Islander Leadership Academy

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Engineering and Computer Science students participated in the first series of Islander Leadership Academy Workshops. During this three-part series students learned about communication, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness from Rene Ramirez, senior auditor for British Petroleum.  

This Islander Leadership Academy series, sponsored by Flint Hills Resources, aimed to equip students with essential skills relating to emotional intelligence to succeed both now in their schoolwork and in their future workplaces.   

“In the engineering field, the work is easy, until you get people involved,” said Ramirez.  “Engineering is about solving problems, but you can’t solve people. Engineers need to be able to understand how to use certain leadership principles to inspire people to achieve the overall goal of solving problems. That’s a lesson I hope these students take away from this workshop.” 

Ramirez has held positions with various engineering companies, including Flint Hills Resources and British Petroleum, and he has over 30 years of experience in the field. He loves building up the next generation of engineers through speaking opportunities such as this leadership series.  

“I strongly believe that experienced engineers should pour into the next generation of engineers that are still attending college,” said Ramirez.  “That’s how society advances- one generation shares & builds on the previous. Hawking built on Einstein, Einstein built on Newton, Newton built on Galileo, Galileo built on Copernicus, etc.”  

Students who attended this series were able to ask questions that related directly to emotional intelligence while working in the field of engineering. They learned different ways to manage their own emotions when working together as a part of a team and how to act as they take on different management roles. 

These seminars were hosted by the new Islander office of Student Excellence Experience (iSEE) in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. The iSEE office is part of the college’s five-year strategic plan to create programs for student success. This series was the first of many leadership seminars that will be taking place throughout the school year.