Steven Parks, a graduate student in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University, was recently promoted to lieutenant commander in the United States Navy. Parks graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2004 with a bachelor’s in electrical engineering.
Parks joined the Navy in 2002 through the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate program where he was a full-time employee while completing the last two years of his undergraduate degree. He began working as a submarine warfare officer and later transferred to the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) in 2010. Parks is currently working on his master’s in construction and engineering management within the civil engineering department, as the CEC requires a master’s level of education for senior officers.
“I chose to seek an engineering education because I grew up around construction and engineering, and I chose A&M as a native Texan who wanted to move back to the greatest state,” Parks said. “I also wanted my children to be able to spend more time with their family.”
Through his career with the Navy, Parks has had the opportunity to oversee the completion of sea trials as the military test engineer on the USS Rhode Island. He successfully led 150 “Seabees” through a seven-month deployment to Rota, Spain.
Parks was pinned by his parents, Steven and Trina Parks.