Students taking Law I classes through the Department of Construction Science at Texas A&M University’s College of Architecture got a firsthand look at the Texas State Supreme Court in action during a recent trip to the state capital.
“It was a real cool experience, seeing the chief justice and the other eight presiding justices,” said Mitchell Cordoba, one of the approximately 80 students on the trip.
The court was hearing an insurance claim lawsuit, he said.
After its “day in court” the group went to the Capitol building and met Raymond Risk of the Texas Construction Association. Established in 1998 by Texas construction subcontractor and supplier organizations, the association promotes the political and legislative interests of these organizations in Texas. Cordoba said students learned how the association works for the industry when bills come before the Texas Legislature, and about the state government’s various boards and commissions that affect construction.
“After that, we met Dave Stauch, the project manager of the Capitol renovation,” said Cordoba. “To hear him talk about it was amazing.”
The Capitol’s exterior underwent a complete renovation from 1991-94; an interior renovation, which returned the Capitol to its pre-1915 condition, lasted from 1992-95.
“He said the job was enjoyable, but a lot of work,” said Cordoba. Students learned that experts were called out of retirement to train workers for the meticulous restoration work done on the building.
Students also toured the four-level underground Capitol extension, which was begun in 1990 and completed in 1993. The work involved digging a 65-foot deep site out of solid rock and added 667,000 square feet to the Capitol building.
Joe Horlen, head of the Department of Construction Science, and Debra Ellis, a senior lecturer in the department, accompanied the students.
