ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Three Albuquerque District employees participated in a “Road Show” event at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, N.M., during National Engineers Week, Feb. 22, 2022.
While the 30 cadets and three cadre settled in for the presentation, Gary Cordova, operations manager at Santa Rosa Lake; Shane Lauritzen, deputy district counsel; and Capt. Romeo Tcheutchua, project engineer at the Cannon Resident Office, met with NMMI leadership, including Lt Col John Sturgett, the chair of the Science Department; Col. John McVay, Associate Dean of the Math and Science Department; and Maj. Gen. Jerry Grizzle, president and superintendent of NMMI.
Tcheutchua spoke first and explained to the audience what National Engineer Week is. He provided an overview of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Albuquerque District and ended by sharing his personal story as an engineer and engineer officer in USACE.
“Gary and Shane are two very proud alumni of NMMI who were very excited to relive their cadet days experiences at the Institute,” said Tcheutchua.
Lauritzen shared his very intriguing experience as a cadet at the institute and then spoke about his experience as an attorney in the Corps of Engineers as well as the opportunities the Corps has to offer.
Cordova also shared his experiences as a cadet at NMMI. Then he spoke about his experience in USACE and the Albuquerque District’s contribution to engineering. He also spoke on the many job opportunities and summer opportunities for the cadets in USACE.
The event ended with a 20-minute Q&A session. “The cadets and cadre were very interested to know more about the opportunities in engineering and USACE in particular. The audience stayed very engaged and showed a lot of interest,” said Tcheutchua.
After the event, Cordova, Tcheutchua, and Lauritzen met with Lt. Col. Sturgett and Maj. Gen. Grizzle in their offices.
“It was most certainly a partnership creating opportunity with the NMMI and the Albuquerque District. We are all looking forward to going back there,” said Tcheutchua.
National Engineers Week is observed the week in February which encompasses George Washington's actual birthday, February 22. President Washington is considered the nation's first engineer, notably for his survey work.
The purpose of National Engineers Week is to call attention to the contributions to society that engineers make and a time for engineers to emphasize the importance of learning math, science, and technical skills.
Located in Roswell, N.M., NMMI remains the only state-supported co-educational college preparatory high school and junior college in the United States. Approximately 1,000 students from 47 U.S. states and territories and 35 foreign nations study at NMMI.