(WACO) – Christopher Blair was never a stay-indoors-and-watch-television-kind of child.

He was, and still is today, more at home among trees and rolling hills.

“I like to be up and outside before the sun rises,” said Blair, 24, of Mansfield, Texas, and a Turfgrass and Landscape Management major at Texas State Technical College in Waco. “I don’t mind getting dirty.”

And now, he has a financial gift to show for his appreciation of the outdoors.

Blair on Thursday received the $1,000 Kevin L. Dilliard Scholarship from the Texas Branch of the Professional Grounds Management Society. Dilliard was a longtime grounds director at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

“It will be super helpful,” Blair said. “I am paying for school myself. It will make a big impact on me for sure in the next semester.”

He is the only student in Texas that will receive the award this year, said Barbara E. Hatchel, a certified grounds manager and PGMS member in Amarillo.

“He is gearing himself to pursue this profession for life,” Hatchel said. “He works at a golf course now and keeps his grades up.”

Blair, like other Turfgrass and Landscape Management students, gets experience maintaining TSTC’s four-hole golf course on Airline Drive. He is fascinated by irrigation systems and grass for golf courses.

“I just love that you are growing grass at 1/8th of an inch and still expect it to be healthy so people can walk on it,” he said.

Ron Gwyn, chair of the Turfgrass and Landscape Management program, said Blair was enthusiastic about his work and learning.

“He will be a valuable asset to a golf course,” Gwyn said. “He wants everything taken care of and done to the best of his ability. He grasps a lot of the technical aspects pretty quick.”

Blair said there is much more to grass than just cutting it. He said people who maintain golf courses, yards and formal lawns must also consider the science behind the amount of water and fertilizer needed.

He said some of his favorite golf courses were Augusta National Golf Club – home of the Masters – in Georgia, Whistling Straits Golf Course in Kohler, Wisconsin, and Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

Blair began working at 16 at Shady Valley Country Club in Arlington, Texas, helping maintain golf carts and eventually the grounds.

He played golf for two years while at Mansfield Legacy High School, where he graduated in 2010. Working at Shady Valley while in high school enabled him to play free golf to practice his skills.

“One day it clicked that I wanted to take care of a golf course,” he said.

Blair said Turfgrass and Landscape Management is a good career to consider for students to consider who enjoy the outdoors and hard work.

“Students need to try to think a few years ahead and where you see yourself being at in life,” Blair said. “You need to see how you want to work.”

Blair now works at least 30 hours a week at Walnut Creek Country Club in Mansfield and attends classes full time at TSTC.

“Since I work in grounds maintenance and then come to school, that makes a difference,” Blair said. “What I learn I can then talk to my boss about and it is easier to grasp the concept.”

After his expected graduation from TSTC in August 2017, Blair said he wants to move up the ranks of golf course maintenance at private clubs.

TSTC in Waco will have a Registration Rally from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 9, at the Student Services Center. For more registration information, log on to tstc.edu.

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College in Waco student Willie Hutchinson has taken the discipline he learned in the military and applied it to the precision of bringing vehicles back to life.

“I have a passion for cars and wanted to learn collision repair and how to fix them structural-wise,” he said about his career choice.

Hutchinson, 44, of Waco was among 58 recipients nationwide to receive the 3M Hire Our Heroes award sponsored by the 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division and the Collision Repair Education Foundation. The award’s goal is to raise awareness of the work that military veterans can do in the auto collision industry, according to 3M.

Hutchinson will receive up to $1,500 in work tools.

“The tool grant is something I cherish,” Hutchinson said. “I never won too much of anything.”

Hutchinson applied for the award after being encouraged by Clint Campbell, chair of TSTC’s Auto Collision Technology program.

“Going out and working in the profession, Willie is going to make somebody a good technician,” Campbell said.

Campbell said student veterans, like Hutchinson, exhibit maturity and a good sense of organization.

“The military members are trained to be early,” Campbell said. “They look out for other students. It is more of a teamwork effort.”

Hutchinson is scheduled to graduate in August with a certificate in Auto Collision Repair. Some of the topics he has learned include structural analysis, repair estimating and alignment.

“It’s been what I expected and more, learning about the collision industry and care and how to protect vehicles from erosion,” he said.

After graduation, Hutchinson wants to work in a body shop and return to TSTC to study auto body refinishing.

Hutchinson grew up in Kosciusko, Mississippi, among three siblings and other relatives.

“Kosciusko is a small town, probably not different than any other small country towns,” he said. “There was not much to get into.”

