TSTC Electrical Construction Program Gives Students Bright Futures

(WACO) – Francisco Santos of Houston already knows where he wants to start his electrical construction career.

“Waco is growing,” said Santos, 22, a student at Texas State Technical College. “I want to stay here and grow with the city. There are new buildings that need to be constructed and old buildings that need attention.”

Santos, a 2014 graduate of Mirabeau B. Lamar High School in Houston’s Upper Kirby district, is scheduled to graduate in August from TSTC with an Electrical Construction certificate. In a recent lab for the Residential Wiring class, Santos said the hands-on lessons he receives help him figure out what mistakes not to make.

Jobs for electricians are expected to increase by more than 59,000 at least through 2026, with a lot contingent on the development of alternative power, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Texas had more than 57,000 electricians in 2016, according to recent data from the federal agency. The Woodlands – Houston – Sugar Land area had the most concentrated number of electricians in Texas with more than 18,000. The Waco area had more than 600 electricians.

Students can earn a certificate in Electrical Construction in TSTC’s Building Construction Technology program. Some students choose to earn the certificate in combination with the Associate of Applied Science degree in Solar Energy Technology or Energy Efficiency Specialist certificate. Students who earn all three earn what is known as the program’s “triple crown.”

Starting this semester, Electrical Construction students can earn hours toward their journeyman license while attending TSTC.

“Students are required to have 8,000 on-the-job training hours under a master electrician before they can qualify to sit for their journeyman exam,” said Letha Novosad, the lead instructor in the Building Construction Technology program, an electrical construction instructor and a master electrician in Waco.

Joe Luna, 55, of Temple is using some of the helicopter mechanic and troubleshooting skills he learned while in the U.S. Army for 15 years to pursue the Electrical Construction certificate. After graduation, he wants to pursue a Plumbing and Pipefitting Technology certificate at TSTC.

“I feel like the oldest in the class, but everyone has something to bring to the table,” Luna said. “All of us complement each other.”

TSTC’s Electrical Construction students wear red shirts when in classes. The program has about 25 students this semester.

“The students have to wear uniforms in business, so we are getting them used to it,” said Earl Leonard, statewide department chair for Building Construction Technology at TSTC. “We have electrical contractors calling us all the time. There are a lot of job opportunities.”

Novosad said Nemmer Electric and Leland Collier Electric, both in Waco, and Walker Engineering, which has locations in Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, have hired TSTC graduates in the past.

Corey Morgan, 29, of Lacy Lakeview graduated from TSTC in 2013 with an Electrical Construction certificate. He chose to pursue the electric field because of his grandfather who was a journeyman electrician. After graduation, Morgan was hired at MP Electric in Waco and is an apprentice electrician doing industrial and residential work.

Morgan, a 2007 graduate of Connally High School, said he wired his first receptacle when he was 5 years old.

“I don’t mind the risks associated with it and the hard work,” he said. “You have to take pride in this work. When we take conduit and bend it, it is artwork.”

Morgan said the National Electrical Code guides the work being done across the country.

“That is the big thing with electricians that people don’t understand,” he said. “People can wire a receptacle, but the question is: Did you do it safe and correctly?”

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Program Receives Truck Donation

(RED OAK) – The Diesel Equipment Technology program at Texas State Technical College in North Texas recently received a 2009 Freightliner Cascadia truck valued at $10,000.

The donation was made by the south Dallas location of Premier Truck Group. Jeff Wicks, assistant service manager, said the donation was made because of a customer who gave the truck’s title to the business after he could not pay for repairs.

“We ended up making the repairs and getting it running and then donating,” Wicks said. “We knew TSTC would appreciate it and that it would be a training tool relevant to what we do with the technology that is applicable for what we do. The students could learn on something that could help them.”

TSTC Provost Marcus Balch said the heavy vehicle would be used for lessons in electronics, brake systems and other diesel components. The truck will be functional but remain in the program’s lab.

