(WACO) – Village Oaks Apartments at Texas State Technical College in Waco could unofficially be renamed Fredericksburg North.

At least 10 students from Fredericksburg High School are enrolled this year at TSTC and live at the on-campus student apartments. Several of them are pursuing the same major and tackling the transition from high school to college together with humor and discovery.

“I thought it would be hard meeting new people, but it’s not,” said William O’Connell, 18, a first-semester Computer Maintenance and Technology major.

Some of the students learned about the technical college from Fredericksburg High School automotive teacher and 2000 TSTC in Waco graduate Blake Schmidt.

“I spent 11 years as a technician working in dealerships on GM products,” Schmidt said. “This is now my third year teaching and I love it. I get the opportunity to teach at the same high school I graduated from. It is so important to inspire students and let them know what is available to them after high school. I thought the Automotive Technology program was great when I attended, and the instructors pushed and encouraged me to be the best I could be.”

Jacob Coolidge, 19, a first-semester Diesel Equipment Technology – Heavy Truck Specialization major, credits Schmidt with motivating him to enroll at TSTC. He said Schmidt emphasized during classes what students would expect at the technical college.

“I didn’t want to go to college for the longest time, but I thought of being an electrician or working in the oil fields,” Coolidge said. “I thought I could go to college and become a diesel equipment repairman.”

Coolidge already had a tie to the Waco campus before he moved into his on-campus apartment in mid-August: his grandparents lived at what was then Connally Air Force Base and his family has traveled to the Waco area for years to visit relatives and go fishing.

Two years ago, Schmidt and Logan Minshew, a counselor at Fredericksburg High School, began taking 40 juniors and seniors each spring to visit TSTC in Waco.

“I believe letting the students see firsthand the quality education they can receive helps a lot,” Minshew said. “They also see the potential for increased earning power. With Blake, I think they also see that they can stay part of the awesome Fredericksburg community when they complete their training. We really enjoy our annual trip to TSTC and hope to continue to grow the partnership that is helping train tomorrow’s leaders.”

So far, the students have been adjusting to long breaks between classes and realizing the importance of balancing work and studying without parental supervision. O’Connell has taught Isaiah Rivera, 18, a first-semester Automotive Technology major, how to do his laundry.

“We are just now getting to the first bills,” said Rivera. “Three of us work at Whataburger part time. We are trying to support ourselves while attending school.”

Rivera said he has had to adjust to doing classwork online.

“I like it for the most part, but I don’t like thinking if instructors received the homework or not,” Rivera said. “With technology there is a chance it could not be submitted.”

Many of the Fredericksburg students tend to migrate to classmate Dillon Nielsen’s apartment at Village Oaks because of cable availability, Coolidge said. Schmidt said Nielsen, 18, is attending TSTC on a scholarship from Toyota of Boerne.

A lot of the students have longtime ties to one another. Coolidge and O’Connell estimated they have known each other since elementary school, while Tyler McWilliams, 18, an Automotive Technology major, grew up across the street from Coolidge.

Some of the students said they missed cruising Fredericksburg’s Main Street, off-roading on dirt roads and socializing in the parking lots of popular eateries and stores.

Rivera said their joint goal is to visit Fredericksburg once a month.

“We have family and some of us have relationships,” he said.

Some of the students are already making plans for life after graduation.

Randall Friedrich, 18, is an Automotive Technology major with a simple goal: to make money.

McWilliams said he wants to return to Fredericksburg and work with his relatives.

Coolidge wants to move to Florida and do diesel work.

“I do like to travel and go to different places,” he said.

For more information on TSTC, log on to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College in Waco and the Texas Workforce Commission are partnering to provide workforce development to two local companies.

Jobe’s on Franklin Avenue and Hobbs Bonded Fibers on South Commerce Drive, both in Waco, are utilizing TSTC’s Workforce Training and Continuing Education programs to update workers’ skills.

“I know the quality of education at TSTC,” said Wayne Winekauf, Jobe’s director of plant operations. “I’m very impressed. It’s a gem that is hidden.”

Jobe’s employees take master rolls of outdoor commercial fabric, such as burlap and sun screen, and cut them to be consumer-ready in various lengths. The company has 30 workers, but increases to 100 employees during their busy period from January to May.

The Jobe’s workers recently took part in operation care classes through a state Skills Development Fund grant valued at more than $60,000. Workers learned about troubleshooting, upkeep and quality control on their shrink wrap, winding and other machines. A representative from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration also visited to talk about workplace and machine safety.

“TSTC is focused on the manufacturing side,” said Winekauf. “The safety was key to having someone come in and review the safety recommendations. Someone from the outside is respected more.”

Several of Jobe’s workers said they benefited from the training.

Arturo Vicinais, a night lead operator who runs machines and works on production floor compliance, has been at the company for 10 years. He appreciated the training in the importance of communication, inspection and audit forms.

“You can take more pride in your work and everything will be more organized,” he said.

Barron Parks, a machine operator, has worked at Jobe’s the last year and a half.

“The safety class we had was very much needed,” Parks said. “There are a lot of dangerous machines here if you don’t know the safety procedures. Everyone should be held more responsible.”

Thirty-eight workers from Hobbs Bonded Fibers began taking Thursday and Friday classes in mid-August lasting for six weeks so they can learn to weld using structured steel. The training is also under a state Skills Development Fund grant worth at least $60,000.

“These guys have never welded before,” said Shawn Grisham, a welding trainer in Workforce Training and Continuing Education at TSTC in Waco. “They are making very good welds.”

For more information on Workforce Training and Continuing Education at TSTC, call 254-867-2053 or log on to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Andre Bernal and Joseph Ramos Jr. have been linked since they were preschoolers.

