Category Archives: Waco

TSTC Electrical Power and Controls program filling area jobs

(RED OAK, Texas) – Electricity drives not only productivity, but also job creation.

Warren Ketteman, president and chief executive officer of the Waxahachie Economic Development Corp., said the availability of electricity is a key factor for prospective companies interested in the city. The Waxahachie EDC and Texas State Technical College in North Texas work together to ensure that there is a trained workforce for new and existing companies to fill jobs.

“With manufacturers, they want to know the proximity of available power, or if it is not in near proximity to the site, how soon can it get there,” Ketteman said.

Nick Scarpinato, lead instructor in TSTC’s Electrical Power and Controls program at the North Texas campus, said he has talked to representatives of four companies in the last month regarding employment opportunities for students. This is a sign, he said, that the job market is doing well.

“They (employers) come to our facility, and they see what we are doing and say, ‘Wow, that is what we need,’” he said. “We are trying to make courses that fit the industry.”

Scarpinato said TSTC students often have jobs lined up before graduation, with many staying to work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He said Oncor has hired several alumni, and Sherwin-Williams has expressed interest in program graduates. AEP and Coca-Cola have also hired recent graduates statewide.

“With Electrical Power and Controls, there are so many different options,” Scarpinato said. “You can start out in one area, and if you don’t like it, you can move to another very easily.”

Cisco-Eagle Inc., which has its headquarters in Dallas, is currently looking for a programmable logic controller and field technician who can program automated safety systems, do minor controls wiring, create electrical drawings and schematics, and troubleshoot issues. The company specializes in all facets of materials handling, including automation and distributed intelligence.

Logan Beard, Cisco-Eagle’s health and safety manager who also does onboarding of new employees and handles job postings, said he has noticed more people applying for jobs throughout the company. He said the company likes to see job applicants with some technical experience. The company works with Allen-Bradley and Schneider programmable logic controllers.

“If we are asking for someone to hit the ground running, we want them to have that background,” Beard said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, powerhouse, substation and relay electrical and electronics repairers make a yearly median salary of more than $70,000 in Texas. More than 1,900 workers will be needed in the state by 2028.

Graduates can also go on to become commercial and industrial equipment electrical and electronics repairers. These workers make a yearly median salary of more than $61,000 in the state. More than 5,800 workers will be needed by 2028.

North Texas’ Precision Machining Technology program teaches hybrid classes and labs during the day and at night. Students can earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Precision Machining Technology or a certificate of completion in Machining.

“We leave the construction and installation to the electricians,” said Richard Filut, statewide lead instructor in TSTC’s Electrical Power and Controls program. “We are more about the engineering and maintenance aspects. We still have some of the same skills as far as being able to install a piece of conduit or run wires or terminate conductors. We are more worried about the operations of the equipment.”

This fall, Advantage Academy Charter School Grand Prairie and Red Oak High School will have students taking dual enrollment classes to earn a certificate of completion in Machining.

Registration continues for the fall semester, with scholarships available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC graduate enables bank customers to use online services with ease

(WACO, Texas) – Travis Pitrucha grew up in Temple and graduated in 2018 from Texas State Technical College with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Programming Technology. He was hired after graduation at Citibank in Irving, where he is a senior software engineer.

Pitrucha’s work involves developing and maintaining a series of small programs called microservices that provide critical information to Citibank’s online, Internetwork Operating System and Android mobile apps. He is also responsible for all of the bank’s reward programs.

What inspired you to study Computer Programming Technology at TSTC? 

I wanted to learn programming and not everything else that typically comes included with a degree at larger universities. I also didn’t have the money for four years at a university. By going to TSTC, it let me learn the skills, get into the workforce and become financially stable enough to then go back and get the larger degree.

How did TSTC prepare you for going into the computer programming field? 

I knew I wanted to go into this field, but knowing where to start is where TSTC came into play. The biggest thing TSTC left me with is how to find information. Learning all the different computer languages is secondary to learning how to properly use Google.

What motivates you to wake up each morning and go to work? 

