(HARLINGEN, Texas) – This summer more than 50 high school students from Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy counties have participated in the Migrant Academic Achievement Residential Summer (MAARS) program at Texas State Technical College.

MAARS is designed to meet the needs of high school migrant and seasonal farmworkers in pursuing higher education and to provide community service opportunities.

The six-week program is for rising juniors and seniors, who are selected by their school counselors. It assists the students in recovering class credit or helps them accelerate their anticipated course load at their high school.

Students reside on campus during the summer and are placed into technical programs offered at TSTC such as Precision Machining Technology, Auto Collision and Management Technology, and Mechatronics, which allows them to explore postsecondary education as well as career possibilities.

Throughout the MAARS program, students also have the opportunity to hear from TSTC representatives from Recruitment, Housing, Student Life and Career Services, along with professionals in law enforcement, marketing and entrepreneurship. They also complete community service hours at the Ronald McDonald House, Harlingen Recycling Center or the RGV Food Bank.

Upon successful completion of MAARS, students receive two high school credits and a $1,200 stipend.

(HARLINGEN, Texas) – From ambulances and sirens to a classroom setting, Crystal Espinoza is Texas State Technical College’s newest Emergency Medical Services instructor.

Completing her sixth week on campus, the 32-year-old said this is a dream come true.

“Since stepping foot into my paramedic class, I knew I wanted to teach,” said the McAllen native. “Watching the way my instructors worked and how they helped us understand even the hardest of concepts was my inspiration.”

Espinoza earned an Emergency Medical Technology Associate of Applied Science degree from a McAllen college and has worked in the field for six years.

Before arriving at TSTC, she worked as an emergency medical technician with Hidalgo County EMS in Edinburg for three years, then as a paramedic with Med-Care EMS in McAllen.

She said many have asked her what motivated her to enter such a demanding health care field, and her answer is simple: compassion.

“I was in a major car accident several years back, and it was one of my scariest moments,” she said. “I was panicking, and the paramedic that took care of me was so calm and collected. He was patient, understanding and calmed me down. From then on I knew I wanted to be someone’s calm in their storm.”

Espinoza calls her accident a blessing in disguise because before that day she had no clear path in life, and it gave her purpose.

“At the end of the day, this career is about helping people. And for me, that’s rewarding,” said Espinoza.

Now, at TSTC, her opportunity to help others continues.

Espinoza said her goal is to incorporate everything she has learned and her experiences from the field into the classroom.

“I have been lucky to have worked with some of the most seasoned paramedics in the field,” she said. “These are the ones that have taught me a lot of what I know. And now I’m excited to pass that knowledge along to my students.”

She said her goal is to produce skilled students who are ready to hit the ground running when they enter the field.

“Our goal is to get them trained, certified and employed with compassion and passion for this line of work,” said Espinoza. “Not just anyone can do it. It takes a special person. On top of that, it takes a lifelong learner because every day is a new day of learning.”

The fact that there is always something new to learn and always room for improvement keeps Espinoza moving forward.

“I have found my dream job, but I’m not stopping here,” she said. “There’s room for growth and opportunity of advancement here at TSTC.”

Students who enroll in TSTC’s EMS program can earn either an associate degree or a certificate as an emergency medical services paramedic or a certificate as an advanced emergency medical technician, with the skills needed to treat and assess patients at the scene and en route to a hospital.

Information sessions are hosted every Tuesday at 2 p.m. for those interested in the program.

The deadline to register for fall 2019 is August 23. The first day of classes is August 26.

To attend a session or for more information, call 956-364-4741 or visit tstc.edu.

(HARLINGEN, Texas) – The state and national shortage of registered nurses is increasing, with 203,000 job openings projected nationally through 2026, according to onetonline.org. And the Dallas Observer recently reported that Texas will have the second-largest shortage in the country.

The associate degree program in nursing at Texas State Technical College, with its 100 percent job placement rate, is helping to fill that gap for the Rio Grande Valley region and the state.

TSTC’s Director of Nursing Shirley Byrd said most of the program’s grads are hired before they even graduate, with an average starting salary of $35 an hour.

The program, which debuted in 2017, will see its second graduating class this August. Byrd said she is excited to see the program continue to grow, and she explained what a student can expect when they are accepted into the program.

What is the length of the program?

The associate degree in nursing at TSTC is a three-semester or one-year program. To apply for acceptance into the program, a person must already be a licensed vocational nurse (LVN).

What can a student expect when they graduate?

When a student successfully completes the program, they will receive an associate degree and be eligible to sit for the National Council Licensure Exam to receive their license in nursing and be able to work.

What skills do you learn in the registered nursing program?

Students entering the program will already have learned the foundation of nursing as a vocational nursing student, so as a registered nursing student they will learn advanced critical care skills, such as critical care nursing, emergency room nursing, and IV therapy. These skills and more will allow them to become skilled and professional nurses who will find success in the field.

What types of technology are used to teach these skills?

We use advanced technologies such as resource books and assessment software, Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) test reviews and progression software, and simulated labs equipped with mannequins that can be programmed to mimic a real-world scenario that nursing students must respond to.

How do these skills prepare a student for the workforce?

By learning these skills in the classroom, nursing students can then apply them and be better equipped for their clinical and hospital rotations that progress from bedside care to advanced critical care. Student rotations are in areas such as medical, surgical, obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry, and emergency rooms.

What kinds of positions can a graduate from this program obtain, and where can they work?

The program’s two largest placement partners are Valley Baptist Medical Center and Harlingen Medical Center, but students have also been placed in local doctor clinics, home health companies, nursing homes, day surgery clinics, and schools.

