[Forty] members of Lexicon’s workforce were honored with industrial certifications Thursday as part of the construction and steel company’s ongoing “Lexicon University” initiative.
“If someone has a job, especially a skilled job, they can have a career,” Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said, addressing the workers at a luncheon held in downtown Little Rock’s Marriott Hotel. “You now represent a great, historic story. And that’s because of each of you.”
Started in 2022, Lexicon University is a company-wide training and professional development program with a focus on certifications for both welding and industrial maintenance. The training has been made possible through a partnership with Arkansas Northeastern College in Blytheville to provide hands-on training.
Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald spoke to Thursday’s graduates, commending them for taking a career path he said will be resistant to jobs being eliminated by artificial intelligence.
“AI is coming for the coders, the analysts,” McDonald said. “You chose wisely.”
Lexicon Chief Executive Officer Patrick Schueck used the occasion to sound the alarm for mental health awareness in the construction industry. Schueck told the crowd that he arrived for the ceremony having just learned an employee had taken their own life.
“The number-one cause of death for construction workers is suicide,” Schueck said. “And we lost one today. We’ve got to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper. You have a right and responsibility to talk about it. There are people in our company who will listen 24/7. I don’t even give a damn if you no longer work for us. Call somebody. Yesterday was a bad day for Lexicon.”
Afterward, Schueck said the company will push to make its employees aware of mental health resources being made available.
“It’s just not a campaign,” Schueck said. “We speak about it just about every day, and the single most important thing for us is for people to realize there’s resources available through the insurance we have. They’ve already paid for it. And it’s readily available.”
Schueck said the Lexicon University program is set for future expansion.
“We’re pushing very hard in the coming years to be able to offer segments of Lexicon University from leadership to safety to millwrighting to ironworking,” Schueck said. “The plan is definitely for it to expand, to work with state government and to work with local government, to do what we can to better equip our people for the future.”
2025 LEXICON UNIVERSITY GRADUATES
INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE TECHNICIANS
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Carlos Baker
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William Blankenship
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Nick Brann
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Justin Burrow
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Travis Cantrell
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Michael Carroll
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Erick Casas
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Tyler Greenwell
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Ruben Guerra
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Danny Jackson, Jr.
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Sherman Jackson
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Charles Johnson
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Marcus Larralde
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Laisha Martinez
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Mauricio Martinez
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Janet Milam
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Lizandro Palacios
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Kris Redding
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Gilberto Aguilera Roque
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Edgar Velasquez
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José Velazquez
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Alejandro Villarreal, Jr.
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Justin Wimberly
WELDERS
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Juan Berlanga Alvarado
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Ethan Anglin
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Maverick Burlison
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Jared Cardona
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Joseph Cardona, Sr.
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Cody Esquivel
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Jesse Maldanado
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Tyler Martinez
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Heather McCool
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Landon Oliveto
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Adrés Ramos
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Bryan Rojas
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Patrick Saenz
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Ronnie Turnbough
DUAL DIPLOMA GRADUATES (INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE + WELDING)
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Eliseo Ayala
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Brandon Garibay
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David Mata
