JAVELINA STORIES

Mechanical engineering major Shaquira Kennedy walked into her Thermodynamics class in the Fall of 2015. Three years into the program, she knew everyone.

That day she noticed someone new—he was hard to miss—his 6’ 5” frame folded into a desk in the third row. 

“She introduced herself, told me her name. I thought, ‘Wow, anyone who is willing to reach out and introduce themselves to someone who looks like he’d been through an hour and half of physics is a saint’,” Andrew remembered.

Immediately, he jotted down her name at the top of his notes.

Shaquira’s main concern was that Andrew would attempt to tackle the rest of the program on his own. They were soon inseparable, studying for every class together.

Andrew comes from a family of Aggies. His father, brother, and sister are all engineers and Andrew planned to follow in their footsteps after graduating high school in Houston. When he didn’t get in, he opted for junior college classes and planned to apply again. His grades still weren’t where they needed to be, so he looked into other engineering programs. He visited Texas A&M University-Kingsville by himself one weekend and transferred soon after, ecstatic to find an exceptional engineering program at a significantly lower price point. He is proud to wear the Blue and Gold of Javelina Nation and stand out among all of the maroon in family photos. 

Shaquira had applied to and enrolled at A&M-Kingsville sight unseen. When her parents dropped her off, it was her first time being on campus. Shortly after arriving, she took a chance and asked Javelina Volleyball Head Coach Tanya Allen-Gonzalez if there was a need for scorers–something Shaquira had done in high school in El Paso. 

Javelina Athletics gained the help of a student with a passion for sports and a brain for numbers in Shaquira. She worked for the department throughout the entirety of her undergraduate career leaving an impression on her supervisor, former Director of Sports Information, Kelvin Queliz.

“Shaquira was one of the best students I've ever worked with,” Queliz said.

“She was a welcoming presence to everyone, always happy to help, and maintained a positive energy throughout long days. Her contributions were a major factor in the growth of our athletic communications and content creation office. It was truly inspiring, especially considering that sports wouldn't be her career path.”

With the same major, there were plenty of opportunities to spend time together. Like the seven hour road trip they took with several friends to College Station, looking for internships at the career fair held at Texas A&M.

Though Shaquira didn’t land an internship the traditional way, she wasn’t worried; because of her faith in God, she felt confident everything would work out.

Andrew suggested she check with the local airport and ask if they needed help. 

As a kid, Shaquira wanted to become a flight attendant. After moving to Kingsville, her interest in aviation grew exponentially. 

So, once again, Shaquira built the connection she needed. She cold-called Mike’s Aircraft Shop at Kleberg County Airport. Mrs. Judy Muzyczyn answered the phone, co-owner of the airport with her husband Mike. They didn’t formally hire interns, but invited Shaquira to come into the shop the next morning anyway. 

Shaquira loved working at the airport, describing it as her place of peace. She was happy to escape the stresses of school and assist master mechanic Mike with a stunning variety of aircraft maintenance tasks. 

It was time well-spent and quiet—except during hunting season when guests poured in to visit the King Ranch or when the T-45s from Naval Air Station Kingsville roared by, practicing touch-and-go landings. 

Similarly, Andrew preferred being at work to being in class. Throughout college he worked manual labor jobs, like a gig he got with a friend’s father running pipes in apartment buildings.

“Whenever I was in calculus I could be thankful, because there was air conditioning and I was sitting down,” Andrew remembered.

Towards the end of their program, Andrew and Shaquira were on the same Senior Design team together. Up until this point, Shaquira had essentially kept Andrew in the friend zone. He was persistent, but always respected her boundaries. She was focused on earning her degree. He knew he wanted to be with her and was all in.

“I was always doing whatever I had to do to be with Shaquira,” Andrew explained. “I just didn’t know if it was going to be reciprocated.”

Eventually, Shaquira let her guard down. 

“He was never out of the running,” she laughed.

Her family was not at all surprised when Andrew contacted them to coordinate a time for him to propose right after their commencement ceremony in December of 2017. 

The Duncans were married on a beautiful day in October the following year at the Kleberg County Airport, in front of one hundred of their closest friends and family, all armed with bug repellent bracelets. 

Andrew, who loves to cook, prepared 13 briskets in a rental smoker for the reception. 

After their honeymoon, Shaquira and Andrew continued to face challenges together, now as Mr. and Mrs. Duncan.

Andrew had taken a job with SpawGlass and was working on a project in Port Aransas. Shaquira continued to work at the airport until a friend reached out and suggested working for the Navy at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville.  

Shaquira applied and was offered a position. Andrew urged her to move out to Florida, to find out if she liked it.

By the end of 2019, he quit his job and followed her to Jacksonville.

Shaquira works as a Process Engineer for Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE), ensuring the operation and efficiency of the coating removal and coating application of Navy aircraft. This includes everything attached to them. Corrosion and wear is a constant concern; fighter jets, like the F/A-18 Super Hornet that make up the world-famous Blue Angels, come through FRCSE to have their coatings removed, surfaces evaluated, paint reapplied, overhauled, and sent back to the fleet to demonstrate.

Andrews now works at RQ Construction, as a Self Preform Mechanical Project Manager. He loves it, managing huge projects and budgets. His dream is to build something for Shaquira and is thrilled his company just bid on a project to update a hangar at NAS Jacksonville. The area Shaquira works in was sent the first five F-35 jets the Navy is going to overhaul.

While they both love what they do, the Duncans miss a lot of things about Kingsville; chief among them having breakfast together at El Tapatio.

“If we had a kid, it would be hard to stay in Florida. There's no school in Florida we want our kids to go to. I wouldn’t want them to go anywhere else besides Kingsville,” Andrew said.

So, before long, you might see the Duncans in Kingsville again, sharing a booth at their favorite breakfast spot.