damian trujillo: hello and welcome to "comunidad del valle, i'm damian trujillo. and today, the roofers. that's right, los rooferos are taking over stanford on your comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ damian: we begin with the monthly visit by the consulate of mexico right here in san jose with me is ambassador alejandra bologna, who's the consul general of mexico right here in san jose. embajadora, welcome back to the show. alejandra bologna: thank you so much, again, for having me. damian: yeah, we have short time. let's talk about two topics. we'll begin with the concurso infantil a contest, a drawing contest for the kids. alejandra: yes, it's a great opportunity. it's a contest. everybody, boys and girls between 6 years and 14 years

old, they can participate. and it's each year, mexico host's this contest. it's called concurso infantil: este es mi méxico it's a drawing contest. this is mexico. and each year, we have a different topic. for this year, it's biodiversity in mexico. so we encourage our kids. it doesn't matter the kid's -- it doesn't matter if they are from mexican origin or not. all of them can participate between 6 and 14 years old. and we will provide the website through the one they can make, or they can send their drawings and be in part of this contest. winners, part of the prizes is some equipments that will be interesting for them. but also, the winners are in a calendar, and this calendar that

has one draw--winner draw for each month, and also from honorific mentions. but these calendars are print and sent all around the world. so it's really a great opportunity to kids to be interested in what mexico is doing regarding biodiversity, but at the same time, painting it, growing it, and send their draw for a contest that it's all around the world. limit period for participate. it's on august, so it's important to start doing it and sending their drawings. damian: all right. well, the image is a little grainy, but the message is what is important. we want to talk a little bit about that. we talked about the, rooferos, the roofers taking over stanford. you're in high approval of what they're doing there. alejandra: yes, it was--i really enjoyed it very much.

that invitation i have from the union of roofers, waterproof, union here in this area. it's extraordinary to see how these essential workers labor force are in stanford. it's a strong message, not just for them that they can say, "i can do it," and i mean in stanford. it's also message for their generations, their children, because it's showing that it's something that maybe sometimes did seem as very far. and maybe will give them not the comfortable--or capability or confidence by--self-confidence for doing it. doing this program and having them one week in stanford was really, really a strong message. so i'm really glad that i was invited to give a message to them.

and i really enjoy seeing the faces of these workers about what they were doing during this training in stanford. damian: all right, we're gonna talk about that topic again in our later segments, but i know that you participated. i wanted to give you a chance here. any final thoughts, embajadora, before we let you go today? alejandra: well, again, just the mexican consulate here in san jose. it's open to all our community, but also to know that we are not just doing passports and -- and essential documents to our community. we have also a department of cultural and also economic affairs. so if you want to do business with mexico, if people want to know more about different exhibits that we will be organizing during the year, please be in contact with the consulate. damian: all right, thank you so much, ambassador alejandra bologna. and again, this contest for the kids we talked about, log on to

the website for more information. thank you. we'll see you again next month, ambassador. alejandra: thank you. damian: thank you. let's share that information now if you'd like to log on. find out more about any of the topics that we discussed today. there is the consulate of mexico in san jose on enzo drive. up next on "comunidad del valle," the vta, they need you. stay with us. ♪♪♪

damian: the vta is looking for a few good women and men. with me on "comunidad del valle" is roxanna gil who's a trainer for bus operators for vta on "comunidad del valle." roxanna, welcome to the show. roxanna gil: thank you. damian: so you're looking for a few good women and men. tell us about that. roxanna: yes, we are looking for operators. as of now, to my knowledge, we need approximately 54 operators to come and drive these buses. it's a lot easier than it seems for sure. damian: and tell us what the requisites are, the prerequisites before you can even consider applying to be

a bus driver. roxanna: so prior to applying, of course, you need at least your class c, and you need to have a permit for your class b with passenger endorsement and air brakes. so you pretty much go to dmv and take the test for passenger endorsement, air brakes, general knowledge, and depending on how soon you have to renew your new--your actual class c license, you will probably have to take a class c. and then you come and have your class b permit with you. damian: and i would imagine that--because you started out as a bus driver, a bus conductor, being able to see the different sites of the county of santa clara, it's probably a decent experience for you. roxanna: yes. i actually we see a lot more of san jose than we think, of santa clara period. there's places i wouldn't think a but would be able to go to and

