How Braxton Cousins Turned an Internship into a Career

Why do some people figure out their career path early—while others struggle to find the right fit?

In this episode of On the Surface, Seth Stevens sits down with Braxton Cousins to talk about his journey from intern to full-time safety professional and how hands-on experience helped him find the right path.

Braxton shares how he went from a small-town athlete focused on basketball to navigating college, internships, and ultimately building a career in construction safety. Along the way, he reflects on the power of trying new things, building relationships, and learning from real-world experience.

They explore:

• How internships can help you figure out what you do (and don’t) want to do
• Why rotating through different roles builds stronger long-term skills
• The importance of relationships and credibility early in your career
• What it’s really like working in safety—and why culture matters
• How sports and teamwork translate directly into the workplace
• Why mindset and effort matter more than having everything figured out

From lessons learned in college athletics to navigating a first full-time role, this conversation highlights a simple truth: you don’t need all the answers—you just need to start and stay open to learning.

If you’re a student, early in your career, or trying to figure out your next step, this episode offers real insight into how to gain experience and build a path forward.

Thanks for listening!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome

Introduction to the Intern Program

SPEAKER_00 0:05

back to On the Surface. I'm your host, Seth Stevens, and this week I'm joined by Braxton Cousins. Braxton is an intern turn safety professional, and we sit down to talk about our intern program and what it's been like transitioning into a career. But first, if you haven't already, show some love to the show and go follow, rate, and review our show on whatever listening app you're using

Transitioning from Intern to Safety Professional

SPEAKER_00 0:31

and talk about it with your friends and on social media to help get the word out. All right, let's get into the conversation.

Introduction and Background

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Why don't you just start by telling me about your background?

SPEAKER_02 0:46

Okay. Um, so I went to a really small high school. Uh I graduated with 33 people. Um, I wanted to play basketball in college, and I didn't really think about what I was gonna do beyond that. Um, so I went, I got a scholarship to go play at Crowley's Ridge College in Perigold. Um at the time it was kind of weird with COVID, and they said like if I have an opportunity to go play it a four-year, that I probably should just take it. Um so I was like, okay, you know, and I just wanted to play, so I didn't really care where it was at. Um, so attended there, um, went for business administration degree. Um, and towards the end, like uh end of my sophomore year, it was kind of like, hey, you need to really figure out if you want to do business. And I was like, Yeah, you know, you either work for one or you own one. So it's a good start, you know, proof God. Um and I remember going to church with one of Brentley's friends. Brentley's my fiance. Um she went. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Um, we went to church at Brad's church, and uh he was like, Hey man, why don't you come and try to do an internship? And I was like, Oh, okay, you know, and then I talked to Pop and he's like, Yeah, we bring him in all the time, you know, like you can't be the worst one there. So I was like, Okay. Um I was like high standard there. For context, your grandpa worked for us for a long time. Yes, he worked here for a really long time. And he always talked about how good of a company it was. And um, you know, like I always thought if you could find a company that has good people, um, it didn't matter what you were doing exactly, like if it's with good people, you you could really do anything. So um I was willing to entertain it. And um I got the opportunity to be an intern, uh, my junior year of college, the summer of it, and um did a rotation through like um two-week rotations through 10 weeks, so five different um operations. Um it I learned a whole bunch, but I didn't specialize in anything. Yeah. So um I remember QC was super confusing. Um, and then the only thing I was familiar with was the plants because my grandpa. So I kind of like that was like my element, you know, if any of if any of it was, I was more familiar with that. Um went through, learned a lot, and um, I actually ended up signing uh my next intern form to come back and work just right under Andy West, which is our HMA manager, uh Hot Mix Asphalt Manager. Yeah. Um, and I signed the paper and that's what I was gonna come do. And I was thinking like the only thing that I haven't done, and the only person that I haven't really interacted with was Justin Counts, safety manager in Arkansas. And um I told a simple conversation with Jennifer, I was like, um I would like to kind of do safety. And he's like, Well, we'll have to ask Justin if he wants to take one. And I don't know how that conversation went, but um Colin was like, Yeah, we ain't gonna take anybody else. And they're like, Oh, if his Braxton, since he's returning, we'll take him, you know, surely it can't be that bad. I was like, I don't know, you know, if you're willing to gamble that or whatever. But um, so I ended up signing, re-signing a form to be come back with Justin for all 10 weeks in safety. Yeah, and I really enjoyed it. Um, spent 10 weeks with him