At Citibank, we are put in charge of an aspect of the bank. For me and my team, it’s rewards and earnings. You have some ownership of what you develop. If there is an issue, you fix it. Your team relies on you, and you succeed or fail as a team. This motivates me to work every day. The pay is also really, really good.

What is a typical workday like for you? 

Our workday is broken into two blocks a day, a six-hour period of development work and a two-hour period of time set aside for meetings and training. Every day at 9 a.m. there is a small group call when we go over progress with our ongoing tasks. You then start working on your stories. A story is a task that has been planned and typically assigned to you at the start of the month.

Our tasks range from testing out our code and user influence elements and monitoring traffic in the production environment, to developing and designing new features. One day of the week, I actually get to write code, with everything else being design and planning.

Working at an enterprise level, an error that happens 0.01 percent of the time is not good enough. Our code is used billions of times a week. When you work with volume this high, small errors affect a lot of people. Everything must be planned, checked and validated.

How do you keep up to date on changes in the computer programming field? 

Programming is such a large field, and what you do will vary. If you are working for a startup company or a company that develops new technology, you will be on the front end of the rapidly advancing field. Doing something in a new way or using the latest thing will give your company an edge. So, following the latest trend is almost in the job description.

Now, if your job is not developing new technology and you work more on the services end, this includes every other business in the world. You develop and work on an enterprise level. Billion-dollar companies value stability and resiliency so much that by the time you get to use something, it’s several years old. Making and keeping up with the latest thing is something you need to do in your free time.

Why is computer programming the best field for graduates to pursue? 

We live in a digital world. Every single aspect of that world runs on computer code. If there is not code running on it, then code was used to make it. If you want to make something as a computer programmer, you can literally make it into existence. There is no limit. Because of this limitless potential, there are a lot of jobs available right now in the United States.

 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $108,000. Jobs are concentrated in the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that more than 1.7 million software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers will be needed nationwide by 2029.

Registration for the fall semester continues, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC graduate plans to expand knowledge this fall

(WACO, Texas) – Zachary Muth is planning to continue his education in the fall.

Muth, who graduated from Texas State Technical College’s Diesel Equipment Technology program last month, wants to add an occupational skills award in welding to his associate degree.

“I plan to return this fall because the more skills I have, the better my chances of being hired,” he said. “I am currently looking at all of my options in the diesel field.”

Muth likes the options because they have one thing in common.

“I have always liked working with my hands. I was never a big fan of sitting behind a desk,” he said.

Muth was drawn to TSTC after attending an open house suggested by his high school English teacher.

“I have always been interested in cars, but I wanted to do that more as a hobby,” he said. “I was looking for a career, and after touring the diesel program, I could see myself doing this as a career.”

Entering his final semester, Muth said he overcame the challenge of motivating himself to complete online work. He said the best part of his week is when he is in the lab, completing a task.

Having experienced instructors helped him overcome other obstacles.

“I was never into the electronics and how things may work. All of the instructors are great in understanding how you need help in some areas,” he said.

The instructors also help students by bringing in company representatives for job interview sessions.

“The instructors have so many different contacts. We had a company from Georgetown in here one day for interviews,” Muth said.

Muth said he is proud of completing his associate degree work and hopes other people look at TSTC for a career.

“If you have recruiters come to your campus, listen to what they have to say,” he said. “TSTC is a good launching point for a lot of hands-on skills.”

As for the fall, Muth is ready to learn a different trade in welding. The occupational skills award allows students to take a nine-week course to learn basic technical skills needed for an entry-level career.

“I am ready to learn a different skill to help me with a career,” he said. “I am excited to be part of the welding program and look forward to what I learn.”

For more information, visit tstc.edu.

TSTC graduate wins first place at Waco arts event

(WACO, Texas) – A Texas State Technical College graduate recently placed first in the Wacotown Chalk + Walk arts event sponsored by Creative Waco.

Shay MacMorran, of Waco, graduated in 2003 with an associate degree in Commercial Art and Advertising. She is currently a graphic designer at Winstar Marketing in Austin but works remotely from her home. The company specializes in apparel, promotional items, social media and web design.

What took place during the competition? 

