(WACO) – More than 70 Texas State Technical College students learned Thursday morning about work opportunities that could take them as far as the Caribbean.

Michael L. Pruiett, vice president of the Caribbean Division of William R. Nash Mechanical Contractors of Miami, Fla. and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, spoke to students in Building Construction and Technology, Electrical Construction, Plumbing and Pipefitting Technology, Renewable Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Technology about work opportunities.

Visits like Pruiett’s help reinforce what faculty members tell students about developing skills for the workplace, said Jerome M. Mendias Sr., Building Construction Technology program chair.

“To have industry support the students and give encouraging words is huge for the students,” Mendias said. “Their skills are for jobs anywhere in the world.”

The recruiting family-owned company was founded in 1965 and specializes in plumbing systems and mechanical services.

“The trades can be good to your family and you can make an honest living,” Pruiett said.

Some of the projects the company has recently been involved in include the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida, the University of Miami’s UHealth Ambulatory Center, the Miami Cancer Institute, the New Orleans Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The company typically does at least $75 million in sales every year.

Pruiett told students there were opportunities for not only his company, but others with a need for: project managers, project and working foremen, plumbing estimators, welders, fire sprinkler installers and other jobs.

“Texans have a good work ethic,” Pruiett said. “The industry needs you. The average age for quality workers in the trades is 47 to 52 years old.”

Pruiett has ties to Central Texas: he grew up in Gatesville, has relatives in Lorena and was stationed in San Antonio when he was in the U.S. Marines in the 1970s He first visited TSTC in March during Industry Career Day and met with Industry Relations and Talent Management staff which started the process of the visit.

After Pruiett’s talk, students were selected for program-sponsored scholarships given each semester.

Charles Uecker Jr., 48, a Building Construction Technology major from Cameron, received a $200 for International Code Council certification testing for building inspecting.

“I have done construction inspection for the past 20 years,” he said. “I had the opportunity to come to college and get some schooling behind me. I’ve enjoyed every minute here. I graduate at the end of the semester. The faculty are super helpful.”

Hunter Hartcraft, 25, an Electrical Construction major from Fredericksburg, received $150 from the program. He selected his major because of what is taking place in his hometown.

“There are tons of people moving in and they are building and construction businesses are understaffed,” Hartcraft said. “Everyone needs construction and it is a great way to travel.”

Chance Hott, 31, an Electrical Construction major from Caldwell, received a $100 scholarship from the program. He said he has enjoyed learning about federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards and the National Electrical Code.

Hott said he enjoyed Pruiett’s visit because it made him aware of more opportunities in other locations where his electrical skills could be used.

Willie Hudsch, a Plumbing and Pipefitting Technology major from Waco, received $50 from the program.

For industry recruiting opportunities at TSTC, contact Industry Relations and Talent Management at 254-867-3009 or 867-254-3354. For more information on TSTC programs or for fall registration, go to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Welding majors at Texas State Technical College have a pipeline for employment directly to a Southeastern company nationally recognized for its work and reputation.

National Boiler Service of Trenton Ga. began testing selected TSTC welding students in tungsten inert gas welding for a two-day period in December 2015. Testing was also done in April with similar plans for August and December. So far, 13 TSTC alumni and students from the Waco campus have achieved the company’s work standards and have either been hired or will start welding jobs in late summer.

“We are the premier industrial boiler shutdown and repair company in the United States,” the company’s Director of Human Resources Larry Brown said. “We do work all over the U.S. We do not do pipe welding but rather tube welding. We do paper mills and power plants.”

The boilers that employees work on can be from 12 to 20 stories tall. The boilers often contain heavy wall pipes and contain water. Brown said it was a challenge for the company to find welders with the right skill sets to work with the piping.

“Welding is not done in comfortable positions,” Brown said. “They have to slide in, be on their back, reach over their heads, squat, you name the position.”

The company works with less than 10 technical colleges throughout the country to test and find quality welders.

“TSTC has a tremendous set of instructors,” Brown said. “I can’t say enough good things about them. The welding facility is neat, well laid out and organized. It reflects the pride and professionalism that the faculty instil in their students.”

Josh Harrelson, 28, of Waco and Jacob Reed, 27, of Valley Mills both received Associate of Applied Science Welding Technology degrees in May. Both tested earlier this year and received certification from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and have accepted jobs with National Boiler Service.

Harrelson and Reed said they worked about three months before the testing to perfect their skills.

“I was very relieved and excited because this was my first official welding test for a job,” Harrelson said. “It was a rewarding experience.”