“The donation is a good thing for TSTC in North Texas because as a new program, there are just some pieces of equipment that we do not have yet,” Balch said. “By this company stepping up to provide this, it is going to allow us to grow our program and grow our labs so that we have an opportunity to continue to provide equipment that is fresh out of the box.”

Premier Truck Group has more than 70 technicians, warranty personnel, foremen and delivery drivers who maintain and troubleshoot heavy commercial vehicles.

TSTC in North Texas students can earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Diesel Equipment Technology – Heavy Truck Specialization or a certificate in Diesel Equipment Technology – Heavy Truck, among others.

Diesel Equipment Technology is one of the largest programs on campus with about 50 students.

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.

Student Success Profile – Jesse Lopez

(HARLINGEN) – Jesse LopezHarlingen native Jesse Lopez is an Education and Training student at Texas State Technical College. He expects to graduate with his associate degree in Spring 2021.

The 19-year-old is also active on campus as a Student Government Association (SGA) Senator for Education and Humanities and will be running for SGA Treasurer in the upcoming election.

When Lopez is not on campus, he can be found teaching music and singing with his church choir.

What are your plans after you graduate?

After I graduate I plan on transferring to Texas A&M – Kingsville through TSTC’s University Center and pursue a bachelor’s degree in education, specializing in music.

What’s your dream job?

My dream job in to become an elementary music teacher here in the Rio Grande Valley. I hope to inspire children to pursue music if that is their passion and to create musicians and artists for our area.

What has been your greatest accomplishment while at TSTC?

My greatest accomplishment so far at TSTC has been becoming a senator of the SGA. It has allowed me to get out of my comfort zone, meet new people and help make a difference.

What greatest lesson have you learned about yourself or life?

The greatest lesson I have learned is to never say no. Always try something new and help people out. You never know what you’re going to learn or who you’re going to meet.

Who at TSTC has had the most influence on your success?

The people who have had the most influence on my success are the SGA officers: President Isela Rodriguez, Vice President Thalia Gutierrez and Secretary Miguel Zamarripa. Last but not least, is TSTC Student Life Coordinator Belinda Palomino. They are all examples of great leaders and they have showed me what it takes to be one and have helped me grow as a student and person.

What is your advice for future TSTC students?

My advice for future TSTC students is to be outgoing and active on campus. This is important because you need to have fun and enjoy college. It will make all the difference in your college experience.

 

TSTC hosts local artist exhibit

(HARLINGEN) – With a notepad, pen and camera in hand, Texas State Technical College Digital Media Design student Robert Lopez walked around the J. Gilbert Leal Learning Resource Center (LRC) admiring paintings of vivid color and textures by Macarena Pena, also known as Ma K Art, during Thursday’s artist meet and greet.

“As a designer, artists like Macarena and events like this inspire my work and creativity,” he said. “Everything from the colors and textures are of great significance for me.”

Lopez and nearly 30 other visitors to the exhibit celebrated the artist and her works titled, “Sunday at Chapultepec” and “Remembering Mexico.”

The artist and McAllen native became blind in 1999 at the age of 30 after a sudden illness about a year before losing her sight, Pena had begun trying her hand at art and revived her artistic abilities as a blind artist in 2015 when she became co-founder of Visual Challenges Art.Macarena Pena at TSTC's Artist Meet and Greet

Pena told students and community members that her memories have turned into dimensional shapes and there is no more darkness because of art and painting.

“It is not what I can do, but what I can inspire others to do that make the difference in my art,” Pena said.

Pena uses a painting form unique to her circumstance with the help of her husband and family. Her art begins with a sketch that is then outlined with a glue gun allowing the artist to feel her canvas and shapes when she paints with her hands.

“I tell everyone that my eyes are blind, but my mind and my brain are not,” said Pena. “I choose designs and colors based on memories from when I could see.”

All of Pena’s art can be touched by spectators. She said she will never put a “Do Not Touch” sign next her art.

