(WACO) – James Lilly will have some financial help pursuing his interest in welding this fall at Texas State Technical College in Waco.

Lilly, a senior at C.H. Yoe High School in Cameron, was one of six recipients of the Heart O’’ Texas Fair and Rodeo and Texas State Technical College Scholarship awarded Wednesday night at the organization’s annual banquet in Woodway.

“It is exciting but a little scary going to college,” said Lilly. “I have friends that have been to TSTC to study welding. I applied first then visited the campus. I thought it was awesome.”

Lilly’s mother, Tamika, is a proud mother.

“It feels great,” she said. “The scholarship is a great starter. We are happy he is going to TSTC.”

Forty students at the event were awarded $134,000 in scholarships from the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo, which is held each fall in Waco.

“It is always an awesome experience in seeing the delight on those kids’ faces,” said Wes Allison, president and chief executive officer of the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo. “None of them know how much they are receiving when they get to the banquet.”

Reid Terry, a senior at Robinson High School, received a $5,000 HOT Fair and Rodeo and TSTC Scholarship. He played baseball, basketball and football at Robinson and was also active in the agriculture program for one year.

He chose to study Industrial Maintenance starting this fall because of his curiosity.

“I just like knowing a lot of things,” Terry said. “I like knowing how things work.”

Other scholarship recipients attending TSTC this fall are Taylor Allen of Midway High School, Ariel Gallegos of La Vega High School, Joseph Hermann of Belton High School and Brendan Tankersley of University High School in Waco. Allen received a $5,000 scholarship and Gallegos, Hermann, Lilly and Tankersley were given $2,500 scholarships.

“TSTC is thrilled to partner with the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo to provide scholarships for these deserving students,” TSTC in Waco Provost Adam Hutchison said. “Their high school accomplishments set them apart from other applicants for the scholarships, and their goals in technical education make them a perfect fit for TSTC. I’m grateful for our wonderful community partners and supporters who make scholarships like these possible. It’s a great investment in our region and our students’ futures.”

The guest speaker was Johnny Quinn, a McKinney resident who was on the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics bobsled team for the United States. He is only the third NFL player to have participated in the Winter Olympics.

Quinn talked about his hurdles pursuing sports, from making his mark on the University of North Texas football and track teams to enduring injuries and cuts from the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers and the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. He said what got him through this period, along with training and competing in the Winter Olympics, was his mind.

“It all begins with how you think,” Quinn said. “There’s a reward at the end that is so much greater than the struggle through the process.”

The HOT Fair and Rodeo scholarships have been awarded since 1991. More than 650 Central Texas students have benefited from the more than $2.5 million that has been awarded.

For more information on the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo Scholarship, go to hotfair.com.

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

(WACO) – Leaders from Texas State Technical College, the Texas Workforce Commission and Mars Chocolate North America gathered Tuesday to commemorate a $92,203 Skills Development Fund grant aimed at improving workers’ skills at the candy manufacturer’s Waco factory.

“What Texas State Technical College provides to the community is one of the greatest tools with regard to our economic development,” said Seth Morris, vice president for economic development at the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce.

The grant will create six new jobs and provide technical training to more than 90 workers to better their skills for using fasteners, lubricants, components, valves and hand tools. The first training led by TSTC faculty members was in late April. The grant’s regional impact is expected to be more than $765,000, according to the state workforce commission.

TSTC in Waco Provost Adam Hutchison said the grant symbolized some of the best collaboration that can be done in the city to further develop the workforce.

Gary Mueller, training manager for Mars Chocolate in Waco, said staff were appreciative of the opportunity to grow the company in manpower and knowledge.

The grant builds on the progress that Waco and the state have made in economic development.

TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Ruth R. Hughs said Waco currently has a 4.3 percent unemployment rate, while the state unemployment rate is 5 percent. Waco’s unemployment rate is on par with the Abilene, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan areas and is less than unemployment in the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Brownsville-Harlingen, Corpus Christi and McAllen-Mission-Edinburg metropolitan areas.

Hughs said CEO Magazine has named Texas the best state to do business in for the 13th consecutive year.

“The Skills Development Fund is the premier job training program with custom training and promoting employees in getting marketable skills,” Hughs said.

Mars Chocolate North America on Texas Central Parkway in Waco has more than 550 employees making the popular candies Skittles, Starburst and variations of Snickers.

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

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College’s Automotive Technology program recently received several donations from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles – North America.

The donations include 2014 models of the Chrysler 200 S, Jeep Cherokee Latitude and Dodge Ram 3500 Turbo Diesel truck as well as eight engines.

The vehicles and engines will be used by TSTC students in the nationwide Mopar Career Automotive Program (MCAP). The program is a blended internship and technical education program training college students to be factory-certified to work at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles dealerships nationwide. TSTC’s MCAP program  has 14 students, with another 20 students beginning classes this fall.

