The growth of Laredo is nothing short of astounding. With each passing year, new businesses, services and amenities sprout alongside our flourishing roads and freeways that facilitate the transport of goods throughout the country.
These expansions and developments do not happen overnight and are meticulously planned to meet the needs now and in the future; just like Laredo College. We work daily to ensure that all of our students, like LC graduate Andrea Moreno, have the tools and knowledge necessary to not just be a part of a thriving workforce but to be catalysts for change and innovation.
Moreno graduated with an Associate of Applied Science in Computer Aided Drafting Design (CADD) Technology and is now working as a drafting technician at Killam Development. She said that during her early time at LC, she used Autodesk Civil 3D for most of the class projects, which helped in learning the basics for the program without much diffuclty.
“When I first got into the program, I was more interested in architecture. I always liked the design side of it, and I thought the CAD Program would be a good place to start so I could learn a little about the software and how to use it,” she said. “They taught how it is used in both architecture and civil engineering. Getting into the program gave me the opportunity to work where I am right now, and I’m thankful for that. I think I ended up liking the civil engineer side of it more than the architecture side.”
Laredo College’s goals and missions are never ending, and these are the results we strive for in every one of our students.
“Here at Killam Development we have been lucky to land ourselves a self-motivated individual in Andrea Moreno,” Killam Development Civil Engineer Vince Martinez said. “She came to us as an intern and completed the CAD Program at Laredo College about a year ago and has taken the skills taught in the program and has combined them with her eagerness to learn, which has made her such an integral part of our engineering team.”
As part of the team, Martinez said that Andrea is now the engineering teams go-to person when it comes to AutoCad Civil 3D issues. During her time at LC, she not only worked with AutoCad and Civli 3D but also Inventor and RevIt. This is a example of the wide range of skills our programs aim to provide our students.
“CAD work is like art and the CAD Technician is the artist,” Martinez explained. “A CAD Technician is so involved with the drawings that with experience they will see issues in the design stage that some may overlook. This experience can save valuable time and money when the project moves forward to construction. CAD techs are the key to presenting a complete set of drawings for construction.”
With the array of tools at their disposal and a strong curriculum that prioritizes necessary skills, students like Moreno are better equipped for the different branches of design within engineering and architecture wherever they may live.
“It’s an interesting field, and there’s a lot of opportunity to work. Whether you decide to go through the architecture or civil engineer route or any other field where CADD is used, I recommend to always take the opportunities, be open to learning new things and build off any constructive criticism,” Moreno said about joining this fruitful field.