“My main purpose with my art is to open doors to people who are visually impaired,” she said. “The texture I use opens vision.”

For nearly a decade, LRC Director Nancy Hendricks, has hosted artists like Pena and their exhibits as a way to expose students to the culture of art and those that contribute to it.

“I do this because I love art and the shows are a great way to engage our students and the community,” said Hendricks. “It’s a fun way to get our students involved and show off our campus.”

Hendricks said Pena came recommended and when she spoke to her and heard her story and journey she knew this was the exhibit she needed to display this year.

“Macarena is a fantastic person and artist,” said Hendricks. “She is an inspiration to many and I want our students to see that no matter what, you can be successful. And we are extremely grateful that Macarena’s work is in our library.”

As for Lopez, he said, “It was great getting to meet Macarena and talking to her about her inspirations for her work. I’m glad that TSTC gives us opportunities like this that we may not get otherwise.”

Pena’s art will be displayed through April 28 at the TSTC LRC. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

For more information on library resources or art shows call 956-364-4708.

TSTC Students Advance to SkillsUSA State Competition

(HARLINGEN) – For the first time in more than a decade, Education and Training students from Texas State Technical College participated in the recent SkillsUSA competition hosted at the college and are headed to state competitions in April.

“We are so excited and proud of our students,” said Education and Training Lead Instructor Myriam Aguila. “They have worked so hard and deserve this recognition. They have had quite the experience.”

SkillsUSA is a professional organization teaching technical, academic and employability skills that help high school and college students pursue successful careers. Members build these skills through student-led team meetings, contests, leadership conferences and other activities.Education and Training Winners

Education category contestants Mariela Aguirre and Miguel Hernandez both tied for first place, and Samantha Gutierrez received second place in the recent competition.

The Education and Training students earned their spot by creating individual lesson plans and applying them to TSTC’s NINOS Head Start class.

Aguirre, who is the mother of a three year old, created a lesson plan titled, “The Life Cycle of a Frog,” and said she felt more prepared than ever because of her experience with children. She is also a former nanny.

This was her first time competing with SkillsUSA.

“I prepared by testing the material on my son and assessing his reactions,” she said. “The courses I’m taking here at TSTC also played a huge role in my preparation. I was confident going in because of them.”

Each student had the opportunity to prepare their lessons plans beforehand. Hernandez created a lesson plan focused on the seasons of the year, while Gutierrez’s lesson concentrated on objects that sink or float.

Hernandez, who hopes to someday become a principal, created a dance for the children so they could easily identify and remember the seasons.

“My mom inspired my lesson plan with her Zumba,” he said with a laugh. “The children really enjoyed it and were engaged and by the end of it they were able to identify all four seasons,” he added proudly.

All three students agree that competing with each other can be intimidating, especially because they have become close in their SkillsUSA journey, but their goal is to help each other bring home the gold and earn a spot at nationals.

“We may not all be able to go to nationals, but hopefully at least one of us makes it,” said Gutierrez. “Our goal is to represent TSTC and our program well, gain experience and learn from each other.”

Aguirre, Hernandez and Gutierrez will be joining 75 other winners at the SkillsUSA state competition.

More than 3,000 Rio Grande Valley high school students competed as well.Welding Technology SkillsUSA coompetitor

“Having this many students advance to state is a testament to our teaching and training,” said Isaac Gonzalez, TSTC SkillsUSA Campus Coordinator and Lead Precision Manufacturing Technology and Welding instructor. “I’m so proud of how far our student have come and my hope for them is that they earn a spot at nationals. These students are the cream of the crop.”

Other areas of competition included technology, health and hospitality industries such as HVAC, Drafting and Design, Automotive, Nursing, Culinary and Mechatronics, where students are working to defend a national gold.

“SkillsUSA is a great experience for our students and allows them to network with others in their industries and makes them more competitive when applying for jobs,” said Gonzalez.

“SkillsUSA helps our students become better leaders, team players and professionals.”