A bunch of artists and businesses paired together, but businesses could pay for a certain artist. They worked together to make a design for the street or a wall.

I teamed up with LaSalle Shoppes to create a chalk design on Austin Avenue. They do antiques, so we decided to do an “I Love Lucy” crossover with “I Love LaSalle Shoppes.” There is specific street chalk we can use, and also spray paint chalk. You just get into a zone and just go. It’s big, but you have to spend several hours working on it.

Creative Waco and some other groups are working very hard to make the arts scene in Waco more visible. Artists are solitary creatures. You don’t really get out there and see other artists because you are working at home doing your thing. This is a way to bring everyone together.

I was confident, but there are about 50 other artists there. It was based on voting, so you do not know how people will vote. I chose a spot in the LuluBelle’s Market at Magnolia’s Silobration in October in Waco.

What is your job like? 

It’s a little different every day. Most of the time, it is laying out uniforms, but I also do a lot of T-shirt and logo designs.

We usually do a lot of things by Zoom, mostly because of the pandemic. We have quarterly team meetings where we have lunch and folks can come out and talk. It’s a small group, so we are all tight-knit. We talk by email. 

Because I work from home, I can home-school my son, work on personal art projects when I have extra time, and spend time with our dog. It is just a lot more freeing than working in an office. 

What factored into your decision to attend TSTC? 

I wanted to do something with art, and it just seemed like the best fit for me at the time. We didn’t have a lot of money for a huge school. TSTC gave me everything I needed to get started. I went in not knowing how to use Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. I was just a traditional artist. I would always draw or paint. I use Adobe products every single day now.

What advice do you have for people interested in pursuing the design field? 

I think it would help to have a creative eye. Otherwise, it is going to be more difficult if you do not have one. Having the ability to take criticism without taking it personally is good.

 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, graphic designers in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $49,000. The state is projected to need more than 20,000 graphic designers by 2028, the third-highest number in the country.

TSTC offers an online associate degree in Visual Communication Technology. Students can gain hands-on experience in art direction, digital publishing and graphic design, and do a required commercial art and advertising internship.

Registration is underway for the fall, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC Precision Machining Technology program prepares graduates for in-demand jobs

(RED OAK, Texas) – From smartphones to the hubcaps on vehicles, precision machining is a critical component of our lives.

“(Many human-made things would) not exist without a machine and its components,” said Nathan Cleveland, acting statewide lead in Texas State Technical College’s Precision Machining Technology program and associate provost at TSTC in Marshall.

Cleveland said high school students need to be more exposed to what precision machining is, along with its career stability and income potential. He said most students who enter TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology program usually know someone already in the industry. The program’s classes at the North Texas campus are taught at night.

Lyle Guinn, the lead instructor for TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology program in North Texas, said students entering the program should be good at spatial thinking, have a mechanical aptitude and understand geometry.

Cleveland said the kinds of jobs that program graduates want depend on the area of Texas where they want to live. He said while East Texas has many production jobs, the Houston area has many oil and gas industry jobs. The career niche that graduates shift into will factor into their income.

“A lot of it is where they (graduates) want to live, what kind of benefits they want and if they want to continue on in their education,” Guinn said. “A lot of the companies you go to work for as a machinist will continue to pay for your education.”

Companies that have sought machining workers in the last few months in North Texas include Amazon, Bridgestone/Firestone, Sabre Industries Inc. and FedEx, according to Workforce Solutions of North Central Texas.

Industrial engineering technologists and technicians have the highest hourly wage for experienced workers among machining-type jobs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at more than $40, according to data from Workforce Solutions. The second-highest hourly wage for experienced workers is more than $39 for metal and plastic model makers.

Workforce Solutions’ 16-county area has more than 7,700 machinists and more than 6,600 metal and plastics machine tool cutting setters, operators and tenders.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, computer numerical controlled tool programmers are making a yearly median salary of more than $57,000 in Texas. Jobs are concentrated in the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas.

TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Precision Machining Technology and a certificate of completion in Machining. 

