San Antonio Construction News • Sep 2015
Page 5
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Texas Apprentice
Plants in the shale
Joshua Baptista Brandt SMW Local 67 Apprenticeship Program
A
fter waiting and waiting as one of 450 applicants to the apprenticeship program at Sheet Metal Workers’ (SMW) Local 104 in Northern California, Joshua Baptista’s number finally came last fall. In October, he moved to Texas, transferring to the SMW Local 67 apprenticeship program here in San Antonio and working as a sheet metal apprentice at Brandt. Since then, he has been working on projects that include the Methodist Hospital and renovations at the AT&T Center. His wife, Reina, had moved to San Antonio about two years ago where she had family who could help her with their second child. But Baptista says that in the pre-apprentice stages, he had to wait and test through that process before he could relocate. His pastor in California was a sheet metal journeyman and told him about the benefits of the apprenticeship program and the union. While his wife was doing her internships as a medical assistant and finishing school in Texas, Baptista started on the path to becoming an apprentice. Having completed his first year in the program, he is now a second year apprentice. Since arriving in Texas, he has been working 12-hour days. Outside of work and class, he is a full-time dad, spending time with his daughters, Angelina, who is 8 years old, and Sophia, 2. Angelina has started gymnastics and Sophia
seems interested in following her big sister’s footsteps – or flips and tumbles. When it comes to his own hobbies, Baptista says, “I like to build things. I like to do construction. I like to do things with my hands. When I was a kid, I was always playing with Legos and stuff like that, and as an adult, I’m always making things. I just made my wife a wind chime out of scrap sheet metal materials.” Before he entered the sheet metal field, Baptista started in construction right out of high school, working as a carpenter for 10 years. Living in California for most of his life, he was born in Berkeley, grew up in Los Angeles for 14 years and lived in San Jose in the Bay Area before coming to Texas. His goals for the future include providing his family with a permanent home and joining a new local church. In California, his family suffered due to the financial crisis, and when he was in need, the help he received made a big difference. While he was still living in the Golden State, he volunteered with his church to feed the homeless. He hopes to get involved again in giving back to the community through his church and setting a good example for his children. –mh
L-R: As part of the team at Plant Architects and Plant Outfitters, divisions of Robert Ober & Associates, Andrew Matjasko, project management director, and Michael Esposito, structural engineer, work on industrial projects related to material handling, primarily for the energy sector, including work in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas and the Bakken Shale in North Dakota. –mh
Submitted to Construction News
Pulling into the midway station Gasoline – On Road Diesel – Off Road Diesel On Site Fueling – Wet Hosing – Temporary Loaner Tanks We Loan City Approved UL-2085 Vaulted Tanks
210-666-6002 Brent & Mark Marshall
The Associated General Contractors (AGC) San Antonio Chapter hosted its Midyear Economic Forum Jul. 21 with 150 people attending the luncheon at Sunset Station. L-R: Mario Hernandez, president of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation; Kristian Pearson, chapter president; and Ken Simonson, chief economist for AGC of America –mh
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