Students will compete at the SkillsUSA state competition on April 12 and 13 at TSTC in Waco and SkillsUSA national competition will be held in Louisville, Kentucky on June 25 – 29.

For more information on the programs offered at TSTC, visit tstc.edu.

TSTC Names Rick Denbow Provost

(WEST TEXAS) – Texas State Technical College has named Rick Denbow as the Provost over its four West Texas campuses. Denbow served as Interim Provost for the campuses since May.

Along with functioning as Interim Provost, Denbow was also the Senior Field Development Officer for The TSTC Foundation, an instrumental role in supporting the efforts of TSTC’s new technology center in Abilene. Denbow began working for TSTC in 2009 as the director of the Welding and Transportation Technology Division.

Denbow said he is honored to have been selected.

“It’s a lot of responsibility, but I’m very excited also,” he said. “In my tenure with TSTC, I’ve spent my time in West Texas working with the four campuses and I’ve come to know the programs and the faculty and staff. I’m really excited about going forward. Some of the things the college has done, like the most recent reorganization, have really positioned us to be successful.”

The West Texas community is one of Denbow’s favorite things about his job.

“The communities at each of the four locations are very supportive of TSTC and what we’re trying to do, and that makes our job a little bit easier,” he said. “Also, the faculty and staff are just awesome. They’re always willing to go that extra mile and I’m honored to be able to work with them.”

Denbow has lofty goals for TSTC in West Texas.

“As the Chancellor stated in an email to employees a few weeks back, there’s one word and that’s growth,” Denbow said. “That can have different meanings depending on the campus. Is it growing enrollment? Is it growing capacity? Is it growing placement? I would submit it’s all of the above. Each campus in West Texas is unique and one of my goals is to make sure we grow at each of our four campuses.”

TSTC Vice Chancellor & Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Kilgore said he is excited to welcome Denbow in the role.

“Through his experiences, Rick has a really good sense of the communities and needs of industry in the West Texas Region,” Kilgore said.

Denbow graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Texas at Austin.

“I come from the business world,” Denbow said. “With Chancellor Reeser’s focus on making TSTC a little more entrepreneurial, a little more business-like, that fits very well with my background. I think I can add value to the West Texas campuses in the provost role.”

Denbow added that TSTC’s new Industrial Technology Center in Abilene is ahead of the construction schedule. They hope to start moving employees in on Aug. 1, and classes will begin in the building in the fall. Denbow says the campus signifies a new beginning for TSTC in Abilene.

“That campus, the design and how it’s laid out, the Abilene community has never seen anything like that from TSTC,” he said. “The Abilene campus has been housed in an old hospital and we didn’t really have an opportunity to put any heavy equipment and industrial trades in there. This is a new start.”

For more information on Texas State Technical College, visit tstc.edu.

Annual TSTC North Texas Open House a Success

(RED OAK) – Texas State Technical College in North Texas held its annual open house Friday, opening its campus for tours and to meet with faculty. The event, designed for prospective students who want to learn more about the college, hosted more than 300 visitors.

Shannon Gaspard, TSTC director of Student Recruitment, said the event was successful.

“We’ve doubled our attendance from last year, which is great,” Gaspard said. “This year, we also partnered with Region 10 and Region 11 and we worked with them to get the word out about our event to students. It worked out a lot, and we now have recognition in a lot of those different counties with the schools.”

Gaspard said it’s also a win for the instructors.

“Now you have students who are learning about different programs,” she said. “We have a group who’d never heard of welding and had never been in a welding lab, but they’re racing to welding now because they’re interested in learning more about it, taking a look at the equipment and just seeing the different cool things that are made from like a simple cutting machine.”

Renvy Smith, a teacher from LEAP Academy in Midlothian, said the school only brought a small group, but they had a good time.

“They had an idea of what areas they were interested in, so we visited those,” Smith said. “The students did enjoy those areas.”