The vehicles, which have high-end features such as electric windows and state-of-the-art control panels, are valued at more than $90,000. Students will also learn about the vehicle’s software and new emission systems — the kinds of things the students will eventually encounter as technicians in dealerships.

“Most of these vehicles are write-offs for the manufacturer,” said George Williams, a TSTC Automotive Technology instructor. “It gives our students access to the newest technology.”

The four 1.4 L MultiAir engines are valued at $1,500 each, the three 3.6 L Pentastar engines are valued at $2,000 each and the Cummins 6.7 L diesel engine is valued at $10,000.

“We can show demonstrations on the diesel engine,” said Matthew Mills, a TSTC Automotive Technology instructor. “It gives the students an opportunity to do more hands-on work better than sitting in a classroom.”

Some of the engines will stay in plastic and on pallets until they are rotated in for use in classes. Students are expected to begin using the engines in midsummer.

“The engines can be taken apart and put together just a few times,” Williams said. “The old engines are recycled and get crushed, and we receive new ones.”

TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Automotive Technology – Chrysler Specialization.

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

(WACO) – Camp Neff is proving to be good with his hands.

Neff, 22, of Franklin, Texas, is a Robotics Technology major at Texas State Technical College. He is also a dual threat playing banjo and table tennis — but not at the same time.

When Neff is not studying direct and alternating currents or the basics of robotics, he is playing banjo with the Fence Post Pickers featuring Charles and John Kirk as accompanying vocalists. The band performs throughout the Brazos Valley.

“We stick to tried, true and classic bluegrass and country,” Neff said, citing the late banjo picker Earl Scruggs as one of his favorite musicians.

Neff received the Gibson Top Tension banjo he currently plays as a birthday gift when he was 16.

“Instruments sound better the older they are,” he said. “The banjo has broken me out of any rut I was in before. I play the banjo and keep people happy.”

Neff was home-schooled and participated in high school robotics competitions.

“You have to do all the work yourself,” he said. “You have to have study time. You can’t do home schooling if you aren’t self-motivated.”

This discipline has helped him in his robotics classes, said Brandon McMahan, a TSTC graduate and Robotics Technology instructor.

“He is a great student,” McMahan said. “He is a leader in the classroom.”

The Robotics Technology program is based in the Robotics and Automation Lab in TSTC’s  Electronics Center. McMahan said class sizes average 10 students who are divided up to work with robots.

“You can go straight into the job market,” McMahan said. “We teach students to be entry-level technicians.”

Neff is scheduled to graduate from TSTC in spring 2018.

“I’d like to travel and go from a distribution center to a factory to fix what does not work,” he said. “I want to see what is out there.”

Neff grew up on a ranch in Robertson County.

“I would stare for a half-hour at sugar ants to see what they were doing,” he said. “Nature is vast and complicated, and I experienced it growing up.”

Neff discovered the banjo when he was 12 while at a concert with his family.

“It sounded so different from the other instruments that I knew it was the one,” he said. “If I’m happy or sad, I can play and emote.”

Colee Littlefield, co-owner of Magnolia-based Texas Bluegrass Music LLC, said she admired Neff’s talent.

“It’s great that he started young,” said Littlefield. “It’s easy to train your fingers when they are nice, nimble and young. You are not concentrating as hard as you get older.”

Littlefield’s company organizes yearly bluegrass festivals in Bellville and Grapeland.

“The banjo player is pretty necessary for bluegrass,” she said. “Not every bluegrass band has a fiddle or a Dobro, but they usually have a banjo, mandolin, guitar and stand-up bass. Those are the four basic instruments.”

Neff also found his way to table tennis when he was 12. He primarily plays the game at TSTC’s Murray Watson Jr. Student Services Center. He recently won the table tennis competition at Techsan Day.

“A friend and I would play casually with a tennis ball when I was growing up,” he said. “I loved it and could be competitive with training. It is something to pass the time to keep from getting bored.”

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

(WACO) – Dylan Lowery’s career plans have taken shape even before he receives a diploma later this month from Connally High School.

Lowery, 18, is a student at Connally Career Tech Early College High School on Cadet Way in Waco. During his sophomore, junior and senior years, he took the quick bus ride to Texas State Technical College to take cyber security classes. He has his last course in the fall at TSTC to finish an associate degree in Cyber Security and wants to start work on an Advanced Technical Certificate in Digital Forensics.

“I would like to stay in Waco and work with cyber security,” Lowery said. “I want to do an internship with TSTC to get experience.”

The Connally Independent School District’s early college technical high school partners with TSTC to provide students with opportunities to earn dual credit hours. Connally Career Tech had more than 100 students this academic year who took courses in Cyber Security, Culinary Arts, Welding, Visual Communication Technology, Precision Machining Technology and other technical programs offered at TSTC.

“The partnership with TSTC is crucial for our district. There are schools that would die to be close to a TSTC campus,” Connally Career Tech Principal Hermann Pereira said. “For us to send our kids to the best expertise in the area is good for the school district. Everything is in line to make this a success.”

