PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (May 12. 2022) – Prairie View A&M University senior Terrence McCaskey, Jr., has solid advice for students entering their college career at Texas’s most renowned HBCU:
“Please network even if you’re introverted—trust me, I am too,” said McCaskey, a double major in the School of Architecture at PVAMU. “Networking can be the determining factor between you landing an internship over another candidate at another school.”
McCaskey knows about the importance of networking and establishing friendships that will last a lifetime. For example, his network at PVAMU helped him land a summer internship at Holder Construction in Washington, D.C.
“PV has allowed me to make so many connections,” said McCaskey. “I love the connections I have made. None of this would be possible without the friends I have met along the way.”
McCaskey, a Regents Scholar who is set to graduate this May with Bachelor of Science degrees in both architecture and construction science, said that his friends and professors encouraged him every step of the way to meet his academic potential.
“Without them, I don’t know if I would have finished,” said McCaskey. “The internship cemented the route I want to take at the beginning of my career.”
After graduation, McCaskey will move to Columbus, Ohio, where he will begin his career as an office engineer for the company he interned with. He said before he even got on the plane to head home at the end of the internship, he already had a full-time offer in his hands.
“For the past two years, I have been battling if I wanted to take the architectural route or the construction route,” McCaskey said. “Being on site and seeing the building constructed in phases was definitely a rewarding experience. It made me realize I am making the right decision going into construction.”
At the moment, McCaskey said his goal is to become a project manager at a construction firm, but he hasn’t given up totally on his dream of designing buildings.
“The future isn’t cemented,” said McCaskey. “In the back of my mind, I do still see myself becoming a licensed architect. Architecture was always my first choice. But after COVID, something inside me felt a shift in my creative thinking. Maybe one day I can get back into it and pursue becoming an architect, but right now, I am happy with the path that I am on.”
New Place, New Experiences
McCaskey said he’s never even been to Ohio, but he is excited for the adventures and the new experiences that await him there. However, this isn’t the first time he’s started to sketch the blueprints for a new course in his life.
There was a time when a little university on “The Hill” called PVAMU intrigued McCaskey enough that he altered his future.
“To be honest, it took me a while to become committed to PVAMU,” said McCaskey, who hails from Frisco, Texas. “There was outside persuasion from family to attend Alcorn State University and from my friends to attend the University of Oklahoma. For the longest time, I had my heart set on attending OU.”
While McCaskey will be the first in his family to attend and graduate from PVAMU, he is not the first in his family to attend an HBCU. McCaskey said all his family went to HBCUs for their undergraduate work, attending Alcorn State University, Jackson State and Howard University, which is why some of his family pushed him toward Alcorn.
But still, there was something about PVAMU that drew this Frisco kid, at 18 years old, to southeast Texas. McCaskey had come to PVAMU only two days after his high school graduation to enter the Architectural Concept Institute Summer Program, which gave him an early start on his coursework.
“PV had caught my attention when I visited on high school senior day,” said McCaskey. “PV had the best architecture program in the state when it came to producing Black architects.
“It took an honest conversation with my mom on the importance of attending an HBCU. The culture that I needed couldn’t be found elsewhere.”
Back home in Frisco, McCaskey said he had been the only Black student in the classroom while growing up, and in high school, the African American population made up less than 10% of the entire school. PVAMU opened his eyes to a whole new world.
“PV was like a safe haven I didn’t even know I needed from the outside world,” McCaskey said. “Aside from HBCUs, other schools don’t seem to have a strong unity from what I’ve seen when it comes to Black issues.”
With Honors
From day one at PVAMU, McCaskey laid a foundation of progress, attending the summer camp, on which he would erect a framework of collegiate pursuits that would house opportunities for leadership, advanced cultural awareness and international study.
As a member of the Prairie View Chapter of American Institute of Architecture Students during his freshman and sophomore years, McCaskey learned about the Fabrication Design Center in the School of Architecture at PVAMU.
“I have friends from some of the top architecture programs in the nation who don’t even have that,” said McCaskey. “They are envious when I mention the features of the wood and metal shop and the constructions you can achieve from that one building.”
During his sophomore year, McCaskey was inducted into Brothers Leading and Cultivating Knowledge, also known as B.L.A.C.K. Yet, it was the first organization he joined when he came to PVAMU that ushered in the greatest of all achievements.
“All of these experiences gave me a sense of community and allowed me to open my eyes to people from all walks of life. In addition, the Honors Program allowed me to find a community with future leaders, doctors and engineers who will create a global impact,” said McCaskey. “After my interview for the Honors Program with the late Dr. James A. Wilson, Jr., my experiences have only trended up.”
As a graduating member of the Honors Program at PVAMU, McCaskey has earned achievements such as the honor roll and dean’s list for every semester of his attendance, as well as acceptance into the Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society in Architecture and Allied Arts. But it was his study abroad experience in China that remains his top memory.
“There’s something about traveling to another country—to see how other people view the world and how different our customs are—that is so interesting to me,” said McCaskey. “With Dr. Quincy Moore directing the honors program, in just the first year, I was taking Mandarin and dissecting film and literature in the Honors Colloquium course. I was able to study abroad with my peers in Beijing and Shanghai and be immersed in a different culture. From the food to the architecture to the art, that experience has been one of a kind and one I am truly grateful for.”
McCaskey said the experience has broadened his horizons to embrace the benefits of travel. His “dream countries” to visit include Turkey and Dubai.
More than Networking
While networking and meeting new people allowed McCaskey to accomplish much in his short time at PVAMU, he encourages current PVAMU students to focus on their main goal.
“Enjoy the moment of being here,” McCaskey said. “PV has allowed me a period of self-reflection. I am different than the 18-year-old who first landed on ‘The Hill.’ Don’t lose sight of the vision you have for yourself. Remember to have fun, but also remember the reason you are here: to get that degree.”
Click here to view a complete listing of this semester’s notable graduates.
By Kerry Laird
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