Making connections: Brownsville’s GBIC holds third ‘Rally in the Valley’

Patrick Couch, a clean transportation and energy consultant, gives an LNG “safety demo” at the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation “Rally in the Valley” student internship expo on April 3, 2024. (Steve Clark | The Brownsville Herald)

Judging by the turnout, Wednesday’s “Rally in the Valley,” hosted by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation at the Brownsville Events Center, was a huge success.

That was the judgment of Karla De La Riva, GBIC director of workforce and business development, who characterized the event as the “premier internship expo in South Texas.” For the past three years GBIC has partnered with Workforce Solutions Cameron, Texas Workforce Commission and the city of Brownsville for the expo, she said.

The purpose is to get area high school students in the same room with industry representatives “and hopefully connect them with an internship or a job,” De La Riva said. Students also get the chance to take part in mock interviews with actual employers in order to practice their interviewing skills, she said.

De La Riva said the expo has grown steadily each year.

“The first time we did it we had around 300 (students). Last year we had around 370, and this year we’re actually at 400 to 420,” she said. “Everybody wants to come to this event. The number increases every year and we want to do it bigger and better every single time.”

GBIC invites different industry partners and education institutions for each expo. This time the focus was on manufacturing and energy. Betchel Corporation and NextDecade, Houston-based parent company of the Rio Grande LNG export terminal Betchel is building at the Port of Brownsville, were the featured guests.

Patrick Couch, a clean energy transportation and energy consultant with Gladstein, Neandross & Associates out of Santa Monica, California, gave an LNG “safety demo” on behalf of NextDecade. His presentation was intended to dispel misconceptions about LNG (liquefied natural gas) itself and share details of operations at Rio Grande LNG once the project is completed.

“We want to show the kids the opportunities that are out there, the careers of the future, and how these massive corporations are making a true impact and difference in our community with the great opportunities they have to offer,” De La Riva said.

GBIC is holding another Rally in the Valley in September — Rally in the Valley 3.5 — and the theme then may be aerospace, or health care. It’s still in the planning stages, she said.

“We’re still developing different ideas, but the idea is to provide different resources and opportunities, not only to employers to showcase what they’re doing and get connected to students, but also provide students with different opportunities,” De La Riva said. “This is just an amazing opportunity for students to get connected.”

The post Making connections: Brownsville’s GBIC holds third ‘Rally in the Valley’ appeared first on MyRGV.com.