Connally Career Tech is the only early college technical high school that TSTC works with in Waco.

“There are a lot of good students that have potential,” said Sheryl Kattner-Allen, a manager in TSTC’s Dual Enrollment Operations. “I see the paperwork that comes through and you can see students who are interested and are willing to do the extra work in the summer that has to be done.”

This year, more than 30 Connally Career Tech graduates will wear special stoles at Connally High School’s May 19 graduation ceremony and a special medal from TSTC for completing a career pathway.

Some of the students graduating said the opportunity to take college-level courses changed their minds about their futures.

Randall Stranacher, 18, said taking college classes in welding, cyber security and automotive collision technology made him realize that an education after high school is important to his future. Stranacher’s father, Ryan Stranacher, is an instructor and graduate of TSTC.

“Being at Connally Career Tech has given me time to decide what I want to do,” Randall Stranacher said. “I want to fix and paint vehicles. Ever since I was little, my family was big on cars.”

The younger Stranacher will finish a certificate in Automotive Collision Repair this summer and study auto body refinishing in the fall.

Some students will finish their work at TSTC before moving on to other colleges.

George Zachary Galvan, 18, will finish a Pharmacy Technician certificate after doing clinical work this summer in Waco and attend McLennan Community College in the fall. He finds a career in pharmaceuticals an interesting prospect.

“We are at such an advantage right now,” Galvan said about himself and his classmates. “We can get ahead on getting a job. I knew it would be difficult and tough. I didn’t find the work at TSTC overwhelming, but you had to be prepared and take this seriously.”

Marshall Woodlock, 18, completed a culinary arts certificate at TSTC and is planning to study management in Texas or Massachusetts. He said he was drawn to cooking when he was young preparing meals for his working family.

He credited the early college technical high school in getting him ahead of other students like him.

“College was in the plans, but it wasn’t financially available,” Woodlock said.

Elizabeth Gostomski, a counselor at Connally Career Tech, designs students’ school days around the TSTC course schedule.

“I have contact with someone from TSTC at least once a day,” she said.

Connally Career Tech, which opened three years ago, is projected to rise to 130 students next year. A sixth teacher will join the staff this fall. The students will have additional career path choices as McLennan Community College is added as a partner offering health science and public safety course options.

Pereira said there are plans in the next academic year to create industry advisory committees for each of its career clusters. These committees can offer input on what is expected of students, who potentially can be future employees and what work skills are needed.

“They want to keep that talent pool in Waco,” Pereira said.

For more information on the Connally Independent School District, go to connally.org.

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

(WACO) – Video games go beyond being the hero who uses supernatural powers to save the world — or at least an ant colony.

The guts of video games are the logic, programming and mathematics that make characters, landscapes and animals come to life. Dalton Burts of Athens used all these to pay homage to ants for “Antopia,” his final video game project for graduation from Texas State Technical College in Waco.

“You play an ant and your colony is preparing for a flood,” said Burts, 26. “You have to get food and avoid evil anteaters.”

Burts will receive an associate degree in Graphics Gaming and Simulation Programming Technology at Texas State Technical College’s Spring Commencement on Monday, May 1, in Waco. Since Burts enrolled in 2015 at TSTC, the associate degree has now been made an advanced technical certificate, with majors having the option to earn a companion associate degree in Computer Programming Technology.

“I have done tons of hands-on work,” said Burts. “TSTC pushes you to do the best you can. All my discipline I learned was through band and music.”

Susie Watkins, an associate professor in the Computer Science program at TSTC, admires Burts’ work ethic and skills.

“Dalton is always in here working,” Watkins said. “He figures out a lot of stuff on his own. He works well in a team environment.”

Burts learned about TSTC from his father, who studied aircraft pilot training technology.

“I decided to further my education and come here because my father didn’t have a problem getting a job,” he said.

Burts was born in Galveston and moved to Athens in Henderson County when he was 5. Some of his earliest video-game-playing experience was Super Mario Brothers when he was 12.

“I liked how the games didn’t specifically tell you what to do, but I had to figure it out and use my brain,” he said.

As Burts played video games, his appreciation for music grew.

Since he was 12, he has learned to play clarinet, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone and has dabbled with guitar and piano. While growing up he played in jazz and Dixieland bands, along with marching and symphonic bands.

Burts graduated in 2009 from Athens High School and received an associate degree in Musical Performance in 2013 from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens. He said it was challenging finding a music job in the Athens area that did not involve tutoring or teaching.

“I’ve always had a love for gaming and wanted to compose for gaming,” he said. “I have always embraced imagination and never saw a need to let that go.”

Burts wants to work in the Austin area.

Candidates for graduation from TSTC’s Fort Bend County, North Texas, Waco and Williamson County campuses will gather for Spring Commencement at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 1, at the Waco Convention Center at 100 Washington Ave. in Waco.

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