Registration continues for the fall semester. Scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Instrumentation Technology graduates play critical role in workforce

(WACO, Texas) – Instrumentation plays a critical role in the operation of oil refineries, petrochemical facilities, and power generation plants. Workers use programmable logic controllers, calibrate equipment, and maintain the control of flows, levels, temperatures, and pressures for production.

Many of Texas State Technical College’s Instrumentation Technology graduates either have jobs before they graduate or shortly thereafter.

Program faculty said they have noticed a change in hiring patterns during the pandemic, but companies are starting to reach back out to TSTC. Mike Martin, a faculty member in TSTC’s Instrumentation Technology program, said Celanese, Dow Chemical Co. and Phillips 66 are some of the companies that have hired TSTC graduates in the past.

“We still have students interviewing for jobs,” Martin said. “We have some waiting for final replies back from companies.”

Robert Lovelace, TSTC’s statewide lead in the Instrumentation Technology program, said graduates tend to go to work for refineries and power plants after graduation.

The Luminant Generation-owned Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Somervell County has hired several TSTC graduates. The plant employs about 1,300 employees and has two nuclear reactors.

Somervell County Judge Danny Chambers said Comanche Peak is a valuable asset to that area. The power plant pulls in workers not only from throughout the county but from neighboring counties as well. And those workers need some sort of education to handle the daily grind of producing power.

“When you get an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree, it opens doorways and leads to a better future,” Chambers said.

Chambers is familiar with TSTC, having taken Automotive Technology classes there himself. His son graduated from TSTC’s Electrical Power and Controls program in Waco.

Chambers said the county benefits from having the nuclear plant by way of property taxes, which the city of Glen Rose does not receive. But the city reaps the benefits of tax money as out-of-town workers sleep in hotels, eat in restaurants, buy gas and shop for groceries during planned plant outages.

“Without the power plant, Glen Rose would not be what it is now,” Chambers said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, power plant operators in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $78,000. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators and gaugers in the state make a yearly median salary of more than $76,000. The state will need more than 13,000 workers by 2028.

The Instrumentation Technology program has over 100 students taking classes this summer. Students work toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in Instrumentation Technology. Martin said the students attracted to the program typically know someone who works in the industry.

Starting this fall, Instrumentation Technology students will be in labs for longer periods. Lovelace said seven of the program’s 12 classes will have lab time expanded by an hour with less lecture time. He said the program’s goal is to provide more hands-on experiences for students.

Instrumentation Technology is part of TSTC’s Money-Back Guarantee initiative, which enables students who do not find a job in their profession within six months of graduation to have their tuition refunded.

Registration continues for the fall, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Aviation Maintenance program eager to fill Texas jobs

(WACO, Texas) – As the aviation industry continues to grow in Texas, so does the need for more mechanics and technicians.

“The aviation maintenance industry is picking up steam really quickly,” said Robert Capps, Texas State Technical College’s statewide lead in the Aviation Maintenance program. “When COVID-19 hit, a lot of the airlines started temporarily mothballing airplanes. As air traffic is picking up, pulling them out of storage is a lot of work to keep them in regular service.”

Capps said a lot of aviation mechanics who left as the pandemic raged on took retirement packages or left the industry for other jobs. He said many of those workers will stay retired, making room for new workers.

Trim Aire Aviation in Mexia is currently searching for an aircraft structure mechanic and paying between $18 and $28 an hour, according to Indeed.com.

“Right now we are working on some applications that are finally coming in here,” said Buddy Miller, Trim Aire’s owner. 

In the past, Miller said it has taken a while to fill technician and mechanic positions. The business has 11 people working on airplanes, with five being licensed mechanics. The remaining workers are apprentices and helpers.

Miller said apprenticeships are a great way for people interested in the aviation maintenance field to get valuable job experience. During their apprenticeships, they can work toward an airframe and powerplant certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Ricky Rodriguez, vice president of aircraft maintenance at Texas Aero in Waco, said he likes to hire military veterans because of their mindset and experience.

But he said it is challenging to find qualified people holding airframe and powerplant certifications who want to work in general aviation. Rodriguez said the certificate provides many opportunities for people to work anywhere in the country and make good money.

