Giving back to the community is a part of the company culture at Noble Texas Builders. From the leadership team all the way down to each employee, their dedication to a common purpose makes them a formidable force for positive change in the Rio Grande Valley.
Even as a relatively new charitable foundation, Noble Charities is tackling the daunting task of empowering young students to achieve an education that will improve not only their lives, but also the lives of the rest of the Valley’s residents.
Rene Capistran, the CEO and president of Noble Builders, started his career in law enforcement and then changed in mid-life to construction. His goal is to create much-needed human capital in the engineering and construction industry as well as in the public safety sector.
As part of their commitment to empower local students, Noble Texas Builders has agreed to a memorandum of understanding with South Texas College. The company will provide $25,000 for scholarships for students in construction and public safety programs. The school plans to give out $5,000 per year for the next five years.
In addition to supporting students with scholarship money, Noble Texas Builders is also proud to be a part of providing them with state-of-the-art facilities for learning and hands-on experience. South Texas College’s new Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence facility in Pharr is being constructed by Noble Texas Builders and is set to become a world-class training center. This facility will establish integrative training for local, state, and federal professionals in law enforcement, public safety, fire safety, and Homeland Security.
Noble Charities has also set up a $25,000 endowment for the School of Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
“It is important to have businesses engage with education, and not only on a financial basis,” Capistran said. “We are also supporting them as they are creating their curriculum.” This kind of hands-on support is bringing the Noble Texas Builders team into the lecture halls of the university and taking the students out to the field to see how the things they are learning fit into the real world.
Alexander Domijan Jr., the dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, said he believes the students will benefit greatly by the partnership with Noble Texas Builders. Not only will the donation support student education, but seeing the direct application of the work Noble Texas Builders has been doing around the Valley is quite valuable in terms of experience. Domijan points out that a good engineering education isn’t entirely based on sitting behind a desk or computer, but actually going out into the field and applying that knowledge.
“Engineering and computer sciences is highly applied, and it’s one of the fields that is accessible to the wide population that I think is here in the Valley, simply because many of the works we do have a direct benefit to the citizens of the Valley,” Domijan said. Rio Grande Valley residents have a pathway to an excellent career in engineering and computer science.
For Capistran, the personal aspect of this endeavor is what drives him. Last year, his company participated in an event called TexPREP, where they hosted middle school students who were part of a summer engineering program at UTRGV.
“At the end of their program, they spent half a day with us at the job site, where they got to talk to the engineers and architects that designed the building,” Capistran said. “It was really neat because the kids got their hands in and really experienced what this career is all about.”
The Noble Texas Builders team plans to use their time at the schools to express what they are looking for in the industry to prepare students for their careers. This will include talking about the importance of critical thinking skills, academic skills, and the soft skills all employers need.
“It gives us an opportunity to meet the students, and really, at the end of the day, that is the pool that we intend to hire from,” Capistran said.
