CARROLLTON, GA—When Jocelyn Lorena Hernandez was a junior at Carrollton High School, her first semester included a construction class, a course she didn’t recollect requesting but one that would have a tremendous impact on her future plans. 

“Honestly, I like to call it a ‘happy accident,’” she recalls. “It turned out that I quite enjoyed the class, and Mr. Stone said I should consider the RaLin Construction Academy.”

Mr. Stone is Chris Stone, a long-time construction superintendent who served as RaLin Construction’s director of Field Operations when the partnership between Carrollton High School and RaLin was developed in 2018. At that time, RaLin President and CEO Ben Garrett said Stone was the perfect person for the job.

“Chris is a natural,” Garrett said, noting that Stone’s years of mentoring and teaching RaLin field workers would transfer well to an internship program. “He was made for this job.”

Stone’s mentoring ability did not go unnoticed by Jocelyn either, who took his advice to continue with the academy. In fact, she flourished, deciding to attend the Women in Construction Summer Camp at Auburn University between her junior and senior years. She was later hired as a summer intern for RaLin’s pre-construction team after she graduated in 2024. She also received the RaLin Memorial Scholarship, administered by the Carrollton City Schools Education Foundation, to further her education.

Today, Jocelyn, the daughter of Efren Hernandez and Lorena Perez Alvarez, is a freshman at Auburn majoring in construction and building science. She found out earlier this fall that she is also the recipient of the McWhorter School of Building Science RaLin Annual Scholarship, presented to a student who exhibits academic excellence, leadership and a commitment to the construction industry.

Jocelyn has never considered herself a leader, but she said Stone pushed past her comfort zone, encouraging her to challenge her own expectations. 

“I can be quite shy. It takes me a while to open up to people,” she says. “Mr. Stone didn’t let me stick to my corner. I think he saw potential in me that I wasn’t even aware existed.” Jocelyn said Stone was the one who pushed her to do the Auburn summer camp, the RaLin internship, and to enter the Associated General Contractors of America high school student competitions, where she performed well.

“Jocelyn Hernandez never shied away from a task or challenge; maybe skeptical at first, but soon to overcome and succeed,” says Stone. “She was a delight to instruct because of her enthusiasm and energy, which was contagious to those around her.”

For Jocelyn, the RaLin Construction Academy experience led to an epiphany for the high school student who had no idea what she wanted to do after graduation.

“I always knew that I was going to go to college, but I never really knew what I wanted to study,” she says. “I would jump back and forth from ideas without a concrete path. For a while, I wanted to be a mechanical engineer. Then, a writer. Then, a physical therapist. Journalism was even thrown into the mix at one point. There was so much I could choose from, but nothing felt solid. Now look where I am. I’m quite content with my choice.”

Jocelyn’s own words about  …

… what she learned at the RaLin Construction Academy: “Do you know how much math there is in construction? I never put much thought into it, but there’s a lot: From how many cubic yards of concrete you need to how you convert inches into decimals. I can do that in my sleep now. I learned how to do framework and how to pour concrete. One of the biggest things I learned was how to read construction plans. Now I can get around any set of plans without much trouble, which has been a lifesaver for the construction documents class I’m taking at Auburn.”

… being a female in a male-dominated industry: “A big part of me wants to say that, no, I don’t feel intimidated. But that would be a lie. I’m definitely intimidated. There are few women in this career and I couldn’t talk about this without mentioning that I’m a woman of color. I walk into my classes, and they are mostly guys. I’m part of the minority in this career field (in two ways), and that is incredibly daunting at times. But even with all that said, I try not to let that discourage me. I’ve made it this far and plan to finish no matter what.”

… her summer internship experiences: “Have you ever worked outside for 40 hours a week in the sun? I hadn’t until the summer after graduation. While I was outside sweating like there was no tomorrow, I finally understood what my parents have been doing their whole life. I knew they worked daily for my brother and me, and their jobs weren’t easy. Factory work rarely is. So while I was outside doing whatever was asked of me, it hit me what my parents go through in a way. Now for my studies … It's almost like a preview of what I’m going to learn about. The other day my teacher was talking about Bluebeam and how it’s used for quantity takes and plans. I used that this past summer in my internship. I thought, ‘Hey, I know what that is!’ My entire construction documents class is how to read and understand plans and I spent the entire summer working with plans. It helps me not feel so lost and the material isn’t necessarily new to me anymore.”

… her experience at Auburn: “For a long time I planned to attend Mercer University but when I took construction and building science, I jumped ships immediately. I wasn’t aware of the big Auburn vs Alabama rivalry. It was under my radar until I started applying and then I got here and saw how serious it was. I didn’t even know that the Iron Bowl is an actual thing! But there’s a lot of things you could try at Auburn. I mean, I never would’ve thought I would try fencing and I end up in the fencing club! Auburn is an experience I wouldn’t give up.”