Industry Leaders, Aggies Return for Record-Breaking Career Fair
More than 900 recruiters met 1,000 Aggies at the largest construction college career fair in the country.
Construction industry leaders returned to Aggieland on Thursday, Sept. 18, to recruit Aggies and connect with the next generation of professionals at the Construction Science Career Fair.
The event drew more than 900 representatives from over 280 companies and about 1,000 students to the Legends Event Center, making it the nation’s largest college-hosted construction career fair and the university’s biggest departmental fair. Several employers even hosted on-site interviews.
The career fair provides the vital connections that many students need to secure a semester-long internship required for graduation, according to Industry Relations Coordinator Hernan Guerra Santos.
From Student to Recruiter
Held each semester, the fair is open exclusively to members of the Construction Industry Advisory Council (CIAC). About 70 percent of CIAC firms employ Texas A&M alumni, reflecting the value members place on maintaining close ties with the program.
For some recruiters, the fair was a full-circle moment.
“I’m pretty excited to be on the other end of it, considering that I was a student not that long ago,” said Reece Brooks '25, now a project engineer for McCarthy. “It’s super cool to get this perspective and meet so many people.”
McCarthy, a national commercial builder with projects across the country, including solar and water divisions, employs Brooks in its Dallas-Fort Worth water business group. He said Aggie values are what drew him to Texas A&M and continue to draw companies to recruit from the program.
“This is the best place on Earth to go to school,” Brooks added. “The culture and values that are taught here and spread around, you can’t get anywhere else. I think the people that come from this school really embody those.”
Flintco, a construction firm with a strong Aggie presence, was also represented by several former students, including Chris Zoeller ’12.
“We enjoy coming here every year, every career fair, to make sure we’re connecting with everybody out here and building networks,” said Zoeller, a Flintco superintendent. “The caliber of students coming out of this program — it’s amazing.”
Employers Praise Aggie Talent
Recruiters at the fair highlighted the professionalism and skills of Texas A&M students.
“I’ve been super impressed today with the students that come up to our booth — the caliber of students that are coming in, the respectfulness, the professionalism, just the experience that they’re bringing,” said Jerad Douglas '07, a project executive with the Beck Group.
With offices across the country, the Beck Group builds projects ranging from healthcare to higher education and office construction. Douglas said the company’s confidence in Texas A&M graduates comes from experience.
“I know Beck will be better because of the Aggies that we hire,” Douglas added.
Some companies want to recruit Aggies for other Aggie-led projects. Florida-based J. Raymond, a general contractor known in Texas for building Buc-ee’s locations, has recently partnered with the chain on several projects.
Human resources manager Evelyn Black explained the company recruits Aggies because Buc-ee’s founder and CEO, Arch “Beaver” Aplin III '80, is a Texas A&M construction science graduate.
Shared Culture Keeps Companies Coming Back
DN Tanks, a heavy civil construction company specializing in water storage tanks, sought to expand its Aggie talent at the fair.
“We love Aggies,” said recruiting coordinator Nick Barbarossa. He said many employees began as co-ops before moving into full-time roles, adding that Aggie values align closely with DN Tanks’ culture.
“We have that ‘We, not me’ mentality — very team-focused, very collaborative — and a lot of what we look for in our core values, we find in Aggies,” Barbarossa said. “We come here every year because we love the quality of the work that Aggies produce.”
Daniel Oates '01, senior project development manager at Flintco, said the company’s commitment to Texas A&M stems from shared history and culture.
“Flintco builds people to build awesome projects,” Oates said. “We hire Aggies because we understand the program. Chris [Zoeller] and I both went to A&M … we’ve been members of CIAC for many years. We believe in what the program is. We’ve helped shape it over time.”
Oates added that students’ initiative leaves a lasting impression, especially when they take the time to research the company and engage thoughtfully.
“My favorite thing is when they’ve been to the website and they understand what we do, what makes Flintco tick,” Oates said. “When they ask about our projects, it really says that the students are doing the research, and it makes us feel wanted and glad to be here.”