(WACO) – The Gene Haas Foundation, headquartered in Oxnard, California, has awarded a $25,000 gift to the Precision Machining Technology program at Texas State Technical College in Waco. The announcement was made in front of students and faculty members Wednesday morning at the Industrial Technology Center. The money will be used for program scholarships and to supply copies of “Machinery’s Handbook” for students. The Precision Machining Technology program is accredited by the National Institute for Metalworking Skills Inc. Pictured are (left to right) Matt Sykora, territory manager for Haas Factory Outlet in Richardson, and Joe Rodriguez, TSTC’s statewide division director of production manufacturing.

(WACO) – A way to prosperity means education, whether it is students sitting in a classroom or working adults learning how to make Waco a better place in which to live.

The public-privately funded Prosper Waco held its second Summit on Monday at the Waco Convention Center, bringing together more than 500 city leaders, educators, social service organization representatives and others interested in advancing the city in education, financial security and health.

Texas State Technical College in Waco is a partner in Prosper Waco’s Project Link, a grant-funded initiative aimed at creating a college-going culture by connecting selected high school students at La Vega, Waco and University high schools to higher education and the workforce. McLennan Community College and the Waco and La Vega school districts are also Project Link partners.

“TSTC and MCC have just made it easy for the students to see what is available to them,” said Cindy Michaelis, executive director of the La Vega Pirates Education Foundation.

Cory Gropp is a new Project Link liaison at Waco High School. He has 250 students in grades nine to 12, with 60 of them being seniors. He said 30 of the seniors have applied to TSTC.

“Some of the students are interested in the Biomedical Equipment Technology program and other technologies with associate degrees,” Gropp said. “Some of the students didn’t know there were certificate options.”

He said Project Link is a way to help heighten awareness of getting a higher education in Waco.

“I’m a firm believer that students should have tons of options to go to college,” Gropp said.

TSTC’s partnership with Prosper Waco could grow.

Prosper Waco Executive Director Matthew Polk said board members for the Waco Independent School District will consider this fall expanding its Greater Waco Advanced Manufacturing Academy, or GWAMA, to include construction fields.

Polk said the idea is for city high school students in the academy to shadow local builders to learn about their skills.

“It will get students on the road to creating a natural pathway to a career,” he said.

Polk hopes academy students decide to pursue further education in the construction fields they are interested in. TSTC offers certificates and associate degrees in Building Construction Technology, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technology and other building-related fields.

Attendees were divided into three rooms at the gathering and talked about their ideas for improving Waco. Some of the ideas included local businesses helping employees with college tuition, mobile health clinics, more accessible public transportation, career shadowing, interview coaching and workplace childcare.

“TSTC does supply a number of our trained workforce,” Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver said. “We need to do a better job of letting TSTC know our workforce needs. We are extremely fortunate to have TSTC in Waco. We are hoping to add more technology jobs and we hope TSTC in Waco can help with that.”

Prosper Waco held its first Summit in early 2015 and hopes to make the gathering a yearly fall event.

For more information on Prosper Waco, log on to prosperwaco.org.

For more information on TSTC, visit to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Jake Harding wants to make clear that air traffic controllers are not the on-the-ground signalers waving fluorescent sticks and guiding planes to parking gates.

Harding, 19, of Houston and a 2015 graduate of Hargrave High School in Huffman, said air traffic control is an aerial adrenaline rush which brings order to landings and takeoffs, no matter the weather conditions. He is currently in his fourth semester at Texas State Technical College in Waco pursuing an Associate of Applied Science degree in Air Traffic Control. His goal is to work in air traffic control in Colorado.

TSTC in Waco is one of two higher education institutions in Texas that are Federal Aviation Administration-approved Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative Schools.

“I wanted to experience university life, but I am glad I chose TSTC,” Harding said.

The technical college’s Air Traffic Control program has experienced growth over the last couple of years. There were 20 students that started in Fall Semester 2014, with 15 of those students graduating earlier this year. More than 30 students began Fall Semester classes in 2015, with 25 of those students on schedule to graduate next year. The Fall Semester 2016 has 44 students.

