Survey equipment donation helps DACC students become job ready

College students entering the workforce in technical fields need to be familiar with the newest technology so they can step onto the jobsite ready to work. A donation of surveying equipment from two donors will give Doña Ana Community College Civil/Survey students hands-on experience in the newest survey technology.

Kery Greiner, a professional land surveyor from Las Cruces, and John Haynes, a professional engineer from Gallup, New Mexico, donated equipment to the DACC Drafting and Design Technologies department. The donated equipment includes three total stations used to measure distances and angles with high precision.

The donations are now used in DACC Civil/Survey Technology program classes to provide students training in the civil engineering drafting, surveying, Geographic Information System and land development drafting industries.

A May 2020 graduate with an associate degree of applied science in civil survey technology, Priscilla Zertuche appreciates the donation of equipment and the experience gained by using it in classes.

“I want to thank these donors because it helps students a lot,” Zertuche says. “I plan to go straight into the workforce when I graduate, and using this equipment will be very helpful for me as I start my career.”

“The Civil/Survey Technology program continues to grow, with support from the community, such as these donations,” says Eugene Hernandez, Drafting and Design Technologies assistant professor. “This technology will help students develop needed skills called for by the surveying industry and will help provide students with a seamless transition to either the workforce or higher education.”

The Drafting and Design Technologies program allows students to earn several associate of applied science degrees and certificates.

“The degrees in this program provide students with options,” says Chipper Moore, Architecture and Construction Technologies department chair.

For students proceeding onto the NMSU Las Cruces campus, these awards will help them enter into bachelor’s degrees in two majors. The Surveying Technology option creates a transfer pathway for students from DACC to the NMSU Geomatics Program. Civil/Survey Technology also prepares students for transfer into the NMSU Civil Engineering Technology program.