Category Archives: West Texas

TSTC Student Q&A with Mercedes Burkhart of Stamford

(BRECKENRIDGE) – Mercedes Burkhart, 23, of Stamford is studying Vocational Nursing at Texas State Technical College in Breckenridge and is scheduled to graduate with a certificate in December. She is a 2012 graduate of Stamford High School in Jones County.

Is helping people in their times of need instilled in your family? “I’ve always been in health care. I watched my mother, who was a social worker, work with her cases. Nobody in my family is a nurse, but I knew I wanted to help people.”

How did you learn about TSTC in Breckenridge? “I’m already a certified nursing assistant and I work at Hendrick Health System in Abilene. After years of schooling, I decided to complete something. I wanted to get some type of certificate. My fiance’s stepmother works at the campus in recruiting. She talked to me about TSTC and the Vocational Nursing program in general. I heard more by word of mouth and applied. When I turned my packet in, that’s when I saw the campus for the first time.”

What is a typical week like for you? “We wear scrubs to clinicals. I work Sunday nights and have class at 1 p.m. on Mondays. Tuesdays are all-day classes until 4 p.m. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, I do clinicals at Cisco Nursing and Rehabilitation (in Eastland County), so I have to wake up at 4 a.m. and drive from Abilene to Cisco. On Fridays we do not have classes, so I catch up on homework and then go back to work on the weekends.I also do a lot of volunteer work.”

Did you participate in SkillsUSA Texas’ state contests held in late March at TSTC in Waco? “I gave a prepared speech in which I picked three topics and combined them into a five- to seven-minute speech. I did Family, Career and Community Leaders of America in high school, which was a lot like this. I was the first person from Stamford to go to FCCLA’s national competition twice.”

What advice would you give to high school students thinking about college and careers? “I wish someone had told me about technical schools instead of four-year universities. Coming from a smaller town to a large university was a culture shock. You should actually look into your options and don’t let someone push you where they need you to go. Go where you feel comfortable.”

Texas had more than 78,000 licensed practical and vocational nurses in spring 2016, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Woodlands-Houston-Sugar Land area had the largest concentration of vocational and practical nurses in the state, with more than 12,800 employed.

There were more than 70 full-time licensed vocational nurses in Stephens County as of September 2016, according to the most recent information from the Texas Board of Nursing. Most of the county’s licensed vocational nurses worked in general practices, geriatrics, surgical areas and home health. Jones County had more than 130 full-time licensed vocational nurses as of September 2016, according to the state board of nursing.

For more information on TSTC’s Vocational Nursing or other technical programs, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Student Q&A with Devin Klar

(SWEETWATER) – Devin Klar, 20, of San Antonio is a Wind Energy Technology student at Texas State Technical College. Klar, a 2015 alumnus of Judson High School in Converse, is scheduled to graduate in May with an associate degree.

How did you pick your major? “I grew up going back and forth to the coast and saw the turbines. I jumped on the computer and started looking at schools to go to that offered classes. I started doing some digging around. My father was in Abilene for work, and he talked to some guys who worked for a wind company and they mentioned Texas State Technical College.”

How have you enjoyed attending TSTC? “It’s more than what I expected. It’s a lot of hands-on work with great information that I have learned. It’s been a great time going to school here.”

Have you worked through college? “I started working at the Nolan County Coliseum Complex in Sweetwater in the fall. I wait for people to come in and open up stalls for their animals. I make sure the stalls have the amount of shavings they ordered and make sure the visitors are happy with what they got. I have a pretty good work schedule. I have a son back in San Antonio and go back and forth every other weekend. It’s been a wonderful experience, and I’ve been very blessed to have what has been given to me here.”

What are you looking forward to in working in the wind energy field? “The future that it has, the large growth that it is capable of producing with renewable energy. It is the ability to travel, too, and lots of hands-on work.”

Texas had the most wind turbine service technicians in the nation in 2015 with more than 1,200 workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. West Texas and The Woodlands-Sugar Land-Houston area have the largest concentrations of wind energy workers in the state.

Wind Energy Technology is offered at TSTC’s campuses in Harlingen and Sweetwater. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Students Look to Sweetwater Events Center as Source for Jobs

(SWEETWATER) – The Nolan County Coliseum Complex is giving Texas State Technical College students the opportunity to attend classes and learn about work quality and responsibility.