Harrelson said he is eager to join the workforce this summer.

“Blue collar work is the way I have gone throughout my life,” he said. “There are a lot of branches in welding. You can inspect, do product development, test and evaluate. I want to be the jack of all trades instead of the master of one.”

Reed said he was eager to use alloys like stainless steel and titanium when he is working.

“It’s an opportunity to advance your skills and learn more,” he said.

The company has a database of 8,000 workers nationally with 2,000 listed as active. Of these, there are more than 400 welders nationwide.

“Our people travel and they live wherever they happen to have a residence and have a job,” Brown said. “These are shutdown and completion jobs.”

Brandon Jones, a welding program instructor,  said visiting representatives of companies provide students with a morale boost and inspiration to work harder as they move toward graduation and their career goals.

TSTC offers welding programs in Breckenridge, Brownwood, Fort Bend County, Harlingen, Marshall, North Texas, Sweetwater, Waco and Williamson County.

For more information on TSTC programs or for fall registration, go to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – The first year of a program aimed at teaching high school students about the college process culminated in a celebration last week at La Vega High School.

Prosper Waco’s Project Link is a grant-funded organization working to create a college-going culture by linking Waco students to higher education and the workforce.

Texas State Technical College, McLennan Community College, the La Vega Independent School District and the Waco Independent School District brought together staff and parents to commemorate the college choices for the first cohort of more than 130 students from La Vega High School and University High School. Of the group, more than 20 students selected TSTC to attend this fall.

“You are part of a unique community project,” TSTC Provost Adam Hutchison told attendees. “You are the first Project Link students and there will not be another group like you. We need education partners and this is an example of how to serve that mission.”

The project’s students learned about academic planning, transitioning from high school to college, mentoring, personal enrichment and financial literacy.

Financial aid was another important topic for the students. La Vega’s Project Link students accepted more than $973,000 in grants and scholarships and University High’s Project Link seniors accepted more than $780,000 in grants and scholarships.

Every project student accepted to TSTC was recommended for The TSTC Foundation’s Texan Success Scholarship, campus Project Link Coordinator Brandon Chappell said. Each student selected will receive a $1,000 non-need referral based scholarship.

“These were students on the bubble with joining the workforce or military or going to college,” Chappell said. “We just want them prepared for whatever aspect of life they choose.”

Chappell said exposure to information was critical for students and parents.

“If we contact the students a lot, then they and the parents feel strongly about the college process,” he said. “It’s exciting. A lot of the students had not considered college an option. When the students toured TSTC some of them said it was their first time on a college campus.”

WISD Superintendent Bonny Cain said the high school diploma marked the transition from childhood to adulthood. Having the diploma, and later a college degree, would open up job opportunities and increase financial potential.

“Thanks to Project Link you know four-year universities, community colleges and technical colleges are at your fingertips,” Cain said. “The first year of Project Link is a success.”

Alexis Vega, 18, a University High senior and future TSTC auto collision technology student, will be the first in his family to attend college. He said he wants to be an example for his five siblings.

Vega said he learned a lot during his time in in Project Link.

“I liked when we took the field trip to TSTC,” he said. “We toured the auto collision shop. It’s so hands-on.”

Samantha Hernandez, 18, a La Vega senior planning to attend TSTC, wants to be a dental assistant. She credited the program for helping her get college admittance paperwork done on time.

“My parents didn’t go to college,” Hernandez said. “They work hard but I know that I can do better.”

Prosper Waco Executive Director Matthew Polk said it was exciting to be part of the start of the student’s long-term success.

“This is the goal of the entire project: to see students succeed,” he said.

Project Link students enrolled to attend TSTC are:

La Vega High School: Autumn Bradburry, Apolonia Castillo, Tylor Donahoo, Jacob Eaton, Justice Gamboa, Samantha Hernandez, Stephen Lovorn, Cheyenne Martell, Juan Jose Martinez Jurado, Misael Perez-Torres, Miguel Rodriguez, Erik Rodriguez, Jorge Tapia, Noe Vargas.

University High School: Carl Allen, Andre Bernal, Daniel Davalos, Marcos Gomez Mendez, Tyler Law, Esmeralda Ortega, Oscar Paloblanco, Joseph Ramirez, Joseph Ramos, Eliseo Resendez, Gabriella Robles, Joshua Rosado, Edward Salinas, Alexis Vega, Rebekah Vega.