Internship Experience and Learning

SPEAKER_02 4:08

solely safety, and then uh got hired on in August. And then I've been here for 10 weeks of last year.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

August of 25. Almost. So you're coming up on your official one here in big time.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

Yeah. That kept me around this long.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Yeah. I wasn't sure how that went. I thought you knew that you wanted to do safety, come back and do safety right away. But no, you were gonna come back and do asphalt plant. Yes. Like 10 weeks of asphalt plant internship.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Yes, I I didn't had no clue. I um they wasn't gonna take another safety intern with some stuff that went down, but um, they were like, uh, we'll give them a chance. So I did. And it once again, it was one of the ones that I didn't um have anything to do with. Yeah you know, like it I just it was something that I wanted to learn or why their culture was so good or why uh, you know, people were the reason why people were safe and what that role was behind that.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Yeah, yeah. Makes sense. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Well, you kind of answered a lot of what I was gonna ask you about your experience with the interim program, but you talked through what you did and which internships you did, but what was the broader experience like for you? See, because you've done it twice. You did it back-to-back summers and you did different internships.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Yes. Um, I still credit my very first one for a lot of the um broader knowledge that I have. Um, you're kind of it's a lot more fast-paced. Um, so you're just trying to grab some low-hanging fruit as you're coming through each department and kind of like figuring out why the company needs a department like the one you're in. Oh, yeah. It makes sense. Um you're just kind of trying to tie everything together. So um, you know, I still credit that to like if I hear something, like if, you know, QC manager needs something, it's like, oh, he probably needs it because of that. Uh, but then when I specialized, like when I I guess, you know, I my second internship kind of led to me getting this job. It was uh more really dedicated to safety. But in a sense, like my first internship kind of opened the door and uh like I had a relationship with a lot of the people. So I think that is like the biggest uh takeaway from my internship is just like establishing myself because I wasn't walking into a job where I didn't know anybody and they didn't know me. Uh so it's like kind of like the street cred thing, you know, like you've uh been on the back of a screed with somebody, and then so he's probably gonna put his hard hat on for you. Yeah, so it's kind of like um, you know, stereotypical safety is um a little different, like whether you people think you're the cop or whatever it is. So you it's kind of how you approach people, but you know, you gotta have some credentials and some, you know, you gotta support them, they gotta do that.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

So that makes a lot of sense. Yeah. I wouldn't have thought about that either, but that rotation allowed for you to be in all the different departments that you interact with now in safety. So yeah, you kind of have all these basic relationships down without having to go build them from scratch as a safety professional.

SPEAKER_02 7:02

Yeah, that's the that's the biggest credit to my internship.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Oh, sweet. Okay. Credit too. So like the intern program, you said it goes 10 weeks, but we have like probably 30 interns across all of Reeves and Southeast U.S., and it's super structured. So there's a kickoff meeting out in Greenville, South Carolina, typically, and then you're doing your internship with your manager, and there's like a midpoint now. You may have done that one time, maybe not the first time, but your second time. Like a midpoint check-in so that you can get feedback from your manager and like do some continued business type training and presentation training and that and all that. And then there's a whole close out where you go back to you know, some event with all 30 interns, and you guys are presenting like how your internship went and projects you worked on to all of the senior leaders that are available to be there. So um I guess you haven't done other internships. The only internships you did were with us, right? Yes. But I would say that is pretty abnormal internship compared to the majority of ones out there.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

We uh a lot of them, a lot of the interns, they usually do an internship with the DOT, like see the public side of it. And it's they always say it's night and day, night and day. Yeah. Um just like seeing the private side versus the public side, but you know, it's just like you're you're invested a hundred percent like from day one. Yeah. They they make that known. Um, you know, you're getting a treatment that not many people get. And you know, you the expectation is that you want everybody to come back and be a work, like a be an employee here, but that's extremely unrealistic. Yeah. So like you're investing this money for somebody, you know, you're sharpening these quarry skills, these mining skills, all this like across the industry for somebody to go somewhere else the next summer. Uh, and we understand that, but you know, you never felt that way when you were an intern. You really empowered, you know, for being low on the totem pole I see.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Yeah, no, that's great. That's great. Were you surprised coming into it, or did you have had Brad Morati set you up with expectations?

