(HARLINGEN) – Texas State Technical College student Alex Castillo, 19, is completing his Academic Core and expects to finish Spring 2020.

The San Benito native is also an active member of the TSTC Intramural Sports Club and works part-time with his father doing air conditioning and plumbing contract work.

Although he enjoys working with his father, Castillo said his passion is in teaching and coaching.

What are your plans after graduation?

After I complete my Academic Core I will return to TSTC to pursue an associate degree in Education and Training and eventually will pursue a bachelor’s degree in teaching specializing in special education.

What’s your dream job?

My dream job is to become a special education teacher and a coach for football and track. As long as I’m helping people, that’s all that matters to me and as a teacher I’ll be able to do that.

What has been your greatest accomplishment while at TSTC?

My greatest accomplishment while at TSTC has been getting involved on campus and interacting with people. I’ve always been shy, but doing this has helped me engage with other people on campus and around the community.

What greatest lesson have you learned about yourself or life?

The greatest lesson I have learned is that life is always going to be filled with choices, but it’s up to us on which road we choose and how we decide to handle situations. No one else can make that decision for us.

Who at TSTC has had the most influence on your success?

The person who has had the most influence on my success is TSTC Intramural Program Coordinator Joe Garza, a.k.a coach. He is the person who has encouraged my involvement on campus and in the Intramural Sports Club. He has also pushed me out of my comfort zone in helping coach intramural sports. He is a great motivator.

What is your advice for future TSTC students?

My advice for future TSTC students is to enjoy every moment of your college experience. TSTC gives students so many opportunities in and out of the classroom. Your college experience is what you make of it.

(HARLINGEN) – It was only three years ago when Jessica Pecina graduated with her associate degree in Health Information Technology from Texas State Technical College; a degree she never expected to get until she had to set a positive example.

This was the second time around at TSTC for the 39-year-old who is now a surveillance specialist with the Department of State Health Services in Harlingen and travels from Laredo to Corpus Christi monitoring birth defects and epidemiology, which is the study and analysis of the distribution and causes of disease.

She first graduated from TSTC with a certificate in nursing assistant and phlebotomy in 2000.

“I was a teen mom so when I graduated from high school, TSTC was the best choice for me,” she said. “It was affordable, close to home and a way for me to get a college education that would later help me support my family.”

The Harlingen native ended up working for Valley Baptist Medical Center for a little more than a decade before moving to a local home health care agency where she began handling and managing medical records as supervisor.

“I’m the type of person who wants to do things right if I’m going to do them,” she said. “So having no medical record experience wasn’t sitting right with me. So I said, ‘Why not, let me go back to school.’”

Pecina said the timing could not have been better, because it was also during this period that Pecina’s daughter, now 24, graduated high school and immediately found out she was pregnant.

“This was also my chance to show my daughter, that no matter the circumstances, even as a teen mom, going to college was a possibility,” she said. “Being mom should never stop you from following your dreams.”

So while working full-time, the mother of two and grandmother enrolled in Health Information Technology as a full-time student.

“TSTC opened my eyes to the bigger picture of my profession,” said Pecina. “And since I was already working in the profession, the program helped me better understand the rules, laws and regulations I needed to be following.”

Pecina added that the support from faculty and staff and training she received at TSTC was invaluable for her success, especially as a parent.

“Everyone I ever encountered was so helpful and understanding. It was the faculty and staff that helped us all make it through the program” she said. “Lessons and training were thorough and gave us the foundation we needed to begin a ‘successful’ career in the field. Everything I do in the field is what I learned in the classroom.”

She recognizes Health Information Technology instructor Ana Gonzalez as one of her best mentors.

“Ana is so welcoming and helpful toward everyone. She understand that life happens and we face challenges as students so she is always there to support us, offer advice and help us in any way she can, even after we graduate,” said Pecina.

Pecina is now pursuing an online bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati in Health Information Management and sits on the TSTC Health Information Management advisory committee.

She also hopes to pursue a master’s degree in health informatics.

“I recommend anyone who is looking for a college or to change careers to check out TSTC,” said Pecina. “TSTC has helped me find a career that supports my family and has helped me grow. It has changed my life for the better.”

Health Information Technology is offered at TSTC’s Harlingen and Abilene campuses and is also offered 100 percent online.

For more information on the program, visit tstc.edu.

(HARLINGEN) – The Texas State Technical College Dental Hygiene class of Spring 2018 recently received official Western Regional Examining Board (WREB) exam scores and have achieved a 100 percent pass rate for the third consecutive year.

“We are so excited and so proud of our students,” said TSTC Dental Hygiene Program Director Raquel Rico. “Everyone has worked really hard to make this achievement possible.”

WREB is one of three exams that graduates from the dental hygiene program are required to pass to receive a license in the profession and be able to practice as a dental hygienist.

In addition to the clinical board exam (WREB), graduates must also pass the National Dental Hygiene Examination Board and the Texas State Governance Jurisprudence Exam.

Judith Cano, one of the 25 students from the Spring 2018 dental hygiene graduating class, is already working as a hygienist for The Smile Shop in Pharr and Mission and said she was excited to learn she and her classmates had passed their clinical board exam, receiving their golden slips.

“This just goes to show that all of our hard work has finally paid off,” said Cano. “I’m so happy and excited for all of us.”

Cano, mother of a six-year-old son and former president of her class’ dental hygiene club, also said that she owes her success to her parents who migrated from Mexico City.

“My mom and dad have been so supportive of everything I do. They believe in me 100 percent and without them I wouldn’t be where I am at,” said Cano. “They migrated to the U.S. to give us a better life and they definitely did that.”