apparently we do. damian: you mentioned the prerequisites before, and i would imagine that one of them is also patience. because we see folks who go in and out of the bus lines and, you know, different personalities and different backgrounds, different walks of life, you have to deal with whatever they bring with them into--onto the bus. roxanna: yes, definitely. so definitely patience is a big thing that we need to have. depending on your patience and your demeanor right off when somebody gets on the bus will determine how the outcome is. if they start acting some type of a way, you obviously don't want to snap at them and give him an attitude because that's just gonna bring it right back. so you obviously want to mellow everything out as much as you can, try to diminish whatever is gonna end up being if you don't want a situation to happen on your bus. damian: yeah, no, that's probably with a lot of professionals but boy, the public transit especially

because you get, again, you get all walks of life going in there. but once you're in vta, there's room for advancement if you drive a bus for three years and you want to move up? roxanna: of course. as it is, when you come in and you finally get your license and you decide driving is not for you, you can definitely apply and move out for anything you wish. there's mechanics, office personnel. there's people that clean up the bus bays. there's definitely a lot of room for advancement in any position that you'd like. you just have to apply for it. and once you put your foot in the door as a bus driver, then you can always move around, definitely doesn't have to stick with a bus operator for the rest of your career. damian: all right, and i see a lot of desks and chairs behind you. i would imagine that that's one of the classrooms where the bus operators take some of your classes. roxanna: yes, that is correct.

damian: tell us--nine weeks? tell us what's required. roxanna: so our actual training is a nine-week course. so the first five, six weeks, we pretty much prepare you from day one, how to start the bus, how to do an air brake test, how to pretty much switch on and off every single switch that we have. and it is a lot easier than it seems. those nine weeks are pretty intense. you gotta be focused. you gotta be willing to put in the time and be willing to learn something completely different than you're used to. the weeks, the nine weeks, definitely go by a lot fastert. so if you're not asking questions, you're definitely gonna fall back. damian: and i see that you also are able to get college credit at some point if you go that route. roxanna: so yes. as it is, starting into the first, i believe, two weeks, they start accumulating college credits. and then you can--if you decide to continue your education, you

can always transfer those college credits on to whatever college you decide to go to. and those are through mission college. damian: mission college. wow, that's great information. boy, i'm sure there'll be a lot more on your website. but any final thoughts, roxanna, before we let you go? roxanna: i mean, honestly, we need a lot of operators that are patient, that are willing to learn something new and love driving. damian: yeah, no, absolutely. well, we thank you again for being on the show and sharing that information for us right here on "comunidad del valle." roxanna: thank you. damian: thank you very much. and again, if you want more information, there is a careers page on the vta website. we're gonna show that to you so you can log on to vta.org/careers. and there's also a number there for more information. they do need those drivers to get people to and from wherever they need to go all across the valley. up next year her on "comunidad dell valle," those roofers are invading stanford university. we'll talk about that next.

stay with us. ♪♪♪

with me on "comunidad del valle" are dan smith. he's the director of the bay area roofers and waterproofers on "comunidad del valle." and also with us, he's gonna pop in here real quick is forrest peterson. forrest is with the palo alto data group. welcome to the show, gentlemen. forrest peterson: thank you. dan smith: thank you. damian: well, this is fascinating, and we have the video to go along with it to kind of talk about what we're doing here. but dan, what are we doing here? dan: what are we doing here is we're learning a new language. you know this trade, when i started out, it was mostly english, then it became spanish, then it's become a language that neither one of us understand, that's technology. and we need to learn this technology. jobs are so complex now that if we don't know technology, it doesn't matter what other language we speak to be able to perform on the job site.

damian: so i would imagine, dan, that, or maybe you can answer this, forrest, that a roofer five years ago is not learning the trade that a roofer now is learning. dan: that's absolutely the truth. you know, even that's, you know, relatively close now. five years is not that far back and things have changed dramatically. when you think about the buildings that we're building now, we're not building what we used to build five years ago. we're going taller, we're going deeper in the ground. there's a lot of complicated stuff that goes into putting these buildings together. and we're not just showing up and working for two or three weeks doing our work and leaving. we might be on there early on, middle on, we might be there five, six, seven times. and in between, the whole project has changed, and we need to understand that before we go back damian: and forrest, we're looking at a video that we saw at one of the trainings here at stanford. we're looking at it on the screen right now. what does this entail, and what's the involvement of the

palo alto data group? forrest: so the concept of virtual design and construction has been building up over the years. and initially, the concept was to provide an advanced education for the construction, the construction leadership. and the problem with that is that with the technology, that construction leadership, the position within the construction project has changed. so because i can hold a handheld device now, i have a mobile phone, i can communicate with people who are completely remote from the job site. and so now the person who's holding the tool who's wearing the tool belt is now the construction leadership. so it very quickly became apparent that the person who needs that advanced education is not somebody somewhere in the middle in between the construction worksite and the, you know, the decision-making process where the decisions are made, usually with artificial intelligence and things like that now. the leadership role needed to be there on the job site.