SPEAKER_02 9:24

Um no, I was definitely surprised. I I didn't know, like, um I like talking to Artie about it, my grandpa, he was like, yo, yeah, you know, you're having a good time. They're about like putting you up somewhere nice and yada yada yada. And I was like, Pop on the intern, you know, like you've been here a long time, like obviously they're gonna treat you that way. But uh like the investment and uh you can't expect that. You know, I didn't come in thinking that somebody like owed me something or like since I had this degree that they were gonna, you know, treat me any differently or whatever. Um so I came in like super humbled by it and uh really appreciative of the experience. And like I said, it's it's all what you take from it. Like you can be set up anywhere and given a lot of the opportunity. The same opportunities that everybody gets is just what you're gonna do with it.

SPEAKER_00 10:11

Yeah.

Transitioning to Safety Role

SPEAKER_00 10:12

Have you recruited other have you recruited other like college kids that you know to come do the internship? So I I have um Maybe you don't want to name anybody.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

I have I've talked to people entertaining it, but um, I was always a little bit closer with the people um uh that were upperclassmen. Oh so when I lost my life second, like when I was doing safety my very senior year school the last year, you know, it's it's it's a lot easier and you kind of know what you're gonna do. So I knew that I wanted to work for Delta. Um, so my experience was I guess a little biased, like I was willing to kind of do whatever. Um but I just wanted to like be a part of the team, I guess. And um, but now uh one of my college teammates he works in QC. Oh, cool. Um so it's it's kind of a full circle thing to him. But uh yeah, he's he's a clown.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

That's a massive uh recruiting tool for us. It's just like employees recruit recruiting other employees, right? Because good people know other good people. That's true. It's the saying. That's true. Um so when did you decide or how did you decide through your internship that you liked the safety role and what do you like about it?

SPEAKER_02 11:32

Um my favorite thing is g learning like the individual people.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:41

So I didn't say this in the beginning, but I had some interest in HR. Um yeah. So I took a HR classic. I remember this conversation. Yeah. So I had a HR class in college that I really enjoyed and uh makes you kind of think about people a little bit differently. Um but learning people and then how you can support them is was super interesting to me. And you know, being young, I was still trying to figure out um like the broad construction, the broad industry, the quarry industry, everything. So like safety, and you know, in order to support it, you have to learn it. So my uh, you know, you get in operations, you don't have to know all everything, you know, it's the same thing. Like, um, but it's it's um I just knew that I could keep learning in safety. And then Justin had a big impact on um, you know, how I felt about safety too. You know, it's hard to build a safety culture. I wouldn't do safety for anybody, this is what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Oh, okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Um I just I would uh you know you're supported here from you know the middle managers to the top managers. Um, you know, the safety is the priority here, and you feel that way. I hope that every new hire feels that way. Um it's super important me to get face to face with people. Um, you know, we do Zoom orientations, but I have yet to do one because I want like the first face to be like safety, like, you know, we're investing in you.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Um, so safety is uh, you know, you're aiding people constantly and you're supporting them and just like seeing the little things um just like work out is uh, you know, like if we if we finish a day and we made money and we nobody got hurt and we were efficient with what we did, like it's a pattern our back, whether people give it to us or not. Yeah. So it's fulfilling.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Yes. So you like all the interaction with people. 100%. I mean, it kind of gives you all the the HR style type stuff, dealing with people, but going beyond that into psychology about why people would practice being safe and like creating this culture of safety. No, that's cool. What kind of stuff are you doing on a day-to-day basis now?

