When it comes to businesses scaling back in today’s economy, professional development and giving back are two of the first things to go – but not at Texas-based Freese and Nichols. Even in tough times, the 115-year-old architecture and engineering firm has not only kept, but enhanced, employee training and community initiatives.

Ron Guzman, vice president of the company and head of the Corpus Christi location, says the unconventional economic move is simple: it’s an opportunity worth investing in.

“Our greatest asset is our people,” says Guzman. “You can’t have satisfied clients without happy employees. It’s who we are.” Guzman, who has 21 years of engineering design and project management experience, joined the company in 2007.

Freese and Nichols’ leaders are so keen on this philosophy that they make professional development a core investment. Freese and Nichols University is an extensive program created to provide the company’s 450 employees – and often clients’ employees – continuing education in management, leadership and industry-related topics, from computer programs to ethics. The company has dedicated resources and employees whose sole responsibility is management and deployment of Freese and Nichols University.

Further exemplifying the Freese and Nichols commitment, employees actually help drive the curriculum. “All employees help us identify needs within the organization with feedback on the areas in which they’d like to improve,” Guzman says. “Freese and Nichols University adds the courses and different programs, and teach classes throughout the organization.”

In addition to enlarging their professional development program, Freese and Nichols also expanded their internship program this year. Freese and Nichols gears internship opportunities to interns who offer skills in areas the company has identified as likely to grow.

“We don’t necessarily need structural engineers today, but we will in the next two to three years,” Guzman says, “so we made the decision to bring an internship program here similar to ones we do in other offices. We found a student with local ties and brought him into the fold. We are taking early steps to groom him as a member of our team for a point down the road.”

Part of that early grooming includes an in-depth program that goes beyond making copies and emptying trash cans. On day four of his internship, Corpus Christi native Nathan Turner found himself on a plane to Fort Worth. Nathan, a sophomore structural engineering student at Texas A&M University-College Station, met with Freese and Nichols’ top three executives at the company’s Fort Worth headquarters. The corporate leaders wanted to know what Turner hoped to gain from his internship. A plan was developed and a “buddy” was assigned. The next day, Turner was in the field at a project site.

“The internship program with Freese and Nichols is different in that it really allows the interns to immerse themselves quickly within the organization,” Guzman says, adding that all Freese and Nichols interns are included in every aspect of the company, from on-site inspections to Freese and Nichols University courses to community service projects.

“I worked with Shane Torno, a structural engineer, drawing up contracts, doing inspections and calculations. My experience was very hands-on,” Turner says. “I was also able to take three classes at Freese and Nichols University and participate in a lot of community service projects. I really got to know the company and the community.”

For Freese and Nichols, that sentiment justifies their investment.

This year, the company was honored with two national awards for workplace practices: Freese and Nichols received the Professional Development Award for Private Practice from the National Society of Professional Engineers; and the firm placed seventh in the nation in the Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America rankings conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Great Place to Work Institute (GPTW).

“Providing opportunity for our employees to grow – that’s the key to our professional development and our community involvement programs,” Guzman says. “Freese and Nichols is committed to that opportunity.”