Seven Barriere interns took the stage at the 2026 CRH Midsouth Intern Presentations on Aug. 4 in Flowood, Mississippi, sharing ideas shaped by their work across the company this summer. Their projects tackled challenges ranging from fuel use and equipment maintenance to employee training, safety and jobsite productivity.

The presentations gave interns a chance to move beyond day-to-day assignments and take a closer look at specific opportunities within the business. Each project paired hands-on experience with research, analysis and recommendations that could support future improvements.

The program began Monday evening with a social hour at the hotel followed by dinner, giving interns and company leaders time to connect before the presentations the next morning.

Barriere Safety Intern Madelyn Toole opened the program with the safety minute. Paul Albrecht, Director of Training and Development, welcomed attendees before interns from Barriere, APAC Alabama and APAC Mississippi/Tennessee began presenting. The morning also featured an “Internship to Industry” panel.

Barriere interns covered a broad range of topics:

• Adrian Yocupicio-Romero, an LSU finance student, developed more accurate equipment burn-rate averages to support fuel allocation when telematics data is incomplete. 
• Bailey Anderson, a civil engineering student at the University of Alabama, focused on reducing equipment idle time to lower fuel use and maintenance costs.
• Rhett Bordelon, a construction engineering student at Louisiana Tech, studied OCTO Telematics as a way to improve fleet maintenance and equipment reliability. 
• Anthony Fernandez, an industrial supervision student at Southeastern Louisiana University, evaluated Rototilts and their potential to improve productivity in tight working conditions.
• Tyler Clark, a civil engineering student at LSU, created standardized asphalt and aggregate training resources for field engineers and quality control technicians. 
• Brayden Perrin, an industrial technology student at Southeastern Louisiana University, examined automated start-stop systems as a way to reduce idling, fuel costs and engine wear.
• Madelyn Toole, occupational safety, health, & environment student at Southeastern Louisiana University, then closed out Barriere’s project lineup with work centered on hurricane preparedness and Life Saving Rules training. She updated emergency preparedness information and developed operation-specific safety videos for Barriere teams.

The rest of the presentation lineup included APAC Mississippi/Tennessee interns Ayden Thompson, Rylan Outlaw, Laine Dupuis and Cal Strait, along with APAC Alabama interns Evan Taylor and Matthew Hetzman. Their projects addressed topics including sand pump performance, asphalt loadout safety, stripping operations, inventory management, project handoffs and electrical phase monitoring.

The event gave Barriere interns an opportunity to explain not only what they worked on this summer, but also what they learned from the process and how their ideas could apply beyond the internship itself.

Congratulations to Barriere’s 2026 interns on completing the summer program and sharing their work with teams from across the Midsouth.