SPEAKER_02 13:50

Um, so if if we come in and nothing's uh popped off, you know, nothing's happened. Um it's uh so right now I'm doing end of the month reporting for del for all of Delta and then um finishing our drug testing. Um I was doing DQ files until recently. Um What's a DQ? Driver qualification changes. We're um we're in the middle of like doing some CDL changes and some um weight changes. Um and then I monitor Sam Sarah. That's another thing. We have uh cameras, it's a camera software that um reports like seatbelt violations and stuff like that. Um also helps um like monitor your fleet and how well they're being how like fuel efficiency and it's it's super smart software. Um but a lot of times it's like dealing with third party stuff, you know, like if uh if asphalt trucks dropped asphalt in the road and somebody throws it on their windshield or a sweeper sweeps and hits cracks somebody's windshield, then like you know, all they have to do is put the hand up and then we have to deal with it. So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

So you're kind of handling the phone calls, the claims, the yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

Um which again, you know, you uh it seems like the more you work with people, the less you like them in a sense. But uh, you know, like interacting with people, they're just trying to uh do their job, you know. Like if you pay a lot of money for a vehicle, they want to um take care of it. So if we've done something to you kind of got to put it into perspective. I'm constantly like checking my perspective. Yeah, no doubt.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Yeah, you can't just get stuck in the mindset of we're the we're the uh all-knowing contractor and you should know that this is a road hazard and blah, blah, blah. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

Which which there's there's time for that. Sure. It depends on how they're going about it too. But yeah, yeah. Once again, yeah, you kind of gotta check yourself.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

Yeah, I've actually reached out to people about road hazard type stuff before because I've like noticed cracks in windshields or whatever, and I'm just like, I know how this process works. I'm gonna reach out, I'm gonna figure out who this contractor is on this job, and I'm gonna reach out. I'm not gonna be mean about it. I'm just gonna ask if they have a claim system if I can get my windshield paid for, but yeah, yeah, it didn't work.

SPEAKER_02 16:08

Swinging them in.

Daily Responsibilities and Challenges

SPEAKER_02 16:09

Yeah. Get them next time.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

I was just like, Yeah, I get it. Uh uh, all right, cool.

SPEAKER_02 16:15

Yeah, that's true. That's usually how it goes. We just had to deal with that one um he same thing. He said he ran over some asphalt that was in the road that came from our truck. And I asked him how he ran it over and it hit his windshield. And he was like, I don't know, it's a crazy thing. You know, and I was like, You don't have no fenders or something, you know, but go on about it. And then I was like, Well, if it didn't fall from our truck, it's road hazard, you know, like you have to you know kind of take some responsibility and yeah, you know, being a responsible driver. But he just said, Okay, I'll have to look into it.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

And then I hadn't heard from him since so uh how do you think um like are you do you the stuff that you're doing day to day now in this role, is it what you were expecting based on your internship? Um kinda.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

Um there's been some things that changed. I think Justin does a really good job of like um pushing me to be like uncomfortable in some things. Like uh he really pushes me for like to get in front of people and speak, which um, you know, you always talk about Gallup surveys on these things, but my number one's woo. Oh yeah, I don't probably get too much. So um I don't mind talking in front of people, but uh when you're talking about something you're not super confident in, uh it shines through. Oh, yeah. So um, you know, he speaks preparation and stuff like that a lot, but um uh it's it's I've took on some more responsibilities since I was an intern, obviously. Um now there's something a bit more expected out of me, obviously. And and Justin's done a really good job of like bridging, you know, understanding that I'm learning, but also, you know, like knowing that I'm ready for the next step. Yeah, not let me get too comfortable. No, that's good.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

Yeah, that's uh that's good on him as a manager, but the you know, obviously we changed it up on you because like a month or two after you went full time, we restructured everything. Yeah, that's true. Which I don't think changed your position a whole lot, but it made a lot of interactions maybe different, some reporting. But uh I guess point it point being like for the most part, you got real you were getting real world experience during your internship. Like what you experienced there led you to think, oh yeah, I do want to continue doing safety, and then you've just been naturally leveling up on responsibilities and tasks and things like that.

SPEAKER_02 18:41

Is that yeah, it was it was really realistic. I mean, it it was. Um, you you know, the day I got hired wasn't any difference to my last day internship. So I mean, I was prepared and you know, you deal with things, it's kind of like especially safety is like your experiences. Like you can read all these regulations and these things, but like, you know, if you're having, you know, uh culture problems or like if you're dealing with like um certain people that's hindering your culture, like dealing with them, you can't really prepare for something like that. So, you know, like it's always good uh, you know, to look at things differently because rarely you can solve something the same way as you did in the past, especially safety.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

Um, but I was a hundred percent prepared through my internship. Nice, and I think Justin understood that I wanted to work there and that I was like, whether I was on the back of the screen or or whatever I was doing, I wanted to be a part of the team. Um, and so he was like understood that like I was gonna be there. So he kind of just like kept pushing me throughout my internship. Oh nice, yeah. Yeah, so that's good.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

