(HUTTO) – Michael Smith now has more reasons to root for Hutto’s progress.

Smith, 30, the Hutto City Council’s mayor pro-tem, began June 1 as a student recruitment specialist at Texas State Technical College in Williamson County.

He was previously a political consultant working with area and state candidates.

“It’s a lot of the same skills set in working with people,” Smith said. “From the business side, recruitment is recruitment.”

Smith will focus this summer on non-traditional students, such as military veterans or those who want a career change, and will pick up some of the more than 100 high schools within a 50-mile radius of TSTC in late summer.

“There are so many high schools that haven’t been touched yet,” said Caleb Steed, TSTC in Williamson County’s interim director of student recruitment.

Smith, along with other student recruiters at TSTC, will work closely with Industry Relations and Talent Management when companies seek employees with specific skill sets.

“We are very glad he is part of the team,” Steed said. “We are looking forward to things he can bring to the table for TSTC as a whole.”

Smith was born in Frankfurt, Germany, where his family was stationed in the military. His family eventually moved to Killeen and he graduated from Shoemaker High School in 2004.

He graduated in 2008 from Texas A&M University in College Station with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Leadership and Development.

Smith has served on the Hutto City Council since 2009.

“I see that TSTC in Williamson County is a big part of a relationship with the city, which is a big part of what we do,” he said. “You can always get things done by working together. We have TSTC here which provides a flexible model to teach job training for the city and region’s economic development.”

TSTC in Williamson County is at the East Williamson County Higher Education Center on Innovation Boulevard in Hutto.