The multi-structure events venue on Coliseum Drive in Sweetwater has at least 12 TSTC students working varying hours depending on scheduled events. Some of March’s activities include a 4-H Club quilting show, a quinceanera, team roping competitions and a 4-H horse contest.

“They want gas money, they want food money, they want money for their education,” said Terry Locklar, the coliseum’s general manager, about his student workers. “These are the guys and females that have a goal in mind and know what it takes to achieve that goal. It’s been a great asset for us as far as having people you can count on and have that customer relations experience and that mindset of the harder work you do, the more you achieve.”

The students and more than 10 full-time and permanent part-time staff have been transforming the coliseum area this week from hosting junior high school and high school rodeos to getting ready for rattlesnakes. The Sweetwater Jaycees’ annual World’s Largest Rattlesnake Roundup will host more than 25,000 visitors from across Texas and the nation from Friday, March 10, to Sunday, March 12. The event, which has at least an $8 million annual economic impact on Nolan County, includes the Miss Snake Charmer Pageant, a flea market, a gun and knife show, roping contests and a carnival.

Saul Biscaino, 20, of Pleasanton and a fall 2016 Welding Technology graduate taking an extra welding class to learn more techniques this semester at TSTC, is looking forward to his first rattlesnake event. He works at least 30 hours a week and has been employed at the complex since last summer.

“It’s been a real good experience,” Biscaino said about his work. “When they have the rodeos, I am responsible for the financial paperwork and making sure everything that needs to be paid for is, and everything put out in the stalls gets put out.”

Biscaino has also done welded panels on livestock stalls and built countertops for sinks in new restrooms in the complex’s annex.

“I’m very fortunate,” he said. “I’m very grateful to the coliseum staff that gave me the opportunity to continue my classes and work here and get as many hours as I can.”

One of Biscaino’s co-workers, 20-year-old Devin Klar of San Antonio, has been working at the complex since the fall. Klar is a Wind Energy Technology major and is scheduled to graduate in May from TSTC.

This weekend, Klar will make sure trash is picked up and help out where needed on the grounds during the rattlesnake event.

“Working at the coliseum has taught me a lot,” he said. “It’s given me a lot of integrity, and we are given a lot of responsibility here. It is given to us with trust, and we get that trust very quickly. I am able to follow through and make decisions.”

TSTC Culinary Art Graduate Finds His Passion in the Kitchen

(ABILENE) – Sweetwater native Marc Silvas went off to Texas Tech University to study to be a pharmacist but soon realized he was on the wrong career track.

“I wasn’t enjoying it and I couldn’t see myself being a pharmacist for the rest of my life,” said Silvas. “So I found myself back at home and working at my family’s restaurant thinking about my life and doing some soul searching.”

The 27-year-old’s family owns a Tex-Mex restaurant in Sweetwater called Casa Morales. It was originally opened by his grandfather in 1980 in Rotan, Texas. After retirement his family moved the business to Sweetwater in 1990, where they have served the community since.

“I was in the kitchen cooking when I realized, ‘Why not pursue a career in the culinary world?’” said Silvas. “I’m a restaurant kid, I’ve done this my whole life and I’m good at it.”

Silvas said that was the best decision he had ever made. After completing program prerequisites and applying for the culinary program, he got accepted. He graduated from the TSTC Culinary Arts program with an associate degree in 2011.

“My time at TSTC was great and it prepared me and paved my way for the job I have now,” he said.

Silvas currently works with Texas Tech’s hospitality services as an Executive Chef for Top Tier Catering, the university’s in-house catering company.

“Getting this job was definitely a whirlwind of emotions for me because I received the offer before even receiving my degree,” Silvas said. “It all happened so fast, but it’s like I say, you get what you put into something. And I gave everything to be successful in the culinary program.”

The executive chef said the education and training he received at TSTC is invaluable. He said the real-world experience of running a lunch and dinner service as a class for the college and community was instrumental in his success.

“During this time we would all shift restaurant roles,” he said. “So one day I was cooking, the next bussing tables and the next working as wait staff. It’s important to learn every role and TSTC provided that experience.”

Silvas credits much of his success to two of his instructors Chef Sandy Davis and Chef Coby Baumann.

