Stephan Klingelmeier greets the new rotation of children entering the classroom and points out his last name. “I’m from Germany,” he explains. “I used to be a radar technician, but now I work at Las Cruces Utilities. Bet you never thought a job like this could take you that far, eh?”
Klingelmeier, Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) gas corrosion technician, breaks down his job with a simple analogy: Have they ever left their bike out in the rain or for a longer time on the grass? Did they notice a change in the metal? He explains that with the underground gas pipes that run to their houses, sometimes the same change happens and the gas lines rust and leak. He’s the one to come fix the pipes to stop the leaks.
LCU joins other government agencies and companies, even boxer Austin Trout, to show a path for these students’ futures - it’s all part of Hillrise Elementary’s Career Day.
LCU takes part in career days like these to teach kids about the various career possibilities for them in utilities when they grow up. It’s plenty of work to distribute water and natural gas to more than 40,000 homes and business connections in and around Las Cruces, plus pick up solid waste from across the city.
Outside the school, the Solid Waste Section provided a garbage truck and a grappler, both immaculately clean and gleaming. They stand ready to be shown off to excited preschoolers also on the Career Day tour. As the grappler hook claps together, the students shriek with delight and surprise at the sound.
Marcelo Archuleta, LCU equipment operator senior, understands the appeal. “We know exactly where on our routes the kids run up to watch,” he said. “But we also want them to know how dangerous it can be and how hard it is for us to see them if they get very close. We are teaching them about safety with something they’re already fascinated by.”
Inside the school, Rhonda Diaz, water conservation program coordinator, describes her path to LCU that started with studying horticulture. She explains that while humans have found a way to grow plants without real sunlight and even without soil, they haven’t been able to replicate the water provided by nature.
Diaz walks the students through the water cycle, from clouds to rain to evaporation, and reminds them how little water our desert gets. It drives home the point for each of them, as her gifted LCU bracelet says, to “Be Water Wise.”
Content submitted by Las Cruces Utilities.
You can reach Las Cruces Utilities at 528-3500 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Las Cruces Utilities provides GAS – WATER – WASTEWATER – SOLID WASTE services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces residents and businesses.