The two attended Head Start together, grew up a street apart, both attended the old University Middle School and graduated together earlier this year from University High School in Waco.

Now, the lifelong friends are students at Texas State Technical College in Waco. Bernal, 18, is a Computer Network and Systems Administration major and Ramos, 18, is an Automotive Technology major. Both are Texan Success Scholarship recipients.

The students are among more than 20 members of the 2015-16 cohort of Prosper Waco’s Project Link representing University High School and La Vega High School to enroll at TSTC this fall.

Project Link is a grant-funded initiative aimed at creating a college-going culture by connecting students to higher education and the workforce. The La Vega Independent School District, the Waco Independent School District, McLennan Community College, TSTC and Prosper Waco are partners in the project, which included more than 130 high school seniors in its first year who took advantage of education and career advising. The program had 730 students in grades nine to 12 last year, according to Project Link information.

“The liaisons at the high schools did a good job preparing them for college,” TSTC Project Link Coordinator Brandon Chappell said. “Some of the students registered toward the end of registration. We need to be more aggressive and keep them on track after graduation. Financial aid was a common question from the students.”

Bernal and Ramos are among the first generation of their families to attend college – something Project Link campus liaisons look for when recruiting students.

So far, Bernal has discovered TSTC’s Murray Watson Jr. Student Recreation Center to play pickup games of basketball. He wants to work in the technology field after graduation and pursue a bachelor’s degree.

“I am not used to long breaks between classes and the free time,” Bernal said. “I am getting used to it. I am meeting new people.”

Ramos took automotive classes for four years in high school and said he wanted to learn more in college. He wants one day to work at a Chevrolet dealership.

Bernal, Ramos, and their University High School classmates all completed applications through ApplyTexas and had a 100 percent federal financial aid application completion rate. La Vega’s Project Link seniors had a 98 percent federal financial aid application completion rate and a 100 percent ApplyTexas application rate.

The program has made some changes to start the new academic year.

Project Link has expanded to Waco High School and added a campus liaison, while University High School has two new program liaisons to work with students.

“With the addition of Waco High School, Project Link will be serving 1,000 high school students at three different high schools for year two of the program,” said Natalie James, Project Link Coordinator at McLennan Community College.

For more information on Prosper Waco and Project Link, go to prosperwaco.org.

For more information on TSTC, visit tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Haylee Harper, 9, of Bosqueville, has career goals as big as the solar system.

“I like learning about science,” the Bosqueville Elementary School fourth-grade student said. “I want to one day put a flag on a planet.”

Harper said she enjoyed talking into a microphone inside Mission Control at the new Challenger Learning Center, which formally opened Thursday night with a community event at Texas State Technical College in Waco.

The educational center on Airline Drive is the third of its kind in Texas and is affiliated with the not-for-profit Challenger Center for Space Science Education in Washington, D.C. The state’s other centers are at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen and San Antonio College. There are more than 40 centers nationwide and in Canada, South Korea and Great Britain.

The center’s purpose is to bring the sun, moon, stars, and planets to life for students. After a meeting in a briefing room, students are divided into two groups, one to work in Mission Control, and the other in a working laboratory. Students also “ride” on the Space Shuttle Challenger and visit a planetarium. The activities center on communication, critical thinking, leadership, science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

“These kids get a sense of accomplishment,” said Dr. Lance Bush, president and chief executive officer of the Challenger Center.

Kris Collins, senior vice president of economic development for the Waco Chamber of Commerce, said aviation and aeronautics are target industries for the city. She said TSTC and its learning center, along with SpaceX in McGregor, were critical to the chamber’s goals.

“I think it’s fantastic for the technical school to bring students in to showcase the programs offered,” Collins said.

Finding ways to teach science creatively to students can be a challenge for educators.

China Spring Middle School eighth-grade science teacher Shannon Field saw the learning center for the first time and imagined her students visiting. She said the center puts space science in front of the students and can hopefully spark curiosity.

“I think it’s great,” Field said. “Field trips are usually confined. This in our backyard.”

Carson Pearce, director of the TSTC Aerospace Division, hopes the students’ interest in science today translates into future air traffic controllers, pilots, aircraft technicians and other aeronautical careers. He said there is a 94 percent placement rate for division graduates.

“Once they (students) get energized and have the imagination, they are going to want an outlet,” Pearce said.

The Cooper Foundation and the Rapoport Foundation, both in Waco, made substantial financial gifts to the initiative.

Casey Sadler, the Rapoport Foundation’s foundation coordinator, predicted the center would bring more exposure to the technical college and Waco. She said education is one of the foundation’s areas of interest.

“Geographically it is an excellent location,” Sadler said. “Waco is on Interstate 35 with Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin close by for unbelievable opportunities for students.”

Addison Haygood, a fifth-grade student at Woodgate Intermediate School in the Midway Independent School District, dreams of being an astronaut someday, but also an actress.

“It was cool,” Haygood said about her visit. “I liked looking at all the planets and stars in the planetarium.”

Tours for area schools will begin later this fall. Trey Pearson, director of the Challenger Learning Center, is ready to see how students of all ages take to the simulations and planetarium.

“That’s going to be the exciting thing,” he said.

TSTC Chancellor Michael Reeser reminded attendees that the technical college was founded in 1965, the year of the early NASA spaceflight program Gemini. He said space can excite children.

“There is no more worthy way to explore space than to honor the people who explored the outer reaches of the universe,” Reeser said. “Every time a child comes through the center, we want hope and excitement to do the technology to make a difference in the country and world.”

The Challenger Learning Center honors the astronauts who died Jan. 28, 1986, when a booster engine failed on the Challenger space shuttle launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The initiative was founded later that year by the families of the seven astronauts tragically killed.

To register a class for the space exploration experience, log on to tstc.edu/challenger.