and so, this program has been tailored with that. and the roofers were one of the first and more innovative organizations to come forward with that. damian: so we still need the woman and the man with the utility belt, with the nail gun and the hammer and the crowbar and whatnot, but that's--now that's only part of the toolbox. now we need something more than that. forrest: that's right. dan: yeah, absolutely. damian: go ahead, dan. dan: and you mentioned, you know, just a few years ago, this virtual design and construction. we looked at that as that's what the engineers and the architects, that's what they did. that was their job. that didn't have anything to do with us at all. and it became very apparent real soon that if we don't understand it, what we do impacts the entire job. it slows it down. we do something wrong, we didn't catch on to a change that happened quick enough and we're not prepared to do it. and time is absolutely critical to construction sites these days. damian: and, you know, old goats like me, we learned

journalism a different way 25 years ago. and so now, is it--do these, a lot of these roofers have to go back into the classroom, like we saw there at stanford, and relearn learn the trade, or that's if they want to do the job right, faster, more efficiently? dan: we promoted this and the way we did it is we had individual contractors select people, and then we left some people--left some spaces for people to select themselves and apply. and we got some amazing applications. and they just had to answer three questions. why do you want to be in this program? how do you think it'll help you? how do you think it'll help your contractor? the answers were absolutely amazing. so we actually had more people apply than--we originally were looking at 100 people, and we had to stop at 106. damian: wow. and he mentioned, how will it help you? forrest, how will it help you? we touched on that a little bit, but why is it crucial that we go

in this direction now? forrest: so one of the things that, you know, stanford university and stanford engineering, in particular, have really understood for many years is the role of labor unions in what we call the built environment, otherwise known as construction work, that, you know, you can build things and drive down the cost. and we could do things like that, but at the end of the day, it's the human factor that's important. you know, what are we building this environment for? are we building it for the people that live with it and the people within the community? and when we pay the people within that community, do we want those people to have the resources to pay back into that community so that the community takes those resources? and then in addition, do we want that the workforce to be, you know, educated with continuing education skills? and one of the only organizations that does that is the building trades unions that have the high wage, high skill. it's now called the high road construction. and i think this is definitely where stanford engineering is stepping forward to really introduce those new theories.

and then my job, and this is why it's important for me, is to document this, explain this, publish it so that now other metropolitan regions around the world can adopt similar approaches with that high-road-construction approach with the high-wage earning and using virtual design and construction as a channel to bring that message out. damian: oh, i love that. it's so fascinating. well, if you want more information, this program is ongoing with stanford university. and we're gonna show you some information if you want to log on and find out more about maybe how you can participate or help out. there is the web address for more information. we'll be back out with the roofers at stanford. stay with us. ♪♪♪

damian: we're back here on "comunidad del valle" talking about the roofers taking over stanford university. and dan, why stanford, and how did they agree to this? you mentioned, or forrest mentioned, the collaboration with the engineering department. but how did that all work out? dan: well, forrest actually approached us and when he said

the possibility of our guys going to stanford, i thought, wow, let's do whatever we can do to get to do that. because one of the changes that i'm really looking for that i want to see the participants see is when they look in the mirror, and they look at themselves, and they see themselves differently. and to accomplish that, stanford is the perfect place to do that. we probably could have done a similar program at a different level, but this really means something to them. and it was amazing to see the emotional reaction of the guys when they got there and how deeply they dove into it and how quickly they did once they were on the campus of stanford. damian: and how long is the program? what are they walk out with, any sort of certification? and are these apprentices? are they journeymen? or just a mixture of everybody? dan: it's a mixture of everybody, all the above. it's six months long, and forrest can actually address that probably better than i can. and it's a lot of it is done virtually,

