James Walker | Jul 30, 2025
Texas Southmost College, in collaboration with Texas A&M University Higher Education Center and the Port of Brownsville, hosted the Maritime Business & Port Careers Exploration Camp from July 7–10, 2025, an immersive, multi-day experience that introduced local high school students to career opportunities in one of the region’s most essential industries.
The camp welcomed students from La Villa, Lyford, Edcouch-Elsa, Raymondville, Monte Alto, and Lasara school districts, offering them a firsthand look at maritime industries through expert-led presentations, site tours, and hands-on activities. The goal: to help students understand the global importance of maritime business and highlight the local career pathways available to them.
Dr. Delicia Sanchez, Region One ESC and College and Career Advisor with Upward Bound Math and Science Grants, emphasized how experiences like this camp help open doors for students exploring their futures.
“Part of our grants are to expose our students to both career and college opportunities, so we set up these kinds of camps throughout the summer to achieve that,” Sanchez said. “This camp specifically is really broadening their eyes as to what they can do and stay local, if they choose to, because maritime business is huge here in the valley.”
Kicking off at TSC’s International Business, Education and Commerce (ITEC) Center, students were greeted with a formal welcome and an introduction to career pathways in the maritime industry and at the Port of Brownsville.
Dr. Emma Miller, TSC’s Dean of Business, Education, Architecture and Technology (BEAT) Division, and Dr. Robert Morrison, Program Manager and Professor of the Practice for TAMU’s Maritime Business Administration Program, delivered presentations emphasizing the economic impact of maritime industries and the growing need for skilled professionals.
“About 80% of everything we buy in the United States comes from other countries and has to be shipped so that is can arrive here, and there’s a lot of money involved in that entire process,” said Dr. Morrison “Those ships cost literally billions of dollars, and there’s billions of dollars’ worth of freight on them that has to be insured and coordinated in order to get it from its origin point to its final destination. There are a lot of specialty areas involving insurance, finance, international law, and so on, so the people involved with keeping the process running need to be well-versed in these different areas.”
The second day brought students face-to-face with the heart of maritime operations as they toured the Port of Brownsville and visited the U.S. Coast Guard station. These experiences gave them a tangible sense of the specialized careers and essential services rooted in the port industry.
As the only deep-water seaport located directly on the U.S.–Mexico border, the Port of Brownsville plays a vital role in international trade and local economic growth. The port supports over 10,000 jobs across multiple industries and serves as the grantee and administrator of Foreign Trade Zone No. 62, one of the largest such zones in Texas. Each year, the port handles approximately $7 billion in exported goods and $3.2 billion in imports, ranking it No. 14 among the 193 foreign trade zones in the United States for import value.
“One of our biggest functions is to create jobs, going as far back as when the Port of Brownsville was first created back in the 1930s, said Tony Rodriguez, Director of Cargo Services for the Port of Brownsville. “There are a lot of projects we have going on right now, so we need to connect with our local educational institutions let the students know what’s available here for them. Our biggest goal is to have students from this generation stay here, get educated, and let them know what kind of good paying job opportunities are available in port industries.”
Returning to the ITEC Center on day three, students participated in hands-on activities in TSC’s Construction Technology and HVAC training labs, giving them a general understanding of safety procedures, tools and manufacturing processes common to industries.
The final day of the camp took students to the Texas A&M University Higher Education Center in McAllen, where they explored academic offerings of their recently launched their Maritime Business Administration program. Students who find themselves interested in areas like port operations, shipping companies, or business roles such as accounting, finance, and management now have the opportunity to study for a degree that prepares them for career opportunities in global industry while remaining close to home.
By the end of the four-day experience, students left with a clearer vision of the wide-ranging opportunities available in the maritime and port industries, as well as the confidence that they could one day find fulfilling careers along the Gulf Coast.
“I feel like I learned a lot of good stuff in this camp,” said Giselle Gomez, a sophomore at Lasara High School. “It’s given me a better idea of more options I can consider in the future.”