Construction science department honors its fall 2011 graduates

The Texas A&M Department of Construction Science honored three of its top students graduating in the fall 2010 semester during its traditional Hard Hat Ceremony Nov. 30, 2011.

The ceremony, in which each graduating student in the department’s masters’ and undergraduate degree programs receives a personalized hard hat as a memento of their times at Texas A&M, is sponsored by the department’s Construction Industry Advisory Council, as a welcome from the industry to the newly minted graduates.

At the graduation celebration, Douglas Doucett was presented with the Associated General Contractors of America’s Outstanding Student Award. He served as president of the National Association of Home Builders’ student chapter and vice president of the Sigma Lambda Chi Honor Society.

Doucett was chosen by a vote of faculty and graduating seniors from a ballot of students with top-10 grade point averages in the department.

Abhijeet Singh received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award, which is based on excellence in overall academic achievement at Texas A&M and presented to the student who receives the most votes from faculty and fellow masters’ degree students.

Ron Johnson Jr. received the Craftsman Award, based on a vote of fellow graduating seniors and recognizing the best all-around student performance and contributions to the program.

The event’s speaker, Ron Workman , senior lecturer of construction science, challenged students to keep asking questions, always be learning about the industry, and to stay in contact with each other.

“No other business I know is like the construction businesses,” he said. “It’s highly rewarding. There’s a huge professional network, and each city has its own small fraternity, so keep in touch with each other. “

Workman was selected by a vote of the graduating seniors as the faculty member most influential in their academic careers.