(WACO) – Texas State Technical College’s Faculty Senate honored the past and present at its first Retiree Gala on Saturday night at the Baylor Club.

Attendees dined and danced the evening away as they saw sweeping views of Waco. They also vied for prizes from some of TSTC’s technical programs and sang karaoke.

“The best way to live is to serve,” Adam Hutchison, TSTC’s provost, told the attendees.

Frances Worthey retired in 2016 having worked “40 years and three months” in student counseling, women’s resources and student life.

Worthey said when she began work in 1976 at TSTC there were about 100 women attending classes. She said it was a challenge educating the campus and community about the importance of women pursuing technical education.

“I enjoyed the special times at TSTC, like the holidays,” Worthey said. “We did so much for the students.”

Charles Reed worked for 25 years at TSTC and retired in 2007 as the vice president for student development. He said he started as a student recruiter and worked his way up at the technical college.

“I loved the students and the belief in them and putting them in the workforce,” Reed said.

Two TSTC students each were awarded a $500 scholarship at the event.

Cici Bunting, 19, a Culinary Arts student from La Porte, created an ornamental red, white and blue cake for the occasion and helped make the vanilla and chocolate cake served to attendees. She said she would use some of the scholarship money to buy a new Culinary Arts uniform.

“It came at a good time,” Bunting said.

Bunting represented TSTC at SkillsUSA’s 54th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference earlier this year in Kentucky. Her instructors cited her willingness to volunteer for program events as a reason she was deserving of the scholarship.

“I really like the science and how much you have to think,” Bunting said about her decision to pursue culinary arts.

Jesus Madrigal, 19, a Welding Technology student from Waco, also received a scholarship. He built a metal windmill in a contest for welding students to decide the scholarship recipient. His instructors said he has a bright career future.

“Being a college student, any amount of money helps,” Madrigal said. “It’s an honor to receive this.”

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

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College’s Automotive Technology SkillsUSA Club not only celebrated Wednesday its formation this semester, but also a financial contribution to rev up the program.

The TSTC Automotive Technology program announced a $30,000 gift from CarFest in San Antonio for participating in the two-day event in the spring. The money will be divided between TSTC’s Automotive Technology programs in Waco, Harlingen and Sweetwater for tools, scholarships and educational travel opportunities.

This year marked the third time TSTC in Waco has sent students to CarFest to repair vehicles and educate visitors about the Automotive Technology program.

Garrett Carlson, 21, of Llano was one of the Automotive Technology majors who made the trip to the Alamo City.

“It was very beneficial,” Carlson said. “There wasn’t anything that I didn’t learn from somebody. The most fun I had was looking at the classic cars.”

Carlson is one of the students taking a new Career Essentials class being offered this semester in the Automotive Technology program. The curriculum is from SkillsUSA and teaches students skills like decision-making, multicultural awareness, responsibility and leadership.

Chris Perales, a TSTC Automotive Technology instructor, will lead the class with the help of program instructors teaching specialized lessons. His inspiration for starting the class, which will double as training for state and national postsecondary SkillsUSA competitions, was the trip he made as part of the TSTC statewide delegation to SkillsUSA’s 54th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference in late June in Louisville, Kentucky.

“It reenergized me,” Perales said. “It motivated me to get them interested in SkillsUSA’s Career Essentials and the Chapter Excellence Program.”

The Automotive Technology SkillsUSA Club is open to all TSTC students. The group meets on Wednesdays at noon and two hours on Friday mornings for hands-on work.

Krystal Marshall, 19, is a Visual Communication Technology from Waco, is secretary in the Automotive Technology SkillsUSA Club. She joined so she could improve her leadership skills.

“I do want to learn about cars,” Marshall said. “I like showing people there are a lot of cool things going on in this club.”

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

(WACO) – Sheldon Burney points to his experiences at Eden High School in Concho County for influencing his career decision.