“It seems like as soon as they come out of school, the airlines come in and swoop them up,” he said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, aircraft mechanics and service technicians make a yearly median salary of more than $66,000. The highest concentration of workers is in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas. Texas is projected to need more than 19,300 workers by 2028, the highest number in the country.

TSTC offers associate degree programs in Aircraft Airframe Technology and Aircraft Powerplant Technology and certificates in Aircraft Airframe Technician and Aircraft Powerplant Technician.

Registration continues for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC. Scholarships are also available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC Welding Technology students show off skills at competition

(ROSENBERG, Texas) – Eight Texas State Technical College Welding Technology students showed off their skills at the 2021 Andrew Noppe Memorial Welding Competition.

Omar De La Cruz Moreno finished fourth in the Level 1 competition in which he had to weld a single-sided vertical groove on a carbon steel plate using the shielded metal arc welding process. Moreno’s piece passed the visual and X-ray examinations to earn certification in the welding process.

Moreno was not alone in earning certification honors during the competition, which was held at R&N Manufacturing in Cypress.

Jerroll Hodge, a TSTC welding instructor, said four students earned certification on April 24 for passing both the visual and X-ray examinations. 

Jacob Picazo earned certification on the Level 2 shielded metal arc welding process for his work on a pipe.

In the Level 3 event, Jose Perez Jr., Angel Rodriguez and Mason Stanley  earned certification for their work on a pipe using the gas tungsten arc welding process for the root pass and shielded metal arc welding process for the fill and cap passes.

“The students enjoyed going to an event and competing,” Hodge said. “It also opened our students to the possibility of earning additional certifications on certain types of welds.”

Also representing TSTC was Zach Follis in Level 1 and Diego Almaraz and Nick Dunn in Level 3.

“Everyone was really into the activities being held at the competition. It was the first time we have attended an event like this, and I look forward to returning to additional contests,” Hodge said.

The Texas High School Welding Series hosted the event that featured 72 competitors from eight colleges. In addition to TSTC, competitors represented Arclabs Welding School, Elite Pipe Welding Academy, Lamar Institute of Technology, Mainliners Welding Academy, Precision Welding Academy and Wharton County Junior College.

Hodge said he learned of the event during a welding competition in Huntsville earlier this year. He discussed it with his students and completed the registration process.

“I beat the deadline by a few days, and I am glad we were there,” he said.

Hodge was also able to promote TSTC during the high school competition, which was held the same day. With more than 130 students from 12 high schools in attendance, Hodge spoke to as many students as possible.

“It was good to be able to watch the high school kids compete and talk to them about our program,” he said. “This was a great recruiting effort for us.”

Hodge hopes that attending the competition sparks more interest in his students and plans to study ways to host an event on campus in the future.

“It would be good for TSTC to showcase our facilities during a competition,” he said. “I hope we will be able to do that someday.”

TSTC alumnus motivated to help others in medical field

(WACO, Texas) – Motivation is not a problem for Andrew Grisham.

“With life in general, every day is a new day,” he said. “Anything can happen on any given day. Just seeing what happens is a motivator for me.”

Grisham, who grew up in Robinson and is a graduate of Texas State Technical College’s Biomedical Equipment Technology program in Waco, is a medical imaging engineer at Tri-Imaging Solutions in Fort Collins, Colorado. He works from home and covers four hospitals, doing preventive maintenance and emergency repairs on Toshiba Aquilion CT scanners. He recently celebrated his first anniversary with the company.

When he gets service calls, he goes to the hospital with the problem and talks to staff. He works with the equipment until the problem can be figured out. Grisham is able to call the company to work through problems, if needed. Parts can also be ordered and delivered in less than 24 hours. His work sometimes requires him to go to Phoenix, Arizona, to do equipment repairs.

“You do travel, depending on who you work for,” Grisham said. “It is not the same work every day. You always have something new coming up. You also get to work in air conditioning in a hospital setting. You get great pay and benefits.”

Grisham enjoys his job because he sees how relieved hospital staff are when machines are up and running.

