House Learning Lab owned by the Power of Preservation Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes the powerful impacts of preservation in San Antonio.

This type of interaction between working professionals and students was possible through a unique partnership between, the University of Texas San Antonio, the Power of Preservation Foundation, and the City of San Antonio’s Office of Historic Preservation. This type of enhanced education experience for the construction students is possible due to the support of UTSA administration. The purpose of these agreements are to support and enhance the educational programs for the UTSA’s students, engage the community with conservation of buildings, and promote the benefits of historic preservation. This is one of the multiple activities of the UTSA Department of Construction Science in the College of Architecture, Construction and Planning that aligns with the UTSA destination to be a model for student success.

The UTSA model for student success puts students first by cultivating an environment focused on their achievements. As a next generation Hispanic-thriving, multicultural institution where students from all backgrounds can excel, UTSA serves as a prosperity engine, graduating world-engaged civic leaders of tomorrow. UTSA will continue the dramatic momentum of the last decade to retain and graduate more students, and will emphasize experiential learning and classroom-to-career educational opportunities.