“They invested so much of their energy and time in me and my success,” said Silvas. “It means a lot to me that they cared about my development and always pushed me to do my best.”

Ultimately, Silvas said he would like to teach others and also help them find success in the culinary industry in addition to someday owning his own butcher shop.

In the meantime, Silvas is preparing for his Certified Pastry Chef exam in July. He already holds two additional certifications: Certified Executive Chef and Chef de Cuisine.

David Deason, Silvas’ supervisor and associate managing director of Hospitality at Texas Tech said he was impressed with Silvas the first time he met him.

“Marc is so young, but so talented in the kitchen,” Deason said. “He has worked side by side with some of the best trained chefs from f the biggest culinary institutes and he is respected by all. He definitely has a bright future and a home here with us as long as he wants to stay.”

Silvas said he wants current or future TSTC students to always find networking opportunities.

“Get involved in your community, no matter your major,” he said. “Sometimes it’s about who you meet and know that will give you your break. I know it definitely made a difference for me when I met my current boss at an event I was cooking for.”

For more information on TSTC Culinary Arts call 325-670-9240.

TSTC Filling Nursing Needs in Stephens County

(BRECKENRIDGE) – Texas State Technical College is helping to keep quality medical care available in Stephens County.

“The local Vocational Nursing program has been a tremendous asset to our field physicians in our hospitals, nursing homes and clinics,” said Virgil Moore, executive director of the Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation and a member of The TSTC Foundation Board of Directors. “It definitely helps fill a gap, and we are fortunate in Breckenridge that we have something like that available. Most rural communities do not.”

TSTC’s Breckenridge campus offers a certificate in Vocational Nursing and currently has 12 students in the program. Students take classes in basic nursing, pharmacology, medical terminology, medication administration and applied nursing skills. Some of the training is done on medical simulation dummies that can be programmed to mimic a range of health situations.

“The program covers a wide variety of skills,” said Trisha Otts, interim director of the Vocational Nursing program in West Texas, but who will become permanent director at the end of February. “We get a lot of the students straight out of high school. The main hurdle is getting clear background checks from the Texas Board of Nursing.”

Chris Curtis, practice administrator at Breckenridge Medical Center, which is owned by Stephens Memorial Hospital, said a majority of the nurses are TSTC graduates.

“Without the nursing program, we would really struggle to find nurses,” Curtis said. “TSTC is where they all come from. They do their clinical sessions at the clinic and the hospital, and this gives them an idea of what they want to do in their careers.”

The technical college is a tool Moore uses to attract new companies to the county.

“Finding skilled labor is a big challenge,” Moore said. “The smaller the area you are talking about, the more of a challenge it is. A lot of times we rely on basically a promise that we are going to supply you with a skilled workforce, and you tell us the skills you need and we can train the people locally to fill those jobs. It’s worked out really well for us.”

Otts, a graduate of TSTC, said she envisions working with area school districts in the future to try to provide dual enrollment opportunities for high school students interested in nursing.

Open House will be held at TSTC in Breckenridge from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24. For more information, go to tstc.edu/openhouse.

Home Grow ‘Em: Area Company Offers Apprenticeships for TSTC Students

(ABILENE) – A local company is offering students in the Aviation Maintenance programs at Texas State Technical College a chance for hands-on experience and, after graduation, a job.

TSTC has partnered with Eagle Aviation to form a job pipeline, Aviation Maintenance instructor Brian Hahn explained. While in school students participate in Eagle Aviation’s apprenticeship program and, after graduating and earning their Airframe and Powerplant license, are hired on full time as mechanics.

“The company has a number of slots dedicated for full-time employees,” Hahn said. “And some of those slots are to hire specifically from TSTC. The track gets them in while they’re still in school so they can become familiar with the aircraft.”

The program began about 3 1/2 years ago, and the students complete the apprenticeship on their own time.

“There is no class requirement,” Hahn said. “They work 25 to 30 hours a week depending on their schedule, getting paid at a non-licensed mechanic rate. It’s a wonderful opportunity for them to get that real-life, hands-on experience on aircraft that are actually flying passengers.”

Rania Rollin, who graduated from the Aviation Maintenance program in the summer of 2015, completed her apprenticeship and was hired as an aircraft technician. She said the apprenticeship was a great opportunity for her.