John Tanner, CTE teacher at Cleburne’s Team School, brought about 20 students to the event. He said they also enjoyed it.

“The students had a good time,” he said. “I think they learned a lot.”

All of TSTC’s programs participated in the event.

“The programs were doing a sort of show-and-tell,” Gaspard said. “So they’re showing the equipment and tools, but they’re also doing different types of competitions in their labs. Industrial Maintenance had cranes and were showing the students how the hydraulics and all these different parts equal out to what you do in the field. They’re doing that while moving building blocks, and whoever stacks them the tallest wins.”

Gaspard said one of the most popular sessions of the day was the “TSTC Experience.”

“That was the session where students could learn more about what we offer, the programs and how to apply,” she said. “We were at capacity every session.”

Another aspect the students loved was the game room.

“We had some fun games, like one where you have to move a cookie from your forehead into your mouth without using your hands,” Gaspard said. “Students loved it!”

TSTC will begin registering students for the summer and fall semesters on Monday, April 2. For more information on the college, visit tstc.edu.

TSTC Alumni Part of SpaceX Rocket Project

(WACO) – The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launched in early February included a little touch of Texas State Technical College.

TSTC alumni Ryan Allen, 29, of Whitney and Russell Kent, 29, of Robinson were among several SpaceX employees who built the rocket that the private company has called the most powerful operational rocket in the world.

Kent and Allen are welders and have worked at SpaceX for four years. The men are based at SpaceX’s rocket development facility in McGregor but also travel to the company’s other facilities to work.

Allen, Kent and other co-workers in McGregor watched SpaceX’s live feed of Falcon Heavy’s launch on Feb. 6 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“It really put it all in perspective in what a group of people can accomplish,” Kent said. “I found myself thinking that this is what it must have been like in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I tell people all the time SpaceX is making space cool again. SpaceX is bringing it back with people dreaming about being an astronaut again and working in the space industry.”

Kent graduated in 2007 from Hubbard High School in Hill County. His family’s Hubbard donut business is where Kent, then a high school student, first learned about TSTC.

“A customer came in one day and told my mom that I should do the welding program in Waco,” he said. “The rest is history. The donut thing was not for me – it is a third-generation business. I love it and it’s my family tradition. But, I wanted to do something different but I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

Kent said he naturally took to welding. He spent a few years doing power plant maintenance before joining SpaceX.

“I strive to be the best at welding that I can be,” Kent said. “I didn’t want to fall in with the crowd. I want to be a little bit different. Don’t be scared to be different.”

Allen is a graduate of Bynum High School in Hill County.

Allen and Kent both graduated from TSTC in 2009 with Associate of Applied Science degrees in Welding Technology from TSTC.

Cody Musia, lead instructor in TSTC’s Welding Technology program in Waco, said Kent and Allen’s work is an example of being able to do welding project work close to home.

“There is a broad variety of things that can be done in welding, including structural or X-ray-quality welding,” Musia said. “There is clean-room welding, which a lot of females are better at. There is also TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding, along with robotics and automation. There are different places in the world for the welders. It’s all about the type of lifestyle you want to live.”

Carson Pearce, TSTC’s statewide transportation division director, said TSTC alumni are working to help advance space travel in other ways.

“We currently have three graduates working with Virgin Galactic on the first commercial spacecraft, Spaceship II,” Pearce said. “SpaceX has hired several graduates as well. Another huge growth area is commercial aviation. The airlines are begging us for pilots, mechanics, dispatchers and avionics technicians. The Federal Aviation Administration is hiring our graduates as they finish their air traffic control classes, and at the FAA Academy, they are almost always in the top 10 percent of the class.”

For more information on SpaceX, go to spacex.com.

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.

 

Prospective Students Attend TSTC Open House

(BRECKENRIDGE) – Texas State Technical College in Breckenridge hosted more than 400 high school students for Open House on Friday, March 2.