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

Texas State Technical College will celebrate its first place win at the National Intercollegiate Flight Association’s 2016 SAFECON with an awards ceremony at noon Friday in the Aerospace Center terminal.

TSTC’s flight team, comprised of 10 students, placed first for of two-year colleges at the competition held May 9 through 14 in Columbus, Ohio. SAFECON, which began in 1949, awards teams and individuals in the categories of outstanding team member, navigation, pre-flight inspections, safety, men and women’s achievement, and more. Teams must complete each challenge while meeting all flight safety standards.

Daniel Shanks, a third semester Aircraft Pilot Training student, competed for the first time this year. He first competed in the regional competition held in Mississippi, and then nationals.

“At regionals there were five schools. At nationals there were at least five times the competition there,” Shanks said. “The people that were there were the best of the best. It was exhilarating to be able to compete on such a small scale initially, and then see how big of a deal nationals are.”

The country is divided into 10 regions, and the top three from each region go on to the national competition.

Shanks competed in several events including aircraft recognition, power-on and power-off landings, instrument flight rules, message drop and aircraft pre-flight. In the aircraft pre-flight event, they add 60 “bugs” to an airplane, and the students have to find and fix them in the dark.

“There’s an aircraft in a hanger. It’s completely black, and you go in with a flashlight and deem it worthy or unworthy of flight,” Shanks said.

TSTC Flight Instructor Jack Gainer, who was the group’s adviser, said the competition is about more than flight.

“One of the ground events that we did was computer accuracy,” Gainer said. “They have to calculate different flight and navigation skills. Two of our competitors in those events were Air Traffic Controllers.”

Shanks said the time the team put into training paid off.

“We put in a lot of time and effort,” Shanks said. “It was nice to have somebody like Jack, who has a lot of prior military experience, coach us. He was able to bring some of that to the team. He really helped mold us into the pilots we’ve become. He brought a new mindset. Once everybody started putting in the extra effort, it was nice to get the top two-year school in the nation.”

But the team walked away with something even more important than a trophy.

“I think we definitely grew as a team. Prior to the event, we weren’t as close as we were when we came out of it,” Shanks said. “What’s so cool about the NIFA experience is that it’s not a single effort event. You have to do as well as the entire team. It takes the entire team working well together to get that top award. The camaraderie we came out of Ohio with is amazing. I think we’ll all be friends forever, and that’s something I like a lot.”

Gainer said he was extremely proud of his students on the win.

“As an educator, we always want to see our students do well,” Gainer said. “Usually that’s only measured for us when they get a job; pass a checkride; small measurements like that. To be able to be labelled as national champions, that gave me an enormous amount of pride for both my students and the program here.”

The awards ceremony congratulating the team will be at noon Friday in the Aerospace Center terminal. For more information on TSTC’s Aerospace programs, visit www.tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Students in the Electrical Power and Controls program at Texas State Technical College will benefit from an equipment donation from a local company.

Staff from VanTran Industries Inc. on Imperial Drive in Waco delivered three new pole mounted 5 kilovolt-amperes transformers earlier this week to program faculty and staff in the Electronics Center. The donation valued at $1,000 marks the first time the company has donated equipment to the program.

“The students can get real-world knowledge and experience as opposed to working with a simulated model,” said Robbie Morehead, VanTran’s sales engineer and project coordinator.

The Electrical Power and Controls program has 190 students.

Dylan Hammick, 23, of Lorena and an Electrical Power and Controls major said he looked forward to labs using the new transformers.

“It will give you better field experience,” he said. “The training here at TSTC is good. This is real life.”

Hammick attended Industry Career Day in March at TSTC and met with several employers, one which has already interviewed him for a job.

“Electricity is a steady job market,” he said. “Power is power and everybody has to have it.”

Another Electrical Power and Controls major, 26-year-old Tino Alvarado of Waco, wants to work with the new transformers as soon as he can. Alvarado said using the transformers will be good experience for when he starts as a substation technician on Aug. 29 at Oncor Electric Delivery Co. in Fort Worth.

“I like everything about electricity,” he said. “It’s not easy to learn but it gets me interested in learning what is going on.”

VanTran has had a representative on the program’s advisory committee the past few years to offer suggestions on how the program curriculum could continually be tailored to the needs of industries.

The company was founded in 1963 and makes liquid filled transformers shipped throughout Canada and the United States.

For more information on how to make cash or equipment donations to TSTC, contact The TSTC Foundation at 254-867-3900.

Registration continues for Fall Semester. For more information log on to tstc.edu.