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PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO “WORKING IN PUEBLO”
For the second straight year, MxV Rail and Dutch Clark Digital at Paragon have partnered together to create a unique career exploration program for students enrolled at the blended learning facility.
With the Pueblo Works program launching earlier this month, guest speakers from MxV Rail and other local companies will, over the next three months, provide an overview of their career path, job responsibilities, compensation and so forth.
These speakers represent a host of fields, including construction management, accounting, locomotive engineering, human resources, operations, and emergency response.
To kick off the series, MxV Rail President and CEO Kari Gonzales, a Pueblo native and South High School graduate, spoke to the students about her upbringing and journey to the position of CEO of a company known worldwide.
“MxV Rail has been a part of the Pueblo community for over 40 years and it’s important to me and our employees to help give back to the youth of Pueblo,” said Ms. Gonzales. “We’ve been working with Principal Rich Mestas this past year and wanted to give the students an idea of career options in Pueblo and the rail industry.
“I’m proud to be from Pueblo and want more students to consider Pueblo as a viable option to live, work, and enjoy their time after high school.”
On Thursday, Dutch Clark Digital at Paragon scholars heard from Justin Penrod, a locomotive engineer whose career in the railroad industry has taken him to MxV Rail.
Mr. Penrod’s presentation included informative tidbits on the responsibilities of a railroad engineer: one of the most notable being on call 24 hours a day.
“It’s a lifestyle,” Mr. Penrod said of the position.
At MxV Rail, however, Mr. Penrod works a more traditional Monday through Friday schedule.
His job duties, however, do not quite fall into the traditional realm of railroading.
“The things I’ve done there are amazing,” he continued. “We have blown things up, we have crashed things.
There is no place cooler to work when it comes to this industry. In the railroad industry, everything is centered around being safe. But at MxV Rail, we get to destroy: the idea is to do everything wrong, safely, so that it doesn’t happen (in real life.)
“In test control, everything we do is done as safely as possible. That means my responsibility throughout the day is to make sure my team is safe, the customers are safe, the equipment is safe. Customers pay a lot of money to come into our site, to test their equipment: to see if it’s something that is going to succeed, so that they can sell it to the world.”
At MxV Rail, Mr. Penrod is working on projects that include the safe and secure hauling of nuclear waste via rail.
The scholars also learned about the lucrative compensation associated with the railroad industry as well as the training and education needed to become a professional entrusted with piloting a train.
Pueblo Works will culminate with an in-person field trip to the new MxV Rail headquarters east of Pueblo and the newly constructed testing and operations facilities located at PuebloPlex at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.
“The Pueblo Works program is an amazing opportunity for students to hear directly from professionals about the career opportunities right here in the Pueblo community,” said Principal Mestas. “I have talked to several students participating, and they have shared with me that the speakers have been inspirational, and some are even researching how to begin the journey toward these careers.”
MxV Rail is a subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads established to provide vital support to the nation’s rail industry as its most trusted research and engineering partner. Through focused funding and strategic planning, MxV Rail is making key investments in its people and facilities to undertake new technological challenges in the rail industry and beyond. Building on its legacy of excellence, the team offers a full suite of advisory and research services including consulting, testing, research, maintaining standards and training.
This unique partnership garnered the attention of Railway Age magazine, which ran a feature story, with photos.