The more than 60 students in the department’s two cohorts this year are mostly from the Austin, Dallas and Houston areas.

Dar Klontz, Air Traffic Control program chair, said prospective students are already applying for Fall Semester 2017. He anticipates the program capping cohorts at 48 students for the next couple of years due to equipment and laboratory space. Klontz said he wants program applicants to have good geography, geometry and communication skills.

“We have the ability to sell the program once they are here,” he said. “We invite students to take a look at what we have.”

More than half the program’s coursework is done in hands-on laboratory simulations. One of the first classes that new students take is Fundamentals of Air Traffic Control. Other courses are offered in meteorology, terminal operations and air navigation.

“We are one of the few programs in the country that teaches with a fictitious airport,” Klontz said.

That imaginary airport, Academy Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is depicted on a multiscreen air traffic simulator on the second floor of the Col. James T. Connally Aerospace Center.

Cole Barbe, 21, grew up in Houston and graduated in 2013 from Cypress Creek High School. He graduated in May with an associate degree in air traffic control from TSTC and was hired shortly after graduation to operate the simulator. His dream is to work at airports either in Houston or Colorado.

“I saw the simulator and I was sold,” Barbe recalled of when he was a first-semester student.

Barbe said he hopes his work with the simulator will make him a good candidate for the FAA Academy, whose students must pass rigorous testing to become air traffic controllers. FAA applicants under 31 must have U.S. citizenship, pass medical and security investigations and achieve agency pre-employment tests.

“You have to bring your A-game every day,” Barbe said.

The work is done by at least 14,000 FAA air traffic controllers working in control towers at airports throughout the nation.

Texas has the second highest employment of air traffic controllers in the nation with about 2,000 workers, with Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport alone having at least 550 air traffic controllers in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many air traffic controller hirings through 2024 are expected to replace retirees, according to the labor statistics bureau.

A TSTC student hoping to fill the anticipated hiring need is Kali Cole, 21, of Carrollton and a 2013 graduate of Hebron High School in Carrollton. She is scheduled to graduate with an associate degree in air traffic control next spring.

Cole is a student worker and works alongside Barbe to guide students in the early stages of the program.

“The program gives you a leg up to be well ahead of the curve,” Cole said.

Cole had some familiarity with the field when she entered the program because her father is an air traffic controller in Fort Worth, but it was not her first career choice. She had also considered marketing and business administration.

“I promised my father it would be my plan B,” Cole said.

She searched online and came across TSTC’s program. She applied and was accepted but did not see what the program offered until she walked into the Connally Aerospace Center.

“It’s fun and doesn’t feel like school,” she said.

For more information on the Air Traffic Control program at TSTC, log on to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Chef Mark Schneider is at a sizzling time in his career.

Schneider, chair of the Culinary Arts department at Texas State Technical College in Waco, was recently named Chef Educator of the Year by the Texas Chefs Association.

“It’s a huge honor,” he said. “I’ve been in education for 13 years and 12 of those have been at TSTC in Waco. I have watched and followed past competitors and what they do.”

Schneider will advance to the American Culinary Federation’s Central Region competition. The region is made up of states from Texas to North Dakota to Michigan. The winner goes on to national Chef Educator of the Year contest conducted by the American Culinary Federation.

Schneider’s draw to cooking is seeing the instant gratification for guests when they see a plate of food that looks too good to eat. He specializes in classical-based cuisine and feels he can satisfy the palate of any guest.

Schneider also enjoys watching the flourishing of students, from those who learn the basics of cutting vegetables to those planning menus and leading kitchens.

“I like the artistry and physical work with cooking,” he said.

Schneider is a 1989 graduate of Midway High School in Woodway.

He received a culinary diploma from the Greater Cincinnati Culinary Academy in 1993 and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Food Service and Culinary Arts from TSTC in Waco in 2001. He received a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree in Business from Tarleton State University in Stephenville in 2009.

Schneider began work at TSTC in 2002. He became a certified executive chef in 2002 and a certified culinary educator in 2008, both granted by the American Culinary Federation.

