TSTC Diesel Students Learn About Potential Careers

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College student Isidro Renteria, 21, of San Angelo chose diesel equipment technology over criminal justice to study after high school.

“I just felt like a university wasn’t a fit for me but a technical school would be good for me,” he said.

Renteria is scheduled to graduate in August with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Diesel Equipment Technology and plans to return to West Texas to work.

Renteria and more than 60 TSTC Diesel Equipment Technology students gathered at the Murray Watson Jr. Student Recreation Center on Thursday, July 14, for an Employer Spotlight hosted by the DET program and TSTC Industry Relations and Talent Management.

“I wanted to see the different options of companies and what they have that benefits you as a person and as a technician you can pursue,” Renteria said.

The event was geared toward Diesel Equipment Technology students who met with professionals working for state and national companies seeking qualified technicians and specialists. Company representatives had tables inside the gymnasium and also spoke in individual information sessions in a recreation center meeting room.

Texas Disposal Systems in Austin is one of the largest independently owned solid waste collection, disposal and recycling companies in the nation. The fast-growing company is in need of diesel mechanics who can perform preventive maintenance, brake work and after-repair diagnostics, according to Krista Izzo, a company human resources generalist. The company has hired TSTC graduates in the past.

Another company represented at the event, Altec Service Group of Birmingham, Alabama, has service centers in Houston and Waxahachie. The company, one of the largest utility and telecommunications providers in the world for hydraulic equipment, currently has two TSTC students doing internships.

The company has 27 service centers in Canada and the United States and expects to build 30 additional centers in the next three years.

“Our growth is so huge that this is the first time we at the company have gone after technicians,” said Jeff Drummonds, a company national service growth and development manager. “Our goal is to get out here and build relationships and have the best people.”

Texas State Technical College student Victor Membreno wants to use diesel technology to springboard into the engineering field.

“It’s cool to wake up and do something you enjoy doing,” said Membreno, 20, of Brenham and a Diesel Equipment Technology major scheduled to graduate in August.

Nick Clawson, 22, a Diesel Equipment Technology major from Paris, Texas, has started job hunting ahead of his planned December graduation. His goal is to work in Texas and later move to Minnesota.

“I’ve been doing mechanics since I was 5,” Clawson said. “I like to work on semi-trucks.”

Other companies in attendance were H-E-B, Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc., Volt Workforce Solutions, Waste Management, Travel Centers of America and RDO Equipment Co.