It was good. No, I kind of had the same experience. I mean, mine was way longer ago, my internship, but basically the day that I started my internship, they were like, Yeah, we just had like a full-time person quit, and so uh we were gonna hire somebody, but now you're here, so you're just gonna do this person's right, right. I was like, okay, well, there's no more real life experience than this. That's true. Uh which it's good because it really allows you to test

Career Insights and Industry Dynamics

SPEAKER_00 20:13

out, hey, I like this or I don't like this, and this is exactly what a day in the life is gonna look like and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 20:21

Yeah, I always tell the interns, like, you can come in here, and it's not for everybody, obviously, but you can come in here and um come to Delta, come to Reeves and hate it. And I was like, that's one step closer to figuring out what you want to do. Like you're not like if you come in here, you know, your last report outs and you tell you how much you hated Reeves and Delta or whatever it may be, then okay, that's fine. You know, we're not expecting you to just BS it. Yeah, so like uh, but for like a career opportunity, you know, you're meeting people across the industry, yeah, and then just like getting into the industry, you know, like figuring how much competitors talk and uh just how tight knit I guess it is. It's really competitive, but you also uh keep up with everybody, you're also like working alongside subcontractors and and contractors. So it's it's really, you know, you do construction with everybody, it kind of seems like so it's a pretty small like network.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

So if you if you burn bridges at Reeves or Delta, you know, they we get referrals all the time, people calling us because they used to work here and then we're like, oh yeah, he kind of left on bad terms.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

Right.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

But like I said, you know, it's worth being professional about, and uh, you know, yeah, it's that's my it's my advice to your turn for sure.

Internship Insights: Commitment and Growth

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Well, it's okay, so it's intern season right now. We have a bunch of interns in while it's summer, and you know, college is out for the summer for most people. Uh, you were saying that you kind of encourage all of them hey, this is a lot of this is for you to figure out whether you like it or not. We can't expect all 30 of you to like this, and we can't realistically hire all 30 of you anyway. Uh, what else do you are? You doing or tell the interns like to prep them for their internship or their remainder of college or careers or whatever?

SPEAKER_02 22:09

Um well, the first thing uh that I tell them is like they have made a commitment. Um so whether it's a commitment for the rest of your life or just the 10 weeks of intern that you that like there's an expectation for you. Like you think that, yeah, it's you're not gonna, you know, solve the company's problems or you're not gonna make the company millions of dollars. Like we understand that. And you're you know, realistically you're probably gonna lose them some money because uh you just just the way you are, you're probably not gonna add as much value as you know you think you might. Yeah. But um, you know, they're willing, they understand that prior, and it's just literally you have all everything at your disposal to come out being a better Seth or being a better Braxton. So at the end of the day, if you don't, if you're not a Delta employee, you're sharpening your skills. And a lot of times, like we have engineers, civil engineers, mining engineers, um, construction management uh degrees that come in, so they're gonna be in the industry. Like that they made their mind up four years ago that they were gonna do that. Um, so just learning the way we do it, and then you know, they they do internships um after this, comparing them, contrasting, and then we might have a turnover if people come back and like, oh, y'all did it way better than yes, true or something. So, like I said, there's not a you can't have a bad personal experience, you know what I'm saying? Like it's gonna be it's gonna be a good professional experience if you let it be.

SPEAKER_00 23:27

Yeah. Well, that's a mindset thing. I'm glad that you bring that up. You should just you're I think you're right. I mean, you've committed to doing it for 10 weeks. It may seem like a long time while you're in it, but 10 weeks is really not that long. Like you can power through it and see what you learn from it, whether it's I love this, I want to continue to do it, or this is not for me. Right. Because I've had I've had those internships personally also, as this is not for me. Yeah, but I'm glad that I did it so that I know I can just cross that off my list. That's true. Some closure there. Yeah, exactly. Okay, so big sports guy, you brought you brought up basketball, uh, but you just said that you wanted to play in college. So I assume that you started like a junior in high school, just like Michael Jordan, and then

The Role of Sports in Personal Development

SPEAKER_00 24:15

you're wrong, first of all. Um but I imagine you were playing long before that.

