Constant winds waved the American flags mounted upon electrical poles, while family members, electrical line workers and observant guests strained their necks to watch the four Del Mar college students perform their tasks at the first ever Del Mar’s “Skills Rodeo.”
The four students, Andrew “Blake” Galvan, Christopher Luzania, Rodolfo “Rudy” Landeros and Gabriel Garcia demonstrated for judges the skills and knowledge they had obtained from their 10-week electrical lineworker program before graduation. The April 4 ceremony was held at the Nueces Electrical Cooperative (NEC) field.
“Ten weeks ago, the guys were given their hooks,” said Del Mar instructor Robert Bryson. “They couldn’t even get a step off of the ground.”
Job recruiters from electrical companies such as San Patricio Electrical and City of Robstown Utilities were also welcomed to watch with family members to support the students.
“I am very excited for Gabriel,” said NEC employee and mother of one of the students, Vicky Garcia, when exclaiming her enthusiasm for her son, Gabriel Garcia. “He was interested in this program since he had learned electrical stuff from his dad, and with me working at NEC for 15 years, so he was excited to try the program.”
Del Mar aligned with NEC to develop the program that can fully train students to be prepared as an electrical lineworker. The field has been seeing a decrease of employment opportunities in the Nueces area.
“There were five students at the beginning of the program; not everyone can do it,” said Michelle Avalos, Del Mar’s director of the Electrical Lineworker Program. “It’s not just strength, but you have to have that endurance to do what they’re doing.”
The program encourages the students to not only be skilled as an electrical lineworker, but to help further their career. The electrical companies interviewed the students in a “mock interview,” so the students can be more prepared with what they need to accomplish when the program is over. These companies are also the judges at the event that evaluated how efficiently the four students can complete the tasks of pole top rescue, personal protection grounding and insulator or cross arm change.
“Nerves were there a little bit,” said Landeros, one of the students in the program, “but at the end of the day, just treat it like no one was there.” Landeros completed the pole top rescue with the fastest time at one minute and eleven seconds.
“People need to be open to the challenges that comes with it, since it is very intense and nothing is easy, but it’s very rewarding at the end,” Landeros said he would tell students considering the program.
For more information about the program, and how to register for the next cohort session, contact Avalos at aavalos4@delmar.edu.
