(WACO, Texas)  – When Nancy Talley graduated from Texas State Technical College in August, she learned she was the recipient of a special award: the Mike Torres Jr. Leadership Award. 

Talley, of Waco, worked in technology sales for several years and took a couple of courses along the way at a four-year university. She then decided to pursue work that was more hands-on, so she went into bartending.

“It got monotonous,” Talley said. “I needed something that challenged my mind and helped me think. I wanted to get more settled, more into a routine.”

Talley began classes at TSTC’s Waco campus in fall 2018. She graduated in August with associate degrees in Environmental Technology – Compliance and Occupational Safety Compliance Technology.

“It is important that we protect people and our environment so others can have jobs and they can go to work and come home safely to be with their families,” she said. “We can provide a better place on Earth for everyone to live.”

Talley said some of the work she enjoyed in her programs took place in her Site Assessment and Safety Training Presentation Techniques courses. She also did an internship at ARC Abatement Inc. in Waco, where she learned about asbestos and lead abatement. One of the projects Talley worked on was creating a condensed version of the company’s safety guidelines for workers to use in the field.

Talley was nominated for the Torres award by Lester Bowers, TSTC’s statewide chair of the Environmental Technology department.

“Nancy is a well-disciplined, industrious student with a pleasant personality,” Bowers said in his award nomination letter. “Not only was she interested in and motivated to learn the material, but she also put great work into assimilating it into her own experience and developing her own ideas about each environmental topic that we discussed.”

The Mike Torres Jr. Leadership Award is given to honor the memory of Waco native Mike Torres Jr., who taught in TSTC’s Digital Media and Design program until his death in 2005. Torres graduated from Reicher High School and TSTC’s Commercial Art Advertising and Integrated Digital Image program, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald. 

The award signifies qualities that Torres was known for: courage, honesty and integrity. The award is given each semester at commencement to a candidate for graduation who is nominated by faculty or staff members. The award was first given in fall 2011, according to TSTC archival information.

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

(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus kicked off the new academic year on Monday.

TSTC students, faculty and staff are following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines in wearing masks, not gathering in groups, and sanitizing hands and work areas. All of this is being done due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I sincerely hope that everyone will greet your classmates back and extend a welcome and helping hand to those who are new,” said Patti Tate, TSTC’s interim provost. “When you are returning or new, you are off to an exciting start to learn and obtain skills and abilities to get you that great-paying job.”

Diesel Equipment Technology students noticed a big change, with engines being moved to a building that once housed the Solar Energy Technology program and tractor units moved into the main garage area.

David Mahood of Troy is studying for a Diesel Equipment Technology – Off-Highway Equipment Specialization certificate. He said he enjoys the hybrid format of his classes because he can better separate lab work from online lectures and quizzes.

“Nothing will stop us from graduating this fall,” Mahood said.

Kent Kahler, an instructor in TSTC’s Diesel Equipment Technology program, began as a lab assistant in 1977 and was later promoted to instructor. He said he is in his third generation of teaching students.

He said the first day of the fall semester never gets old to him.

“I still get excited about teaching,” Kahler said.

Tanner Vandeplas of Salado began his fourth semester in the Robotics Technology program on Monday. He is looking forward to taking the Robot Interfacing class this semester, which will be taught in a hybrid format. He said time management and consistent attendance are the keys to mastering hybrid classes.

Vanderplas is used to the first day of new semesters. He already has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electronics Technology from TSTC.

Parking was in ample supply at the John B. Connally Technology Center, the Student Services Center, and the Provence Graphic Communications Center. Some of TSTC’s programs have moved to an all-online format, eliminating the need for as many students, faculty and staff to be on campus.

Students saw mounds of dirt at the construction site for Griffith Hall, TSTC’s new dorm scheduled to open by August 2021. The dorm is being built between the Student Services Center and the Greta W. Watson Culinary Arts Center.

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

(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Welding Technology program has completed an expansion just in time for the start of the fall semester on Aug. 31.

Forty spacious welding booths have been built in an area once used by the Precision Machining Technology program. The welding area will be used by classes and also students pursuing an Occupational Skills Award, a new three-course plan that can be completed in one semester.

