Gustavo Perez was a high school junior when he joined TRWD as a Cristo Rey Fort Worth College Prep intern in 2021. Now entering his junior year at Texas Tech University, where he’s studying industrial engineering with a construction engineering minor, Perez credits TRWD for opening his eyes to what it takes to succeed professionally and encouraging him toward a career path that suits him well.
Through his high school’s corporate work study program, Perez started his onsite job training early. Cristo Rey incorporates this component into its academic curriculum, providing students with real-world learning while they take a full schedule of college preparatory classes on campus. Cristo Rey Fort Worth works with more than 65 corporate partners across Tarrant County, Texas, and the Cristo Rey system connects with 3,200 businesses nationwide to incorporate onsite job training skills into its academic curriculum. Students work one day per week, plus one Friday each month during their fall and spring semesters, learning valuable career skills and helping to earn the cost of their tuition through partner sponsorships.
To connect with a business, students complete surveys evaluating their strengths, interests and where they would be a good fit.
“Fortunately, I was placed with TRWD,” Perez says. He enjoyed the experience so much, he elected to return to the water district for his senior year’s work study. In the summers, TRWD let Gustavo stay onboard – which was totally new for a student still in high school – where he worked alongside college interns. Perez returned as an engineering team intern during the summer after his first college year as well.
“I’ve developed great relationships and gained so much,” Perez notes. “Jenifer Fuhrman, engineering support specialist, is an amazing mentor who exposed me to opportunities that helped me consider what I might want to do in the future.”
Perez went into the field to visit many construction projects over the years. He was able to see large diameter water pipelines under construction and learned about the mechanical aspects of how the pumps worked. Fuhrman helped him learn what a real workplace looks like – which, at TRWD, can vary widely depending on the day, the department and the project.
“Jenifer had a real interest in my future. I was lucky to find a mentor who really cared and wanted to see me succeed,” Perez said. “She didn’t just keep me shelved in the office – she sent me out in the field to also learn from others at TRWD.”
Fuhrman supports TRWD’s water resources and infrastructure engineering teams. She manages electronic record documents, goes out on inspections, helps take notes and pictures, enters data and does editing with geographic information systems (GIS) technology. She’s also an Envision Specialist (ENV-SP, certified by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure) who helps ensure that the District is doing all it can to stay focused on sustainability in its projects.
“Jenifer and TRWD helped me so much. Where do I start? I was a kid and they took me in and gave me a shot,” Perez says. “I learned that your work ethic means more than your age, and they helped me see my opportunities.”
“I felt very comfortable talking with Jenifer – and knowing that I had a home at TRWD was a good feeling.”
Perez and Fuhrman still keep in touch today. They often text about what’s going on, get together for lunch when they can, and have become good friends. Fuhrman attended Perez’s graduation and has served as a cheerleader, rooting him on through important milestones and achievements.
“Gustavo was my first mentee. I’ve enjoyed watching him grow over the last four years,” Fuhrman says.
Thomas Cross, TRWD Human Resources talent development professional, notes that “the District wants to give back to the local community. Partnerships like the one we have with Cristo Rey line up with our purpose as an organization.”
Cross serves as the central point of contact for Cristo Rey, coordinating intern sponsorships (TRWD works with four students each school year) and serving as a liaison between departments, mentors and school contacts.
“Student workers gain experience and exposure to the professional setting. They see possibilities for what they might want to do in their careers and have an opportunity to ‘test drive’ different types of work,” Cross says.
“For those of us at TRWD, there’s something exciting about seeing what the student workers are capable of at such a young age. These young people have a lot going on.”
Taking on an intern, Cross says, is a departmental commitment. Students spend the entire day with their direct mentor or another team member when they visit. This investment of time is such a “worthy endeavor,” he says, and is a “very positive and worthwhile” experience for TRWD staff.
“The students’ level of work is impressive. Cristo Rey has incredible levels of college acceptance (100% of graduates) and scholarship support. These students have a lot going for them at the end of their four years,” Cross notes.
Fuhrman, too, is impressed by the way Cristo Rey is preparing students for the real world. “The school is teaching respect and professionalism, how to make eye contact and speak with others, even how to dress for a career. These students are highly motivated and dedicated to their futures,” she says.
The students also bring fresh ideas and new perspectives, she notes, such as the time Perez found an easy solution for scanning really delicate, old, oversized documents that the department needed. “He had a scanner app on his phone that worked so well. That really blew my mind,” Fuhrman says. “I’m happy to be working for an organization that’s open to supporting programs like Cristo Rey. It’s a wonderful opportunity to mentor someone, and a great way for these students to learn outside the classroom as they get to know people in the industry and make connections now, as they are young,” she adds.
“I want to thank TRWD for giving me this opportunity as a kid. I can’t imagine where I’d be without the internships and support I gained from TRWD,” Perez says. “They’ve given me a lot of experience, knowledge … and they’ve given me a family.” Perez is also thankful for everything that Cristo Rey provided during his high school years.
“From those who keep the school running to the board who invests time and money into the school, I would like to say thank you for your leadership and support throughout our community of students,” he says.
This summer, Perez will intern with a different organization, an oil and gas company that’s also a Cristo Rey partner, to gain petroleum engineering experience. He hopes to intern somewhere every summer through college.
Even though he won’t be at the water district this year, Gustavo stays in touch with his TRWD friends and is looking forward to getting together soon for lunch or a hello. “He knows we’re always here if he needs anything,” Fuhrman says.
Story by Sally Crocker, contributing writer for Tarrant Regional Water District.