“Chef Schneider has worked diligently throughout his career to stretch the boundaries of culinary education,” Chef Gayle Van Sant of TSTC’s Culinary Arts department said. “Mentoring students and staff, development curriculum and encouraging all those around him are three of Chef Schneider’s strongest attributes. TSTC is fortunate to have such a distinguished and accomplished culinary professional.”

Schneider was named Chef of the Year by the Texas Chefs Association in 2008.

To learn more about the Culinary Arts program at TSTC in Waco, log on to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Village Oaks Apartments at Texas State Technical College in Waco could unofficially be renamed Fredericksburg North.

At least 10 students from Fredericksburg High School are enrolled this year at TSTC and live at the on-campus student apartments. Several of them are pursuing the same major and tackling the transition from high school to college together with humor and discovery.

“I thought it would be hard meeting new people, but it’s not,” said William O’Connell, 18, a first-semester Computer Maintenance and Technology major.

Some of the students learned about the technical college from Fredericksburg High School automotive teacher and 2000 TSTC in Waco graduate Blake Schmidt.

“I spent 11 years as a technician working in dealerships on GM products,” Schmidt said. “This is now my third year teaching and I love it. I get the opportunity to teach at the same high school I graduated from. It is so important to inspire students and let them know what is available to them after high school. I thought the Automotive Technology program was great when I attended, and the instructors pushed and encouraged me to be the best I could be.”

Jacob Coolidge, 19, a first-semester Diesel Equipment Technology – Heavy Truck Specialization major, credits Schmidt with motivating him to enroll at TSTC. He said Schmidt emphasized during classes what students would expect at the technical college.

“I didn’t want to go to college for the longest time, but I thought of being an electrician or working in the oil fields,” Coolidge said. “I thought I could go to college and become a diesel equipment repairman.”

Coolidge already had a tie to the Waco campus before he moved into his on-campus apartment in mid-August: his grandparents lived at what was then Connally Air Force Base and his family has traveled to the Waco area for years to visit relatives and go fishing.

Two years ago, Schmidt and Logan Minshew, a counselor at Fredericksburg High School, began taking 40 juniors and seniors each spring to visit TSTC in Waco.

“I believe letting the students see firsthand the quality education they can receive helps a lot,” Minshew said. “They also see the potential for increased earning power. With Blake, I think they also see that they can stay part of the awesome Fredericksburg community when they complete their training. We really enjoy our annual trip to TSTC and hope to continue to grow the partnership that is helping train tomorrow’s leaders.”

So far, the students have been adjusting to long breaks between classes and realizing the importance of balancing work and studying without parental supervision. O’Connell has taught Isaiah Rivera, 18, a first-semester Automotive Technology major, how to do his laundry.

“We are just now getting to the first bills,” said Rivera. “Three of us work at Whataburger part time. We are trying to support ourselves while attending school.”

Rivera said he has had to adjust to doing classwork online.

“I like it for the most part, but I don’t like thinking if instructors received the homework or not,” Rivera said. “With technology there is a chance it could not be submitted.”

Many of the Fredericksburg students tend to migrate to classmate Dillon Nielsen’s apartment at Village Oaks because of cable availability, Coolidge said. Schmidt said Nielsen, 18, is attending TSTC on a scholarship from Toyota of Boerne.

A lot of the students have longtime ties to one another. Coolidge and O’Connell estimated they have known each other since elementary school, while Tyler McWilliams, 18, an Automotive Technology major, grew up across the street from Coolidge.

Some of the students said they missed cruising Fredericksburg’s Main Street, off-roading on dirt roads and socializing in the parking lots of popular eateries and stores.

Rivera said their joint goal is to visit Fredericksburg once a month.

“We have family and some of us have relationships,” he said.

Some of the students are already making plans for life after graduation.

Randall Friedrich, 18, is an Automotive Technology major with a simple goal: to make money.

McWilliams said he wants to return to Fredericksburg and work with his relatives.

Coolidge wants to move to Florida and do diesel work.