“We have more room in each booth and newer machines capable of all the welding processes,” said Carl Wilmeth, lead instructor in TSTC’s Welding Technology program. “You do not have to move around as much having to go to different sections. It makes it more economical for us timewise.” 

Fourteen grinding booths have been added in a small extension built at the Industrial Technology Center on campus. 

“We needed it because in the grinding area, since we added welding booths, we needed extra room for the material that we are grinding so we would not get sparks on the welding machine or inside it,” Wilmeth said.

Matthew Alarcon, a Welding Technology student from Italy in Ellis County, said he liked the new additions when he saw them on Thursday. He particularly liked the new lockers and the ventilation system for booths. And, he is eager to start the fall semester so he can take classes in metallurgy and automation.

The program will continue using a hybrid teaching format for the 2020-21 academic year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lectures and tests will be conducted online, and hands-on labs will be done at the Industrial Technology Center. Students must wear face coverings, maintain separation, sanitize their on-campus work areas and wash their hands. 

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

(WACO, Texas) -Students in Texas State Technical College’s Advanced Pastry Shop class in Waco presented their sweetest treats as part of a final exam on Thursday.

Students spent two days this week making multiple desserts of their choice. Students also had to turn in a portfolio of all their work for the semester, including product pricing, plating diagrams, recipes and other information.

Students took the class this semester in a hybrid format, with labs being done in-person and lectures and quizzes done online, per TSTC’s COVID-19 teaching plan.

“They (the students) persevered through the situation a lot of people would not have been able to,” said Michele Brown, lead instructor of TSTC’s Culinary Arts program.

Mikhaila Hoffman of College Station incorporated a Costa Rican theme for her desserts. The theme honors her father, who was born in the Central American nation and moved to the United States when he was seven.

“I did research, and my abuela (grandmother) does a lot of cooking,” Hoffman said.

Among the desserts she made was a brown sugar spice cake filled with dulce de leche.

Vickie Bradford of Corsicana used vanilla as her theme. And, she used one of her specialties for the final.

“I personally like the pound cake,” she said. “I get pound cake orders a lot at home.”

DeQuan Carter grew up in Barbados but now calls Waco home. He chose a French theme for his desserts.

“This was easy in planning ahead and setting up,” he said. “The hardest part was the action to make the items.”

He is taking away from the class more than a stack of recipes.

“I learned how to bake in general,” Carter said. “I learned to push past problems and fix them. And, I learned to have faith in myself.”

TSTC continues to follow mandatory guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including maintaining social distancing and wear face coverings at all times while on any TSTC campus. 

Registration for the fall semester continues. 

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

(WACO, Texas) – As doctors and nurses battle the COVID-19 pandemic, biomedical equipment technicians are alongside them keeping devices and machines functioning.

CardioQuip in College Station has two Texas State Technical College alumni encountering the most serious work they have done so far in their careers. David De La Hoya is a training associate and Noe Martinez is a training manager at the company.

The company’s equipment is used in the cardiovascular and respiratory therapy fields. The equipment includes mini-carts and cooler-heater systems.

“The maintenance and upkeep for medical equipment is very important and crucial,” De La Hoya said. “There is not a single device you can create that does not need upkeep or maintenance. It gives the technicians purpose knowing (that) potentially any biomedical device can save a life.”

Martinez said he and his co-workers are reminded that the equipment they work on is going to be connected to somebody.

“That could be someone close to you,” he said. “You cannot just go and work on a device and just think it is a piece of machinery. It is not. It is connected to someone, helping them get through their obstacle in life that unfortunately has been something negative like an illness or procedure. You always have to remember at the end of the day, what you are working on makes a difference.”

Martinez’s work involves coordinating and implementing training for technicians and overseas business suppliers. He and De La Hoya recently completed trainings by teleconference for Chinese and German counterparts.

“We have had to learn and adapt and overcome these obstacles that COVID-19 has brought up in front of our industry,” Martinez said. “We have learned about media equipment and software, and how best to use those applications to help the end users and customers learn how to use our devices.”

