West Texas A&M University announced Thursday, April 30 that a trio of WT seniors from the College of Engineering have advanced to nationals in a surveying competition, shining a spotlight on not only the students, but the program and profession as well.
Karla Berkshire, a senior civil engineering major from Wichita Falls, Dylan Furman, a senior engineering major from Amarillo, and Kaston Hawkins, a senior civil engineering major from Fredericksburg, won first place at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute’s (UESI) regional surveying competition.
“I’m proud of our ASCE teams,” said Kenneth Leitch, professor of civil engineering. “We consistently have done well since we began competing in 2014, but this is our first top finish in a society-wide competition. We are happy to represent WT and the College of Engineering at a regional and now national level.”
The university said this is the first time a WT team has won the contest and advanced to the national competition, which will be held June 25-27 at Fairmont State University in Fairmont, West Virginia.
For Amarillo-based Furman Land Surveyors and Geospatial Data Inc. (GDI), the win carries special meaning, as Hawkins and Furman both work for the firm, and Dylan Furman represents the third generation of surveyors in a family legacy that stretches back decades.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Kaston, Dylan and Karla, and a proud moment for everyone connected to our profession,” said Daryl Furman, President of Furman Land Surveyors. “Surveying has always been about passing down knowledge, embracing innovation and preparing the next generation. Seeing aspiring surveyors accomplish something historic for their university while helping shape the future of this profession means a great deal to our family and our company.”
Civil engineering encompasses structural, water resource and environmental, transportation, and geotechnical engineers. Designed to test technical precision, field expertise, teamwork and problem-solving under pressure, the competition draws some of the region’s top emerging engineering talent.
The competition at the Regional 2026 ASCE Frontier Student Symposium, held April 15-18 in Corpus Christi, was cohosted by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The WT team came in first among students from such schools as Texas Tech University, the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley, Angelo State University and others.
For Dylan Furman, the experience was both professionally and personally meaningful. “To be part of the first WT team to bring home this title is something I’m very proud of,” he said. “Competing alongside Kaston and Karla, representing our university, and applying skills we use in the classroom and in the field made this incredibly rewarding. Being part of a third-generation surveying family makes it even more special. It reinforces how much opportunity there is in this profession and how exciting the future can be.”
Accredited by ABET’s Engineering Accreditation Commission, WT’s Civil Engineering program emphasizes collaborative, hands-on education with strong ties to industry and real-world problem solving across structural, transportation, geotechnical, environmental and water resources engineering.
For Furman Land Surveyors and GDI, the WT team’s success also highlights the powerful connection between education and industry, and the importance of investing in the next generation of professionals.
“Our profession is evolving rapidly through geospatial technology and innovation,” Daryl Furman said. “But it still depends on talented people who care deeply about getting it right. This team showed exactly what the future can look like.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WT students make history, advance to national surveying contest
Reporting by Kristina Wood, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