SPEAKER_02 24:23

Yes, yes. I played uh basketball and baseball, really young age. Um, and then my dad was huge into baseball. It's kind of like why we picked it up. Me and my brother did. Um, but I felt like I was kind of wasting my time uh baseball. Like you couldn't go rebound, you know. Uh you were just like watching somebody play catch until somebody hit it. Uh-huh. So I was like, that's like super boring. And he was like, you know, what do you think of me to do? And then I grew a whole bunch, and uh he I was I got like way better at basketball, and I like wanted to go to the gym. And I remember the first time my dad said that he wanted me to stay and eat dinner with the family, and I couldn't go play pickup at seven. Oh, yeah. And I didn't even eat that night. I was so upset. Um, but like I just had like a desire to play, and um there was a lot of really good players uh older than me at Concord at the time. Uh my brother's class was really good. Um, I was the only male athlete in my class. Oh, wow. I really like bonded with upperclassmen. Um and uh had a really good high school career and then uh college career was was really good too. Yeah, nice. I've always huge, baby, huge basketball guy.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

I like that. Yeah, yeah. What have you so people learn a lot of like life lessons and career type advice from playing sports, especially team sports. So, what have you taken away from those times playing basketball in high school and college?

SPEAKER_02 25:49

Um I would credit just the team uh aspect of it, um, just like the selflessness. Um and, you know, we shine a lot of of a huge spotlight on the people that score a lot of points and get a lot of rebounds and like really dominate certain games. But you know, the reason why uh it's easy for people to do that is there's a lot of there's four other people on his team that's doing the things that he's not doing. Um so just kind of like finding your role in a team. Um I was, you know, the score and stuff when I was in high school. And then, you know, you have a year uh you as a freshman where like you're underdeveloped, you're playing against guys that are 23, 22, that you're like, oh wow, how can I affect the game to help my team win? And uh, you know, there's some people that play basketball in order to transfer um and just like pad stats and stuff, but I was like always wanting to win. And so like naturally you find what you can do to help your team win and you like do it. Yeah. Um so just credit in that. And then just um, I would also say just like being held accountable. Um my high school coach was really good about, you know, he I knew he had a like a love for me and he did care for me, but he never uh told me I did anything good. He was like, you know, and and maybe that's why I'm not the one that like needs a pat on the back for things, but uh my entire high school career, he never told me I did anything good, but he always told me I did stuff bad. Like everything, I mean, like specifically, I'll get into a story, but um, we were playing Timbo and they wasn't very good, Timbo High School, and I was doing pretty good. I had like 16 and a half, and I missed like four straight uh layups, easy ones. And he pulled me out of the game and he grabbed me by the collar of my jersey and sat me down, and he asked if I was gonna piss a drop tonight. And I just looked at him and I was just like appalled, you know. I was like, dang me, like I'm not perfect, you know, in a sense. But then I started like trying to make excuses for myself and I just like, you know, it came out as yes, sir. All then the thoughts came out as yes, sir, you know, whether it was fear or whatever it was. But um, and then it really put into perspective that if he he knows I can do something that I'm already doing good.

SPEAKER_01 28:09

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 28:10

But if we focus on the like the weaknesses of my game and make me a more versatile player, uh, maybe I don't see that I'm not doing very good, but you know, he played at a real high level. He played at UT Arlington. Um, so he knows that's what I need to work on to be better.

SPEAKER_01 28:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:24

Um, so you know, we've we've won games by 50 points and we're all hooping and hollering the locker room, and he comes in and he shuts it down so fast. And he's just like, Y'all are the weakest and softest team I've ever coached in my life. And then we're like, dude, we won by 50. You know, I remember a kid on our team named Michael, he said, Coach, we won by 50. You know, and he's like, Yo, y'all wouldn't beat my grandma out there. You know, he's like, You're lucky it was Guy Perkins, you know? And we're just like, man, this dude just doesn't ever let up. But carrying that into college, um, I didn't ever need any validation. I just like was doing it like, you know, you're the freshman year there by yourself. You don't have your family. Your family can't come to every game. Yeah. Um, you're really just kind of getting it for yourself. So um you really devote to the game, it's where you find your peace and stuff. And naturally you just um trust it, trust the work that you put in and um, you know, just being humble in your role winning. And and uh yeah, basketball, I credit a lot of the

Team Dynamics: Lessons from Basketball

SPEAKER_02 29:23

nice life lessons up my hands.