The Eden Independent School District’s information technology director guided Burney in learning how to maintain networks while still a high school student. Burney started fixing technical issues for teachers during class periods.

“It was a lot of fun doing that,” said Burney, a Texas State Technical College alumnus.

Burney has been working since August in Corsicana as a field PC/network technician at Switch Technologies. A lot of his work involves traveling to clients’ locations to diagnose technical problems.

“We support the information technology in companies in cities ranging from China Spring to Ennis,” he said.

Burney said weekly conference calls help to keep himself and his co-workers updated on hardware and software changes.

“We use an app called Slack, and we will send each other articles to read and webinars to show how technology is changing,” he said.

Texas has more than 32,600 network and computer systems administrators with an annual mean wage of more than $91,300, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Connie Standridge, Corsicana’s city manager, said there is a need for information technology workers in the city, especially for individualized services. Corsicana has more than 23,600 residents, according to 2017 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

“I think first you have to have good internet and high-speed access and good, affordable buildings and offices,” Standridge said. “A lot of people are now working from home.”

Burney was raised in Grape Creek and grew up during his middle and high school years in Eden. He graduated in 2013 from Eden High School.

He discovered TSTC from a friend who was studying Automotive Technology.

“I only wanted to attend a school that could further my experiences with technology hands-on instead of taking it from more of a logical standpoint,” Burney said.

Burney graduated from TSTC in 2015 with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Maintenance Technology and in 2018 with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Networking and Systems Administration.

“I never really expected to enjoy going to class that much because I jumped into college after high school,” Burney said. “TSTC has made me more confident with technology. They have been accommodating in helping me find a job.”

He plans to return in the spring to finish classes for associate degrees in Cyber Security and Cloud and Data Center Management.

“Sheldon is one of those students who proves that perseverance will win out,” said John Washington, a TSTC instructor in the Computer Networking and Systems Administration program. “His dedication to understanding the foundational skills required to work in the information technology field will ensure that his employer will be rewarded for giving him an opportunity to showcase what he has learned during his time at TSTC.”

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

(WACO) – Reid Terry, 18, of Robinson feels he has the winning combination.

Terry, a student at Texas State Technical College, is double majoring in Facilities Maintenance and Management and Industrial Maintenance. He is scheduled to graduate next spring and is already excited about his job prospects.

“I like knowing how things work,” Terry said. “You learn everything and anything. In maintenance, you are fixing lots of things. I don’t want to do the same thing daily. I want to do something on the facility side, maybe at a hospital.”

TSTC students can pursue a mechanical specialization in the Industrial Maintenance associate degree program and learn about heavy equipment rigging and movement, boiler maintenance and programmable logic controls.

Students like Terry have the option of earning the Associate of Applied Science degree in Facilities Maintenance and Management covering blueprint reading, building codes and inspections, and building maintenance management.

“The dual-degree students that will work in an industrial environment have an advantage over their peers that have not been through leadership training,” said Michael Hubbard, a TSTC Industrial Systems and Engineering Department instructional lead. “As a technician, troubleshooting, analysis and evaluation skills are paramount.”

Some of the fields in which graduates in Industrial Maintenance and Facilities Maintenance and Management can work include motor vehicle manufacturing and semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing.

Many of the  jobs are in Texas.

The number of electro-mechanical technicians is projected to be more than 14,000 and the number of industrial engineering technicians is expected to be more than 64,000 through 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs in the industrial maintenance and facilities maintenance fields are primarily in the Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio markets, along with the Killen, Temple and Waco areas.

Jerry Boroff, plant manager of Evans Enterprises Inc. in Abilene, Waco and Wichita Falls, said it is a challenge finding the right employees to fill available jobs. The company specializes in motor and wind turbine repair, along with crane and hoist maintenance.

Boroff said people interested in entering the industrial and facilities maintenance fields need to have curiosity.

“We do try to train all of the guys on our equipment on what they will be using in the field,” he said. “It’s the kind of industry that you make what you want to, if you want to put in the hours.”