Cano added that it is the hands-on training they received in class and at the TSTC Dental Hygiene Clinic, which provides low-cost dental services to the community, TSTC’s interview practicum and the mock board exams that made all of the difference.

Dental Hygiene Instructor Vicki Martin said they spend the last two semesters of the two-year program conducting mock clinical board exams following the same process students would experience during the actual exam.

As they do for the actual clinical board exam, the students select a person who is willing to volunteer as a patient, instructors approve the students’ patient selection and then perform and note every dental procedure completed by the student.

“As faculty, we are dedicated to making sure that we prepare our students the best way we can for their exams,” said Martin. “We don’t want there to be any surprises for them. We find this relieves a lot of their testing anxiety and that in turn allows them to do better.”

Rico said that mock board exams are a rare thing for dental hygiene programs to offer and that being the only program in the Rio Grande Valley, they felt this was an important service to offer its students.

“Our goal is to produce highly-skilled hygienists who are compassionate, provide the best patient care and always have the best interest of their patients in mind,” said Rico.

It is this that Rico said has put TSTC’s Dental Hygiene program on the map as the sixth best dental hygiene program in Texas , according to a list compiled by universities.com.

“This is great recognition for our program. It gives us visibility and helps us encourage future hygienists to check out our program,” said Rico. “We hope to continue growing and welcoming students from across the state.”

With the demand for dental hygienists growing and the job outlook increasing by nearly 20 percent, faster than the average of other occupations according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Rico said TSTC’s Dental Hygiene program is ready to help meet the demand.

For more information on TSTC’s Dental Hygiene program or TSTC’s Dental Hygiene Clinic call 956-364-4696 or visit tstc.edu.

(HARLINGEN) – Jasmine Munoz is completing her Academic Core at Texas State Technical College expects to finish in Summer 2019. She also boasts a 3.5 grade-point average.

The 19-year-old Harlingen native is also active on campus and her community. She is a member of the TSTC Service Squad and Action South Texas, a civic organization that focuses on voter registration and increasing voter turnout.

What are your plans after graduation?

After I graduate I want to transfer to the University of Texas at Austin to pursue a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism with a minor in political science.

What’s your dream job?

I want to be the next Christiane Amanpour and tell stories from the trenches. I want to shed light on politics and other controversial issues and be a voice for those who don’t have one.

What has been your greatest accomplishment while at TSTC?

My greatest accomplishment has been able to take everything I have learned in my classes and apply it in the real-world. Everything I have learned, done and am doing has helped me form my own perspectives and opinions and helped me figure out my purpose.

What greatest lesson have you learned about yourself or life?

The greatest lesson I have learned is to appreciate everything you have. I didn’t grow up with a lot, there were times we didn’t even have a place to call home, but getting an education and volunteering has put my life into perspective.

Who at TSTC has had the most influence on your success?

The person who has had the most influence on my success is Elizabeth Bryant, TSTC Government instructor. She not only teaches her students, but she shares her experiences with us also. Her door is always open and she is a great mentor and advisor.

What is your advice for future TSTC students?

My advice for future TSTC students is to don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to meet the people around you, to get involved and to help your campus and community.

(HARLINGEN) – Texas State Technical College in partnership with a Manufacturing Consortium, including PRISM Plastics Inc., a plastics injection molding service, and Saint-Gobain Abrasives Inc., an abrasives manufacturing company, recently received a $197,253 Skills Development Fund grant from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

“Because of this training we have seen an increase in productivity because of an increase of skills,” said PRISM Plastics Inc. Human Resources Director Rosie Hernandez. “We thank TSTC, TWC for everything they have done and for our continued partnership.”

With this grant, TSTC has been able to provide custom training to more than 100 employees from PRISM Plastics Inc. in Harlingen and Saint-Gobain Abrasives Inc. in Brownsville.

Training has consisted of industry-related topics such as programmable logic controls, hazardous materials and motor theory.

“This is great news for our employees,” said Saint-Gobain Abrasives Inc. Human Resources Director Kip Patterson. “With continual changes in industry and technology moving forward it takes a higher skill set to operate our machines, so being able to train our employees and keep them up to speed is amazing.”

Employees that benefit from this skills development fund grant include industrial engineers, computer numerical control (CNC) operators, mechanical drafters and electronics repair and waste technicians.

TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Julian Alvarez presented the check to TSTC. He represents nearly 13.9 million working Texans and said it is institutions like TSTC that are working together to make the Texas workforce stronger.

“The unemployment rate in Texas is dropping because of places like TSTC,” said Alvarez. “It is this type of training that allows us to talk about careers, not only jobs.”

Alvarez added that this particular grant has a $274,000 economic impact and upon completion of the training, the workers will receive no less than an average hourly rate of $16.76.

Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell congratulated TSTC, TSTC Regent Alex Meade, who was at the event representing the college’s Board of Regents, and the TWC on the work they do to provide first-class training to companies and their employees across the Rio Grande Valley.

“There is an increased need for trained skilled workers and this partnership allows me to tell incoming industries that they have the resources they need close by at TSTC, and that it is this training that is opening economic doors in the Rio Grande Valley across the state,” said Boswell.

TSTC Senior Executive Director of Workforce Development Loree Scott thanked her team and industry partners for making this grant a huge success.

“My team deserves to be recognized for all of the hard work that goes into making this grant possible and developing the customized training that is required,” said Scott. “And thank you to the companies that trust us with their training and for the ongoing partnerships.”

For more information on the services offered by TSTC’s Workforce Development and Continuing Education, call 956-364-4567.