SPEAKER_00 29:24

How are you applying that to work now?

SPEAKER_02 29:28

Um, well, um, so I do look at everything as a team. Yeah. Um, like Justin's a huge sports guy too, so he's always talking like uh you either we always say we either get it or you don't. You know, yeah, and that's saying he's a huge sports guy is probably an understatement. Yeah, so we're always like discussing things and um but being being a part of the team, like my role that day might change in order to benefit the team. Like I uh this conversation that I might have with somebody might be different if I'm talking to somebody else. Um just just because I understand that's not you know, that's the communicate with this guy, it's gonna be different than this guy. And that just being like an effective communicator, I guess, and just like really being efficient with what you're trying to say. And um that's that's what I would probably credit that to.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

Do you think that the ability for you to realize that dealing with one person can be different than the other person came from your experience in sports, or do you think life like that's all learned stuff?

SPEAKER_02 30:37

Uh yes, I think sports has credited that. And also life, like you um I see the way people react to getting uh held accountable or something, like, or getting scolded. And there's it's really hard to hold somebody accountable and not tell them that they're doing something wrong. So it's um, you know, you can assume that they're not trying to do it wrong. Like if nobody intentionally does something wrong. Yeah. Um, but beyond that, I watched uh my coach, the way he coached, that benefited me personally, didn't benefit my teammates a whole lot. Um, specifically my brother um wasn't wasn't coached the way I was. He didn't take it near the same I was the same way I did. And um he ended up wanting to quit basketball. Um, we ended up like wasn't getting the joy that he had. And um just because he wasn't um taking it the same way I did. And you know, you really do got to love the game if you're gonna get scolded over the top of the court, if you're gonna, you know, see you you hurt every night, you know, your knees hurt the rest of your life, it seems like, but um you some people have it in them and some people don't. Like do you get it or you don't. Um but dealing with people, I 100% credit to uh I've seen I've met a lot of different people. I've played with a bunch of people, um people that come in and thinking that they uh the team owes them something or you know what you used to do in high school, uh like nobody cares what you used to do. It's what you're gonna do now. Yeah, like show it's just to show this what you can do now. Yeah, you know. Um nobody cares what you used to be. So it just like being realistic with that 100%. But like I said, that's not everybody, you know. That's and and realizing that can um really make communicating a lot more efficient, yeah. With that, knowing what your audience needs.

Career Aspirations: Navigating Safety and Beyond

SPEAKER_00 32:32

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Where do you think your future goes from here? Future from here? Yeah. Um, like career-wise, yeah. Um not just tomorrow. Like what do you want to do?

SPEAKER_02 32:47

No, um, so I think I, you know, a little short-term um successes, I think I want to keep learning on safety. It's I'm kind of like starting to hit my stride um with being a support and also knowing some regulations like being a legit, you know, rule book to people if they have a question. Okay. Um super hard stuff to learn, but um also um after I get my feet uh you know submerged in safety, I want to also learn the environmental side. Yeah. Um, so it's another beast of its own. Um, MSHA's a beast of its own. I think uh my OSHA uh knowledge is okay, but MSHA is uh is a beast. So just uh sharpening where I can. Um button.

SPEAKER_00 33:33

OSHA, just for context, OSHA's just like general workforce stuff, right?

SPEAKER_02 33:39

Gen like general occupational safety and health association.

SPEAKER_00 33:43

And then MSHA is specific to mining. It's like the same thing, except so the rule book is nutty, which it's a very uh there's a ton of hazards within mining. There's been a lot of people die.

SPEAKER_02 33:55

They had to they had to create an association. That's one way to put it. Yeah, yeah. Hazards. Yeah. Well, you know, realistically.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

Too many people died in that industry. So we gotta make their own rule. Uh all right. I cut I kind of cut you off, but you said you wanted to do Justin's job, safety manager.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

I want to take Justin's job.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Yeah. Will you uh you think at some point you'll branch outside of safety?

unknown 34:25

I do.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

Do you really like safety?