“I do like to travel and go to different places,” he said.

For more information on TSTC, log on to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College in Waco and the Texas Workforce Commission are partnering to provide workforce development to two local companies.

Jobe’s on Franklin Avenue and Hobbs Bonded Fibers on South Commerce Drive, both in Waco, are utilizing TSTC’s Workforce Training and Continuing Education programs to update workers’ skills.

“I know the quality of education at TSTC,” said Wayne Winekauf, Jobe’s director of plant operations. “I’m very impressed. It’s a gem that is hidden.”

Jobe’s employees take master rolls of outdoor commercial fabric, such as burlap and sun screen, and cut them to be consumer-ready in various lengths. The company has 30 workers, but increases to 100 employees during their busy period from January to May.

The Jobe’s workers recently took part in operation care classes through a state Skills Development Fund grant valued at more than $60,000. Workers learned about troubleshooting, upkeep and quality control on their shrink wrap, winding and other machines. A representative from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration also visited to talk about workplace and machine safety.

“TSTC is focused on the manufacturing side,” said Winekauf. “The safety was key to having someone come in and review the safety recommendations. Someone from the outside is respected more.”

Several of Jobe’s workers said they benefited from the training.

Arturo Vicinais, a night lead operator who runs machines and works on production floor compliance, has been at the company for 10 years. He appreciated the training in the importance of communication, inspection and audit forms.

“You can take more pride in your work and everything will be more organized,” he said.

Barron Parks, a machine operator, has worked at Jobe’s the last year and a half.

“The safety class we had was very much needed,” Parks said. “There are a lot of dangerous machines here if you don’t know the safety procedures. Everyone should be held more responsible.”

Thirty-eight workers from Hobbs Bonded Fibers began taking Thursday and Friday classes in mid-August lasting for six weeks so they can learn to weld using structured steel. The training is also under a state Skills Development Fund grant worth at least $60,000.

“These guys have never welded before,” said Shawn Grisham, a welding trainer in Workforce Training and Continuing Education at TSTC in Waco. “They are making very good welds.”

For more information on Workforce Training and Continuing Education at TSTC, call 254-867-2053 or log on to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Andre Bernal and Joseph Ramos Jr. have been linked since they were preschoolers.

The two attended Head Start together, grew up a street apart, both attended the old University Middle School and graduated together earlier this year from University High School in Waco.

Now, the lifelong friends are students at Texas State Technical College in Waco. Bernal, 18, is a Computer Network and Systems Administration major and Ramos, 18, is an Automotive Technology major. Both are Texan Success Scholarship recipients.

The students are among more than 20 members of the 2015-16 cohort of Prosper Waco’s Project Link representing University High School and La Vega High School to enroll at TSTC this fall.

Project Link is a grant-funded initiative aimed at creating a college-going culture by connecting students to higher education and the workforce. The La Vega Independent School District, the Waco Independent School District, McLennan Community College, TSTC and Prosper Waco are partners in the project, which included more than 130 high school seniors in its first year who took advantage of education and career advising. The program had 730 students in grades nine to 12 last year, according to Project Link information.

“The liaisons at the high schools did a good job preparing them for college,” TSTC Project Link Coordinator Brandon Chappell said. “Some of the students registered toward the end of registration. We need to be more aggressive and keep them on track after graduation. Financial aid was a common question from the students.”

Bernal and Ramos are among the first generation of their families to attend college – something Project Link campus liaisons look for when recruiting students.

So far, Bernal has discovered TSTC’s Murray Watson Jr. Student Recreation Center to play pickup games of basketball. He wants to work in the technology field after graduation and pursue a bachelor’s degree.

“I am not used to long breaks between classes and the free time,” Bernal said. “I am getting used to it. I am meeting new people.”

Ramos took automotive classes for four years in high school and said he wanted to learn more in college. He wants one day to work at a Chevrolet dealership.

Bernal, Ramos, and their University High School classmates all completed applications through ApplyTexas and had a 100 percent federal financial aid application completion rate. La Vega’s Project Link seniors had a 98 percent federal financial aid application completion rate and a 100 percent ApplyTexas application rate.