Terry, along with his classmates Heath Brittain, 29, of Wortham and Joseph Irador, 28, of Houston, all gained work experience working this summer at Hawaiian Falls Water Park in Waco. They learned how much effort it takes to keep the water park functioning, from fixing pumps that produce waves to keeping air conditioning systems operating.

Brittain chose to major in Industrial Maintenance to pick up where he left off at TSTC before leaving a few years ago to work in the oil and gas fields. He wants the associate degree to get him higher pay when he returns to work full time.

“We are the industrial jack-of-all-trades,” Brittain said.

Irador is double majoring in Industrial Maintenance and Facilities Maintenance and Management to help make a career change. Irador was previously a mathematics teacher in the Houston Independent School District.

“I always took things apart as a child,” Irador said. “Since I’m in the programs, I have become more mechanically inclined.”

Irador, who graduates in December, is already interviewing for jobs.

“If I know what I’m doing, I’ll be the hardest worker there,” he said.

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

(WACO) – Executive Pastry Chef Michele Brown wants to bring the world to Culinary Arts majors at Texas State Technical College.

And she has the credentials to back up her vision.

Brown is a two-time member on regional Texas teams competing in the IKA/Culinary Olympics held every four years in Germany. She also provided support for Epicurean World Master Chefs Patrick Mitchell and Morris Salerno on the gold medal winning regional Texas team at the 2014 Expogast Villeroy and Boch Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

“Wow! A beautiful pastry chef, so talented,” said Salerno, owner and executive chef at BISTECCA –  An Italian Steakhouse in Highland Village. “Michele was a huge part of my international gold medal in Luxembourg in 2014. I will always be indebted to her.”

One of Brown’s goals as the new lead instructor in TSTC’s Culinary Arts program is to encourage students to do competitions not only to practice their skills, but to see what else is going on in the world.

Brown wants to see program faculty visit area schools to recruit students and increase interest in SkillsUSA. She also wants to get the program certified through the American Culinary Federation.

“The ACF is the gold standard in American cooking,” Brown said. “It means you have been tested with the hours you have put in and the competition work.”

Brown said having an ACF-certified program means TSTC can host certification testing. Also, Culinary Arts graduates can earn their organization certification, making them marketable to employers.

“Don’t burn any bridges,” Brown said. “I want the students to look around in their classroom, because those are the people they will see the rest of their lives, somewhere.”

Chef Gayle Van Sant, a TSTC Culinary Arts instructor, has known Brown for years through their involvement in the Texas Chefs Association.

“We are honored to have Chef Michele,” Van Sant said. “Our program is going to grow, both professionally and in the number of students. She will be instrumental in promoting pastry and baking. Our students will benefit greatly.”

Brown has had her eye on TSTC for a while. She met TSTC’s Chef Mark Schneider through the Texas Chefs Association and has kept up with the program’s growth.

“The caliber of students has really impressed me,” Brown said.

Brown said she enjoys teaching because she can take pride in students making their own discoveries.

“I like that moment the students get when they learn flour, eggs, sugar and yeast are not scary,” she said.

Brown grew up in northern Illinois. She said one of her first culinary experiences as a child was making chocolate chip cookies for her father. Her gift for the achievement was a mixer. Brown was involved in theater and worked in baking throughout high school.

She has an associate degree in pastry arts and an associate degree in Food Service Management from Johnson & Wales College (now Johnson & Wales University) in Providence, Rhode Island.

After college she worked at restaurants in New York City.

“I have washed dishes, I have been a cake gofer getting items,” Brown said about her career. “You have to build your way up. It’s up to you to do that because you need to know every aspect of the job.”

Brown earned the Certified Baker designation from the American Institute of Baking in 2010 and the Certified Executive Pastry Chef credential from the American Culinary Federation in 2017.

“I like being an architect with pastry,” she said. “I adore a good coconut pie.”

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