“No matter what, you always have an opportunity to work,” he said.

Grisham also likes his downtime from work, which he spends eating at new restaurants and hiking.

“I live at the edge of the Rockies, which is beautiful,” he said. “I get to experience a different culture in Colorado.”

Grisham is a graduate of Robinson High School. Between graduation and when he enrolled at TSTC, he worked various jobs.

“I did bartending for nine years,” Grisham said. “I was with an agency for acting and modeling. The year before I went to TSTC, I was living in Indiana doing construction there. That is where I found I liked working with my hands.”

A friend recommended that Grisham take a look at TSTC. When he reviewed the list of programs, he decided what to study.

“I wanted to help people, but I can’t do blood,” he said. “Nursing is out of the question. I figured if I could help maintain machines, it can help a doctor or nurse save a life.”

Grisham graduated in summer 2020 from TSTC with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Medical Imaging Systems Technology Specialization.

“Andrew was an excellent student with high energy who took his training seriously in both lecture and lab,” said Victor Fowler, an instructor in TSTC’s Medical Imaging Systems Technology Specialization program. “He quickly gained confidence working on medical imaging systems and secured a job before his last semester was over.”

Registration continues for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC Digital Media Design graduates eye diverse work options

(WACO, Texas) – Recent graduates of Texas State Technical College’s Digital Media Design program have an impressive array of career options.

Pleasanton native Hannah Selby works at a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary as a marketing coordinator and real estate photographer. Abilene resident Arabel Mullen aspires to be a professional illustrator and already has sold a client some illustrations for a book. 

The two women have graduated from TSTC’s Digital Media Design program and are taking opposite career paths, but both have been trained in traditional graphic design skills and industry software like Adobe Creative Suite. 

“The day-to-day usage of digital media design has really helped me in my current job,” Selby said. “I work full time for a real estate agency, and I handle all of their graphic design and social media. But I’ll be changing careers a bit, doing real estate photography.” 

Selby described how much she enjoyed taking photography classes and learning more in-depth skills like Photoshop and lighting techniques. Even though her degree might suggest a 9-to-5 career in graphic design is in her future, Selby says she plans to keep it part-time and focus on photography.   

“I’ll be doing contract graphic design for a few small businesses, including a T-shirt design company, and offering my contract services to an advertising agency in San Antonio,” Selby said. “I really appreciate how working in this field, you have the opportunity to set your own schedule. I might even start my own agency down the line.” 

Jerry Vavra, TSTC’s chair of the Digital Media Design program, noted that students have an open and lucrative job field to look forward to. Instead of being limited strictly to digital design, students gain a tool belt of skills they can take anywhere. 

“The job outlook for this program is always strong. We’re not just thinking of local areas and campuses; we’re thinking of the entire state of Texas,” Vavra said. “With a quick search of the job title ‘graphic designer’ in Google for Texas, hundreds of jobs are showing up.” 

Vavra emphasized the breadth of specialized avenues available to students in the Digital Media Design program. 

“Graphic designer is sometimes a job title that other specific titles get lumped into. But we have specific areas that students can go into that are a bit outside that realm,” Vavra said. “They can be videographers, animators, web designers and illustrators.”  

Defining herself as more of the traditionally artistic persuasion, Mullen aspires to work as an illustrator for herself or with an agency. Formerly a cake decorator, Mullen decided to pursue her dream of being an illustrator and researched careers she could enter that would be both profitable and fulfilling. 

“I wanted to be a traditional artist when I graduated high school, but there’s the saying ‘starving artist,’” Mullen said. “I found TSTC and spoke with some instructors about the design program. They explained all the things I could do with design, including starting my own business.” 

Mullen’s personal brand and online store Novel Insights can be found on Etsy, though she dreams of working with a creative team such as those at Chris Do’s studios The Futur and Blind, and putting her graphic design training to work. 

“There’s so many avenues you can take with this program. We learn so many different aspects of design, from graphics to photography to videography, and some animation,” Mullen said. “Going forward, I think that being a digital artist will be a really successful career in our world of technology.” 

Registration continues for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC. For more information, go to tstc.edu.