He graduated in 1990 from McAdams High School in nearby Sallis, Mississippi and quickly joined the military because of his friends and the ability to get money for college.

“It turned out to be one of the best things I have done in my life,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson retired in May 2015 from the U.S. Army after 24 years and 11 months, earning the rank of major. His last post was at Fort Hood and he has also been stationed in Georgia and Kentucky. He worked the last decade of his military career in computer communication. During his military time, he served four tours of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I liked training the young soldiers and seeing the American flag lowered and raised,” Hutchinson said.

Summer Commencement for TSTC campuses in Waco, North Texas, Williamson County and Fort Bend County is at 6:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 19, at the Waco Convention Center on Washington Avenue.

(WACO) – Wichita Falls brothers Johnny and Dean Perry, both Building Construction Technology students at Texas State Technical College in Waco, want to take over the world someday as a new version of Drew and Jonathan Scott, the stars of HGTV’s popular show “Property Brothers.”

The Perry brothers learned about career opportunities at the Building Construction Technology program’s Employer Spotlight on Wednesday at TSTC. Ten companies from throughout Texas and as far away as Florida attended the event. More than 60 Building Construction Technology students attended. The students were required to bring their resumes, said Jerome Mendias, chair of the Building Construction Technology program.

Johnny Perry, 20, and Dean Perry, 18, both got interested in construction when they were students at Wichita Falls’ Rider High School. The older brother influenced his younger brother to join him at TSTC to study in the program.

“It is a good field to be in because you are learning at the same time that you are helping people,” Dean Perry said.

Johnny Perry also wants to delve into real estate after getting professional experience alongside his brother.

“I can see myself meeting important people and being the best person I can be,” he said.

Richard Garrett, 30, a Residential Energy Efficiency Specialist certificate student from Clifton, said he liked how TSTC puts the focus on students getting employment after graduation. He is scheduled to graduate in December.

He said the employer event was a way to see what companies might be a good fit for his skills.

“It allows you to prepare and see what you are looking for and where you would start at,” Garrett said. “I’ve always been interested in building as a profession. You do get a sense of accomplishment with finishing a project.”   

Arthur Boussart, 23, a Building Construction Technology major from Taylor and a graduate of Taylor High School, is scheduled to graduate next spring but is already thinking about his job options in the Austin area. His goal is to become a construction superintendent one day.

“Each company that is here made me feel like I have an opportunity to grow,” Boussart said.

The companies represented a range of services from sprinkler installation to mechanical services for construction projects.

Josh Roberts, an estimating supervisor at Nucor Building Systems in Terrell, said he wanted to attend the event because the company has hired TSTC students in the past. Nucor, the largest steel producer in the United States and largest recycler in the Western Hemisphere, is a Fortune 500 company seeking workers who exhibit leadership skills and knowledge of mathematics along with technical abilities in welding, estimating, detailing and other fields.

“We recognize TSTC as a place to build a relationship with because there are good people,” Roberts said. “TSTC, from what I have seen, has done a good job of reaching out.”

Brad Bailey, a general superintendent at Brazos Masonry Inc. in Waco, attended the employer event to talk to students about the need for bricklayers. The company has done work in Waco, Austin, Edinburg, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and Midland.

“We need people whether they need to learn or have experience,” Bailey said. “There’s more work now than we can manage.”

The Building Construction Technology program worked with TSTC’s Industry Relations and Talent Management to plan the event.

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College will partner with Coca-Cola Refreshments USA Inc. in Waco in workforce development made possible with a Texas Workforce Commission grant.

Representatives of TSTC, Coca-Cola and the TWC announced Monday the awarding of a $681,114 Skills Development Fund grant. The money will be used to train 277 workers to improve skills in advanced programmable logic control, mechanical drives, electrical theory and drawings and laser safety.

Forty-two of the 277 jobs in Waco will be newly created, while the remaining jobs will be upgraded at the company. The company’s inventory control clerks, maintenance mechanics, forklift operators, labelers and others will receive the training. The average wage will be $21.36 after training.

The grant is being touted as a way to improve safety and workers’ retention and performance.

The workforce training is predicted to have a $6.1 million impact on the Waco area, said Elton Stuckly, Executive Vice Chancellor/Chief Operating Officer, TSTC in Waco.

“I see no losers in this venture,” said  Stuckley. “Everybody comes out ahead.”

The state must continue to develop a skilled workforce to keep Texas economically competitive worldwide, said.Ruth R. Hughs, Texas Workforce Commissioner Representing Employers.

And, TSTC is a good fit because of its tradition of technical job training using grants and partnerships.

“We have the technology to make things happen worldwide,” said Stuckly.

Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company with Fanta, Sprite, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola-Zero and other drinks as its brands. The company is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the largest private employers in the world with more than 700,000 employees. The Waco production facility is on Imperial Drive.

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College student Isidro Renteria, 21, of San Angelo chose diesel equipment technology over criminal justice to study after high school.

“I just felt like a university wasn’t a fit for me but a technical school would be good for me,” he said.

Renteria is scheduled to graduate in August with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Diesel Equipment Technology and plans to return to West Texas to work.

Renteria and more than 60 TSTC Diesel Equipment Technology students gathered at the Murray Watson Jr. Student Recreation Center on Thursday, July 14, for an Employer Spotlight hosted by the DET program and TSTC Industry Relations and Talent Management.

“I wanted to see the different options of companies and what they have that benefits you as a person and as a technician you can pursue,” Renteria said.

The event was geared toward Diesel Equipment Technology students who met with professionals working for state and national companies seeking qualified technicians and specialists. Company representatives had tables inside the gymnasium and also spoke in individual information sessions in a recreation center meeting room.

Texas Disposal Systems in Austin is one of the largest independently owned solid waste collection, disposal and recycling companies in the nation. The fast-growing company is in need of diesel mechanics who can perform preventive maintenance, brake work and after-repair diagnostics, according to Krista Izzo, a company human resources generalist. The company has hired TSTC graduates in the past.

Another company represented at the event, Altec Service Group of Birmingham, Alabama, has service centers in Houston and Waxahachie. The company, one of the largest utility and telecommunications providers in the world for hydraulic equipment, currently has two TSTC students doing internships.

The company has 27 service centers in Canada and the United States and expects to build 30 additional centers in the next three years.

“Our growth is so huge that this is the first time we at the company have gone after technicians,” said Jeff Drummonds, a company national service growth and development manager. “Our goal is to get out here and build relationships and have the best people.”

Texas State Technical College student Victor Membreno wants to use diesel technology to springboard into the engineering field.

“It’s cool to wake up and do something you enjoy doing,” said Membreno, 20, of Brenham and a Diesel Equipment Technology major scheduled to graduate in August.

Nick Clawson, 22, a Diesel Equipment Technology major from Paris, Texas, has started job hunting ahead of his planned December graduation. His goal is to work in Texas and later move to Minnesota.

“I’ve been doing mechanics since I was 5,” Clawson said. “I like to work on semi-trucks.”

Other companies in attendance were H-E-B, Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc., Volt Workforce Solutions, Waste Management, Travel Centers of America and RDO Equipment Co.

(WACO) – Devon Wilson began observing his mother and aunts cooking when he was in elementary school.

Now, the 17-year-old 11th-grade student at Rapoport Academy in Waco enjoys baking cakes and wants one day to open his own restaurant.

Until then, he can learn and watch – which is what he and 19 other Waco and Killeen students are doing this week at the Education Service Center Region 12’s three-day Culinary Arts experience at the Greta W. Watson Culinary Arts Center at Texas State Technical College in Waco.

“For me, it is to get a close look into the culinary arts business and how to start off,” Wilson said.

Students attended their first session on Monday learning about knife cutting and using their skills to chop potatoes to make French fries. The students also used a recipe provided by Culinary Arts program staff to make spicy dipping sauce.

On Wednesday and Friday, the high school students will learn about baking and meat.

“I think hands-on learning is better than anything,” said Nakeria Lynch, an Upward Bound site coordinator for Region 12 ESC in Waco.

Jasmine Ramos, 17, a senior at Waco High School, said she enjoyed using knives.

“When you cut, you rock the knife instead of going straight down,” she said.

Ramos, an aspiring nurse, looks forward to learning more cooking skills throughout the week.

“I hope one day to cook for my mother and make her happy,” she said.

Culinary Arts faculty members and students regularly do outreach activities with area youth in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and summer camps.

“They are the future,” Culinary Arts faculty member Gayle Van Sant said. “We hope the passion that we have can transfer to the students through food. It is a diverse industry. We like to see up-and-coming students.”

Region 12’s students have learned so far this summer about leadership skills, self-defense and community service and visited the University of North Texas in Denton. Later in July, the group will take an educational trip to Washington, D.C.

The high school students are part of Region 12’s Upward Bound program. The initiative from the U.S. Department of Education works with students from low-income or educationally deficient-families who are expected to be first-generation college students.

“It (Upward Bound) gives you more of an experience with college,” said Brittaney Rivera, 15, a 10th-grade student at Killeen High School. “It helps you decide what to do and helps you with your studies.”