The program has made some changes to start the new academic year.

Project Link has expanded to Waco High School and added a campus liaison, while University High School has two new program liaisons to work with students.

“With the addition of Waco High School, Project Link will be serving 1,000 high school students at three different high schools for year two of the program,” said Natalie James, Project Link Coordinator at McLennan Community College.

For more information on Prosper Waco and Project Link, go to prosperwaco.org.

For more information on TSTC, visit tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Haylee Harper, 9, of Bosqueville, has career goals as big as the solar system.

“I like learning about science,” the Bosqueville Elementary School fourth-grade student said. “I want to one day put a flag on a planet.”

Harper said she enjoyed talking into a microphone inside Mission Control at the new Challenger Learning Center, which formally opened Thursday night with a community event at Texas State Technical College in Waco.

The educational center on Airline Drive is the third of its kind in Texas and is affiliated with the not-for-profit Challenger Center for Space Science Education in Washington, D.C. The state’s other centers are at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen and San Antonio College. There are more than 40 centers nationwide and in Canada, South Korea and Great Britain.

The center’s purpose is to bring the sun, moon, stars, and planets to life for students. After a meeting in a briefing room, students are divided into two groups, one to work in Mission Control, and the other in a working laboratory. Students also “ride” on the Space Shuttle Challenger and visit a planetarium. The activities center on communication, critical thinking, leadership, science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

“These kids get a sense of accomplishment,” said Dr. Lance Bush, president and chief executive officer of the Challenger Center.

Kris Collins, senior vice president of economic development for the Waco Chamber of Commerce, said aviation and aeronautics are target industries for the city. She said TSTC and its learning center, along with SpaceX in McGregor, were critical to the chamber’s goals.

“I think it’s fantastic for the technical school to bring students in to showcase the programs offered,” Collins said.

Finding ways to teach science creatively to students can be a challenge for educators.

China Spring Middle School eighth-grade science teacher Shannon Field saw the learning center for the first time and imagined her students visiting. She said the center puts space science in front of the students and can hopefully spark curiosity.

“I think it’s great,” Field said. “Field trips are usually confined. This in our backyard.”

Carson Pearce, director of the TSTC Aerospace Division, hopes the students’ interest in science today translates into future air traffic controllers, pilots, aircraft technicians and other aeronautical careers. He said there is a 94 percent placement rate for division graduates.

“Once they (students) get energized and have the imagination, they are going to want an outlet,” Pearce said.

The Cooper Foundation and the Rapoport Foundation, both in Waco, made substantial financial gifts to the initiative.

Casey Sadler, the Rapoport Foundation’s foundation coordinator, predicted the center would bring more exposure to the technical college and Waco. She said education is one of the foundation’s areas of interest.

“Geographically it is an excellent location,” Sadler said. “Waco is on Interstate 35 with Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin close by for unbelievable opportunities for students.”

Addison Haygood, a fifth-grade student at Woodgate Intermediate School in the Midway Independent School District, dreams of being an astronaut someday, but also an actress.

“It was cool,” Haygood said about her visit. “I liked looking at all the planets and stars in the planetarium.”

Tours for area schools will begin later this fall. Trey Pearson, director of the Challenger Learning Center, is ready to see how students of all ages take to the simulations and planetarium.

“That’s going to be the exciting thing,” he said.

TSTC Chancellor Michael Reeser reminded attendees that the technical college was founded in 1965, the year of the early NASA spaceflight program Gemini. He said space can excite children.

“There is no more worthy way to explore space than to honor the people who explored the outer reaches of the universe,” Reeser said. “Every time a child comes through the center, we want hope and excitement to do the technology to make a difference in the country and world.”

The Challenger Learning Center honors the astronauts who died Jan. 28, 1986, when a booster engine failed on the Challenger space shuttle launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The initiative was founded later that year by the families of the seven astronauts tragically killed.

To register a class for the space exploration experience, log on to tstc.edu/challenger.