The visitors were treated to talks with instructors in TSTC programs in Chemical Dependency Counseling, Environmental Technology, Vocational Nursing and Welding Technology. Faculty members from TSTC in Abilene, Brownwood and Sweetwater also attended to talk about some of their programs.

“I’m ecstatic at the turnout,” TSTC in Breckenridge Executive Director Debbie Karl said. “This was the largest open house for a TSTC campus in West Texas ever. I wanted the students to learn more about TSTC and what we offer.”

Students who visited Environmental Technology tried on hazmat suits and saw a rat play in a maze. Those who stopped by the table staffed by Culinary Arts, which is offered in Abilene, sampled food.

Vocational Nursing students showed visitors how simulated patient mannequins function. Jenny Wingate, a program instructor, said the pregnancy baby suit was popular with students.

“I hope it sparks their interest in nursing,” she said about the event.

Annette Collins, veteran programs officer for TSTC in Abilene, Breckenridge, Brownwood and Sweetwater, told students they could be eligible for education benefits if their parents, or any other relatives who they have lived with and been raised by for at least five years, served in the military.

Some of the school districts that sent students to the event include Albany, Boyd, Breckenridge, Eastland, Ranger and Throckmorton.

Zachary Canada, 17, a senior at Olney High School in Young County, saw the Breckenridge campus for the first time at the event.

“I want to check out Wind Energy Technology and see what they have,” Canada said. “I have family that are in it. They said it was a good thing to look at.”

All of Breckenridge High School’s students walked to the campus at scheduled times throughout the morning to visit the event.

“We are always talking about what you are going to do,” Breckenridge High School Principal Bryan Dieterich said. “We want the students to know every opportunity.”

Dieterich said the high school was fortunate to have TSTC so close for students to visit.

“A lot of schools our size don’t have this opportunity,” he said.

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.

 

Local high school students experience TSTC

(FORT BEND) – From robot races to dressing up in HAZMAT suits, local high school juniors and seniors had the opportunity to experience the newest Texas State Technical College programs during the first Program Highlight Day.

TSTC recently hosted approximately 70 students from KIPP Generations Collegiate and Palacios High School, both schools nearly an hour away.

“This was a first-time event for us and we couldn’t be more excited about its success,” said Marigold Sagrado, TSTC student recruitment coordinator. “It was a great opportunity to showcase our campus and highlight our programs.”

Students were provided a tour of the Brazos Center, the newest building at TSTC’s Fort Bend County campus. They were also introduced to the four newest programs housed in the building: Environmental Technology – Compliance Specialization, Electrical Power and Controls Technology, Electrical Lineworker Technology and Robotics Technology.

“The goal behind this event is to expose students to the programs we offer and can lead to high-paying jobs,” said Sagrado. “These programs impact the areas that are essential to our daily lives and we need to fill the skills gap.”

Faculty and current students from TSTC’s newest programs offered hands-on activities or demonstrations for the juniors and seniors including racing robots, dressing up in HAZMAT suits and respirators and watching electricity safety and electrical lineworker climbing demonstrations.

For many students like junior Mario Arguello from Kipp Generations Collegiate, this was the best part of the day.

“I’m thinking of pursuing robotics at TSTC so this was definitely my favorite part,” said the 17-year-old. “I’ve always had an interest in robots so I was most excited about touring this program.”

When Arguello graduates in 2019, he said he hopes to attend TSTC and pursue an associate degree in Robotics Technology.

“After learning about the program and all of the career possibilities, I feel this is the right place for me.”

Sagrado said she was happy to see the students engaged in all of the activities and to hear the many positive responses she received.“Overall, this event was a success,” she said. “The students really enjoyed the tours and program demonstrations. Many even expressed their interest and excitement about enrolling.”

She added that she is looking forward to many more events like Program Highlight Day that give her and her team the opportunity of teaching the community what TSTC has to offer.

Registration for the Summer and Fall Semesters begins April 2.

For more information or to apply and register, visit tstc.edu.