and they come back to campus. and it's a very well-designed program. damian: yeah. and so, forrest, what are they coming out with? a degree? a certificate? or something that says you're qualified to work on this kind of roof? forrest: so the program is a collaboration. there's over 30 people working together. i don't know how many different organizations. you know, it's one of the things stanford is really famous for. and so, there's palo alto data group, which is really, you know, the--all the accounting and all the really, you know, tedious stuff. the center for integrated facility engineering at stanford university provides a certificate. it's the quality control. they've developed a curriculum over the past 15 years. i've taught that curriculum for 15 years now at stanford in various roles. the outcome of the program is the center for integrated facility engineering, virtual design and construction certificate. it's an internationally recognized certificate. it's approaching a thousand construction industry

professionals have that certificate all around the world. interestingly enough, peru, the nation of peru actually adopted a certificate as one of the criteria for public works. it's fairly popular in norway, switzerland, as well as across the united states. it's one of the prestigious certificates, and then bringing that to the workforce. so you can imagine the situation as a roofing supervisor holds the certificate and finds one of the managers at another company. and often construction is a conglomeration of many different organizations. and says, "hey, i have that certificate too." and instantly, those two people have a bonding. they've both been here at stanford. they've met professor fisher. they've worked with the leaders of the research for many years going back who come back to teach this program. it's actually fairly something quite amazing. damian: so dan, it's moved beyond fixing a leaky roof and

beyond just changing the shingles on a home. i mean, this is high-tech now. it can be intimidating for me. dan: well, you look at the transit center in san francisco, it was two blocks big and 65 feet down in a hole. and on the other side of the dirt is active hydrostatic pressure, water pressure, trying to get into that hole. and it was our job to keep it out, not just while they were building, forever. so things are getting very, very complicated. and when we do waterproofing, we do our work before most of the rest of the work is done. so we need to be able to communicate to everyone who's coming in behind us and along with us, so that we can be as efficient as possible. and that's what we're really looking at is total efficiency across the trades. everybody coordinates with everyone else, and we do everything exactly the way it was planned. damian: and so, forrest, is it, to make sure that it's, as dan said, more efficiently and maybe faster, or is it that the

technology, the construction technology has changed and improved so much that the roofers have to keep up with that technology as well? forrest: yes, it's true, but that also, coming from construction, you know, safety is always first. and, you know, one of the things that i brought, you know, i have a background in the field trades. you know, we can make a project faster, we can make it cheaper, we can make it higher quality, but the first thing we need to do is to make it safer. and when safety is number one, then we can work on these other things. and i think the roofers really have embodied that where this technology of, you know, almost certainly will make the jobsite safer through better planning, better understanding, and better coordination. and then after that, it will show up with higher productivity, lower costs, and higher quality, for sure. damian: all right. and so, after the six months, you get another class coming in and we continue that again? or is that how it works? the end goal, i would imagine, dan, is to get these women and

men prepared for the future for what's happening in 2040 and 2050. dan: yes. it's a plan for the future and also to be a role model for their children. i think that's really important to us. you know, we go to work every day for a reason, and we want to inspire that reason and have them thinking about what's possible in their future. damian: oh, absolutely. any final thoughts, forrest, on this great program before we let you go? forrest: no. thank you very much for your time and shining a light on what we're doing. we really appreciate everything you do. damian: yeah, it's gotta be inspiring for you as well, forrest, knowing that what you're doing is inspiring those, again, women and men, who, you know, come from a background in the trades and are doing something to better that trade. forrest: one of the tradesperson called me right before the show and just wanted to know, what's the next task, you know, just that real, true interest in what, you know, what you do every day at work. it is inspiring, you know, especially at stanford. you don't--that type of a relationship isn't always there.

and so, it definitely does make my job a little bit easier. damian: all right, we have about 15 seconds. dan, anything else you'd like to add? dan: i just want to say that i really look forward to the change as it's being implemented into the future. and this is just the beginning, it's not the end. we're going to continue to do more programs, more people, and we're gonna raise the level of construction and actually, like forrest said, lower the cost, get it delivered timely with just by eliminating the mistakes we make and the missteps that we take. damian: all right, i applaud your work. thank you, gentlemen, for what you're doing. both: thank you. damian: all right. the program is at stanford. we're gonna go through this quickly. the program is about to end. but the program is at stanford. there's the web address for more information. you can follow me on twitter and instagram if you'd like to know more about "comunidad del valle." but we thank you again for being a part of our sunday here on "comunidad del valle." we'll see you once again here next week, buenos días. ♪♪♪

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[waves crashing] male: the stories are still not well told and not well known. respecting immigrants and understanding why they're here-- connie young yu: we are establishing something new. we are redefining what it means to be an american-- an asian american. ♪♪♪