Service work on equipment must still be done in person. Martinez said having access to hospitals now means that additional steps must be taken. He said some hospitals require a negative COVID-19 test 48 hours before arrival to work on equipment, and there are more disinfecting and sanitizing protocols.

“We have to have technicians get tested or just have records of having negative tests prior to showing up to the facility,” Martinez said.

Martinez recounted a recent trip to the Northeast for an emergency device repair.

“It is a lot different than when I first started traveling,” he said. “The airport used to be very busy, and security lines used to be very long.  Now, airports are quiet, security lines are short, and there are more precautions and more social distancing.”

During the pandemic, De La Hoya has been to a hospital four times for training purposes.

“Noe and I are kind of like a home base, kind of like a call center, on call for the technicians due to the fact there are different time zones,” De La Hoya said. “We always have to watch out for the technicians. They go on their own schedule and may need service information throughout that time. Not only do we do training, but we are master technicians.”

De La Hoya joined CardioQuip shortly after graduating from TSTC‘s Waco campus in 2019. He earned associate degrees in Biomedical Equipment Technology and Medical Imaging Systems Technology Specialist. He started as a field service technician, traveling the country on work assignments. Now he works with new technicians to ease them into the company’s work.

“Once the training team feels like they have got a basic understanding of the unit, we take them out in the field,” De La Hoya said. “Either Noe or I will take them out, or a senior technician, and show them how to implement the knowledge and communicate in the field.”

De La Hoya said prospective students, who are either in high school or already in the workforce and need a change, do not necessarily have to go to a four-year university.

“TSTC can be a great stepping-stone to create opportunities in your career,” he said. “I believe technical colleges are underrated. You can make a great living going to a two-year school and be fine with that the rest of your life.”

De La Hoya grew up in Italy, Texas in Ellis County and is a graduate of Italy High School. He knew people who had gone to TSTC, but a recruiter who visited his agriculture class during his junior year made him think about his future.

“One thing that geared me toward TSTC is how affordable it is compared to other colleges in the area,” De La Hoya said. “I wanted to invest in myself.”

Martinez grew up in Fredericksburg and is a graduate of Fredericksburg High School. He became familiar with TSTC through a relative who graduated from the Automotive Technology program. Martinez graduated in 2017 with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Automotive Technology from TSTC’s Waco campus.

“All the knowledge I gained in the Automotive Technology program translated to the biomedical equipment field,” he said. “It wasn’t necessarily an easy transition. I did have to do my own self-educating to learn about specific things that were not in automotive technology education.”

Registration for the fall semester is underway.

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

(WACO, Texas) – A Texas State Technical College student has received a scholarship from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.

Rudolph Wagner of Killeen has been awarded the AAMI Foundation Michael J. Miller Scholarship. He is studying to earn associate degrees in Biomedical Equipment Technology and Medical Imaging Systems Technology Specialization. Wagner is scheduled to graduate in December.

Wagner will use his $3,000 scholarship to help pay for tuition. This fall, he will do a program-required internship at KEI Medical Imaging Services in Hutto.

“I am very excited,” he said. “Getting an internship is kind of hard with COVID-19, but I was able to reach out to an internship coordinator at the company.”

Wagner grew up with an interest in electronics. He graduated in 1993 from Killeen High School and studied pre-med at Prairie View A&M University. He later worked as a medical billing and coding specialist and did medical missionary work before coming to TSTC.

“I wanted something more,” he said. “I decided to go back to school. As soon as I saw the medical equipment, I knew that is what I wanted to do.”

One of the first people he met on campus was Terry Whitworth, an instructor in TSTC’s Biomedical Equipment Technology program.

“Rudolph is one of those students you love to have,” Whitworth said. “His enthusiasm is infectious. He is always upbeat and acts like he is having the time of his life learning. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be an excellent addition to any organization. It has been a pleasure having him in class this semester.”

Wagner said his favorite classes were AC Circuits, DC Circuits and Shop Skills for BET Technician.

“Had I known about this years ago, I would have gone to TSTC,” he said. “I like just learning how the equipment works and the electronics. I like the small components and enjoy how things are put together.”

Wagner wants to study health care technology management in the future to progress in his career.

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