CIM Student Profile

Savanna Sitz

School: Texas State University

Class: Senior

Hometown: Bay City, Texas

Expected Date of Graduation: December, 2018

“I love the hardworking people who make up the concrete industry and hope to end up in operations management or sales as I further my career. ”

What school are you currently attending and when is your intended graduation date?
I attend Texas State University and plan to graduate in December, 2018.

Where are you from originally?
I am originally from Bay City, Texas.

Why did you choose this university?
I chose Texas State University because of the CIM program and the amazing location. No other school in the state has the unique program or anything with similar opportunities. Texas State also has a beautiful campus in the city of San Marcos; the area is full of clear rivers and hiking trails and is close to Austin
and San Antonio.

What made you decide to join the CIM program?
I joined the CIM program because my brother was currently in the program. I saw the internship and lab assistant opportunities he received and it was hard to ignore how highly he talked of the program and his professors. When I decided to change majors, it was easy to choose a degree that had such a high employment rate and that incorporated my favorite subject: infrastructure.

What are your career goals?
After graduation I plan on working for a ready-mix concrete company in Texas in operations or quality
control. I love the hardworking people who make up the concrete industry and hope to end up in
operations management or sales as I further my career.

Did you participate in any internships during your time at Texas State?
During the summer of 2017, I had the opportunity to work with Lafarge-Holcim in Dallas, Texas. I was
their operations intern and was assigned the job of updating and creating Lockout/Tagout documents
at their 18 ready-mix plants in the Dallas and Fort Worth Area. I learned about safety in the field and
was taught to batch and operate a wheel loader and a locomotive. During the last several weeks of
my internship, I helped quality control technicians perform field tests at the job sites. This summer, I
worked for Lehigh Hanson’s Houston ready-mix division. The highlight of my summer was working
on a water sample project. I tested the mixing water from 20 ready-mix plants around the Houston area
for compliance with TxDOT standards. I also helped with a 7,500+ yard overnight mass pour. It was an
incredible experience learning about the scheduling and planning that goes into a project of that size and
then getting to witness it and help hands on with the team on the jobsite.

How has CIM prepared you for working in the concrete industry?
The CIM program at Texas State has prepared me in many ways to enter the concrete industry after
graduation. Twice a year, we have a career fair that gives students the opportunity to meet with concrete
industry employers for internships and full-time jobs. All of our CIM classes have real-life applications
and are tailored to teach us everything we need to be successful in our future careers.