SPEAKER_02 34:27

I I've had a conversation with Justin that I do really like safety, and I think it's helped me um be a very versatile person across the board, but I don't feel that I specialize in anything. Uh um and then I I definitely wouldn't want Colin Douglas's job. Yeah. So you know, there's to be a point of it. Yes. I mean, he he's a phenomenal guy, knows uh so much, and I'm just not that it's just something I would not want to do. So eventually there'll have to be like a lateral movement there. Yeah. But um I get it.

SPEAKER_00 34:58

Which call also for context, Colin is the uh director of safety. No, that's okay. That's what I'm here for. Director of safety for all of Reeves, so Southeast US. But um nice. Do you think you're still pretty passionate about sports? You ever you think you'll ever coach?

Coaching Experience: Shaping Young Minds

SPEAKER_00 35:13

So I've um I started. You already are.

SPEAKER_02 35:16

Well, I coached, yeah, I did coach um Marathi's uh R VP's um son, one of his youngest son, I coached their fourth grade CRA team. Yeah. Um I don't know, you know, like when he asked me, he was like, I just need somebody that knows basketball. And I was like, okay, you know, I know a little bit. I was like, but I don't want to deal with like all the schedule and all that stuff. He's like, I'll handle that if you just come coach him. So I literally just show up with the guys, with the kids and just coach them. But you know, when I was asking about I was like, How big is a fourth grader? I was like, What? I was just like, you know, I don't have any kids or nothing. So like I was like, like, can they shoot with one hand? Can they sh do they shoot both handed? You know, and he was like, you know, they're and he starts, yeah, you know, I was like, and he was like, Oh, they're about this tall, you know, and I'm like, okay, you know, I think, I think I kind of know I'm painting a fourth grade picture. So I get there and they're a great group of kids. They want to learn. Yeah. Um, and that's why all I wanted at that time. You know, I it was a testing of patience, you know, like like kids are, you know, I I have no kid experience, you know, um, but they'll try you. And it's it's um, it was it sharpened my my perspective. Oh, there you go.

SPEAKER_00 36:32

You know, that's a good point because they're kids are all they're always learning, so they're just testing.

SPEAKER_02 36:38

Yes, and then they don't know they are, they're just like little like conniving children.

SPEAKER_00 36:42

It's just like survival skills that are built into you. You're just testing the system, you're figuring out how far I can push this big oaf of a coach up here.

SPEAKER_02 36:51

It's and it's true, you know, like who thinks he's something. Like this, you know, like in dealing with each of their personalities, you know, they're constantly developing and they're so influenced by each other that like if you at that level, like if you see somebody doing something and all of them see it, they think it's okay. Yeah, yeah. So you really gotta stomp stuff out real fast.

SPEAKER_00 37:10

That's true.

SPEAKER_02 37:10

Um, but like I said, they wanted to learn, they appreciated me. Uh they liked me a lot more than Coach Brad. Yeah. Uh let him know that. But uh so we won some game, we won quite a few games. Oh, he's the rule enforcer. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:22

They don't think that they're very good, too. They do, they uh they like to do all the MBAs every celebrations and yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:29

The amount of three pointers we shot, we probably shot 15 or 16, and it was about 15 or 16 too many. So yeah, you know, it's it's uh it's they're learning too. Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 37:43

Okay, so uh this has been good for sure. The you listen to the podcast, you know that you're gonna get a question from the last guest. So your question is what energizes you at work?

Energizing Moments: Witnessing Growth in Others

SPEAKER_02 38:01

Take it back to the roots and just say um seeing people evolve firsthand energizes me. It makes me want to be a better uh support, makes me want to be a better person. Um seeing somebody succeed, whether it's um getting good at a roller operator, whether it's um you know, people developing as a leader. Um, you know, you do have mentors in this uh industry and uh seeing people grow and evolve to be better, I want the same thing for myself. Yeah. So I just seeing that firsthand is what energizes me.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

That's legit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That'll keep you going for a long time for sure. Because that's you'll get that exposure and opportunity at all levels and all roles.

SPEAKER_02 38:45

Yeah, yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 38:46

Cool. Thanks, man. Yeah, this is pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 38:49

What an honor.

Career Paths and Opportunities at Delta

SPEAKER_00 38:56

If y'all enjoyed the episode, please rate our show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, and check out Delta on all social media platforms at Delta Companies, and our website at Delta C O S looks like Deltacos.com. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week.