(HARLINGEN, Texas) – This summer more than 60 Rio Grande Valley students from kindergarten to third grade participated in Texas State Technical College’s Challenger Learning Center’s exciting new Atomnaut Academy. This summer program was developed show children that they are never too young to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs.

The Atomnaut Academy is an interactive, hands-on, STEM-based program that offers different activities to students based on their grade level. Through project-based learning, students are able to perform tasks that help to reinforce concepts they are learning about during the school year.

This summer children were able to participate in projects that included the creation of robotic hands and edible rovers, a look into the evolution of launchers, a crime scene investigation activity that required students to solve an attempted crime in the Challenger’s international space station simulator, and Challenger Rendezvous comet mission.

(HARLINGEN, Texas) – Cyber Security professionals protect the most important and most private information. From financial institutions and the federal government to fortune 500 companies, their need for cyber security professionals is increasing.

According to website cyberseek.org, there is a dangerous shortage of cybersecurity workers with more than 100,000 job openings, with about 24,000 of those jobs available in Texas.

TSTC Cyber Security lead instructor Cesar Ibarra said the supply of skilled cybersecurity workers is low in Texas and as a Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency Center of Excellence, one of the few in the state, they are working to fill the demand and meet industry need.

Ibarra added that TSTC Cyber Security has a 97 percent job placement and explains what instructors do within the program to provide this success for its students.

What is the length of the program?

Cyber Security is a two-year program.

What certificates and/or associate degrees are offered?

When a student successfully completes the program’s courses they will earn an Associate of Applied Science in Cyber Security.

What skills do you learn in Cyber Security?

In Cyber Security students will learn technical skills such as network design, security assessment, network operation and maintenance, network analysis and security provisions. In addition, students will also learn soft skills important to recruiters and companies such as teamwork, communication skills and customer service. Cyber Security instructor’s ultimate goal is to help students gain confidence in their skills.

What type of technology is used to teach these skills?

Students in Cyber Security will have access to five labs equipped with industry standard equipment that resembles security operation centers with servers and artificial intelligence. Student will also be able to use technologies that follow current trends in cybersecurity.

How do these skills prepare a student for the workforce?

In Cyber Security students will learn the skills needed to hit the ground running when they enter the workforce. The program brings industry training and experience into the classroom through hands-on training and learning outcomes that correspond to industry standards.

What kind of positions can a graduate from this program obtain and where can they work?

Graduates from this program have an array of options from small to medium businesses, financial and education institutions to federal, state and local government and Fortune 100 to 500 companies and in Texas, depending on the city, a starting salary can range from $25,000 to $45,000 a year.

(HARLINGEN, Texas) – It was 1991 when Ester Bodnar began her career at Texas State Technical State College as a work study employee, never imagining it would be a place she still calls home 30 years later.

Bodnar was recently recognized for her three decades of service to the college during TSTC’s Employee Appreciation Day event recently hosted at Victor Park in Harlingen.

“It’s like they say; time really does fly when you’re having fun,” said the 46-year-old. “I had no clue what I wanted to do or be when I enrolled at TSTC. All I knew was the importance of education and I was fortunate enough to learn and find my career at the same place.”

In 1991, Bodnar earned an associate degree in Automated Office Technology, when TSTC was Texas State Technical Institute.

While in school she worked as a work study for the Business Office, but upon graduating earned a full-time position as a cashier.

“Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with various departments within the college,” she said. “TSTC has always given me the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. They have helped me take leaps of faith within my career.”

Through the years Bodnar has served as the secretary for the Public Information Office, which is now Communication and Creative Services; senior secretary for the President’s Office, now Provost Office; TSTC system analyst; assistant director for what used to be Institutional Effectiveness and Research and finally, her current role as an application administrator for the Office of Technology (OIT).

“Technology is constantly changing and I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to witness this from different perspectives,” said Bodnar. “I never thought I would be here 30 years later, but here I am, eating, breathing and sleeping TSTC.”

And in 2012, Bodnar took another leap of faith and returned to college; this time earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

“It was a tough two years. What a challenge,” she said. “I was working full-time, had a family at home and going to school, but I was determined and focused on finishing and that opened more doors for me here at TSTC.”

Bodnar said that among all of the things she loves about working for TSTC, her two favorite things are the opportunities TSTC gives its employees to personally and professionally advance, and the family she has created with the many colleagues she has had the chance to work with over the years

“TSTC prides itself on being a great place to work and it really has been,” said Bodnar. “I’ve been fortunate to work with people who have become mentors and have touched my life. I love that we all work toward one common goal and that is student success. No matter what department I’ve been with I’ve always been able to see the impact we make in someone’s life.”

As a person who was always encouraged as a child to go to college, she remains an advocate of higher education, and as an employee at TSTC she gets to have a part in promoting this importance 24/7.

“I’m a walking billboard for TSTC,” she said with a laugh. “TSTC has been a huge part of my success and that of my family’s, and I enjoy spreading that message around the community.”

In fact, Bodnar’s husband, Dan, whom she met when she began working at TSTC, was recently recognized for his 35 years of service to TSTC and their oldest daughter is a student in the Chemical Technology program.

Their youngest, who is a junior in high school, also plans to enroll  at TSTC as an Architectural Design and Engineering Graphics student.

Bodnar, who has also received numerous awards throughout her time at TSTC including a Staff Excellence Award, a Presidential Award and President’s Coin, said she hopes to grow within the OIT department in the future, but no matter what, she will always be a large advocate for TSTC.

“I want to continue making an impact at this college for many more years to come, the way it has made an impact on my life,” she said. “TSTC is a big part of who I am and I’m proud of my years of service and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

To learn about job opportunities at TSTC, visit tstc.careers.