“It’s so hard to get into the aviation industry without having somewhere to put your foot,” Rollin said. “We worked with a certified mechanic and we would basically learn everything we needed to do. If we had to change fluids, we would change fluids. If we had to fix sheet metal, we would take it out and shoot rivets. Pretty much anything a normal mechanic would do, we got the opportunity to do it.”

Rollin spent a year in the program and was relieved to have a post-graduation plan.

“It felt secure,” she said. “It’s a small area out here in Abilene, so not having to move to a bigger city was nice. I have my husband and we have a kid, so it was nice knowing that I could help support them.”

Harley Hall, managing director at Eagle Aviation, said the company usually has five to seven TSTC apprentices going through the program at one time. The program helps Eagle Aviation with employee turnover.

“We’ve had a large attrition rate over the years,” Hall said. “People coming from out of state want to move to be closer to their families; we can’t keep them. This kind of ‘Home Grow ‘Em’ program helps because most of the TSTC students are from the Abilene area. Plus it gives them an avenue to know they have a job waiting for them at graduation.”

Hall said the rates of students becoming licensed and getting hired have been very high.

“Ninety to 100 percent of the students now are getting their A&P license and coming to work for us,” he said. “They’re definitely turning out to be some of our better workers.”

Rollin is grateful for her experience at Eagle Aviation.

“It’s a great learning experience,” she said. “The planes aren’t incredibly small, but not incredibly large either, so you have an opportunity to learn every part of the aircraft. I’ve learned a lot of different things.”

Eagle Aviation currently employs about 15 TSTC graduates as mechanics.

For more information on TSTC’s Aviation Maintenance programs, visit tstc.edu.

Towering Opportunities Available in Wind Energy

(SWEETWATER) – Wind Turbine Technician tops the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual list of fastest-growing jobs with a whopping 108 percent growth over the next eight years. With Texas State Technical College’s Wind Energy program, students can break into the industry in as little as one year with a certificate of completion or two years with an associate degree.

According to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency, more than 8.1 million people worldwide are working in renewable energy jobs. Students in the Wind Energy program at TSTC learn to safely troubleshoot and repair all components of a wind turbine.

Lead Wind Energy Instructor Heath Ince said the program has seen a jump in enrollment this fall, but the biggest change came in TSTC’s industry partners.

“We’ve always had good placement in our program, but what I’ve noticed is that now we have more companies competing for our students,” Ince said. “They want to get in here and get them hired before they even graduate because of the demand for skilled wind technicians out there right now.”

NextEra Energy is one company that competes for TSTC graduates. The company, which employs a significant number of wind technicians in the United States and Canada, made job offers to several TSTC students who graduated in December.

“We’re the largest producers of renewable energy in the world, so we think about this growth every day,” said James Auld, director of External Training Initiatives at NextEra. “We come to TSTC to recruit twice a year. We present to the students and interview every student who’s interested in interviewing. We are pleased to have made job offers to several promising TSTC graduates.”

Auld attributes the company’s strong relationship with TSTC to its location in the Big Country area.

“We have very large wind farm sites very close to Sweetwater,” Auld said. “It allows us to take local folks who are educated locally and put them to work near home. It’s a big win for everyone.”

Ince said the fact that the job is the fastest-growing in the nation didn’t come as a complete shock to him.

“We were kind of expecting it,” Ince said. “Our other wind instructor and I have been going to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) conference every year, so we’ve been kind of up to date. We knew there was going to be growth and that the demand was going to be there. We’re just now really starting to see it.”

Last week Zippia, a company that helps people find the right career, named wind turbine service technician as the top-growing job in Texas, with 129.2 percent growth.

Classes at TSTC began Monday, Jan. 9. TSTC will begin registering for the summer semester on April 3.
For more information on TSTC’s Wind Energy Technology, or to apply, visit tstc.edu.

Hospital, TSTC Provide Economic Power in Sweetwater

(SWEETWATER) – Ryan Moore was inspired to study nursing as she saw the care her brother received after a bad automobile accident.

“He was in the hospital for quite a while,” said Moore, 39, of Sweetwater. “The accident was serious and he had to learn how to walk, talk, tie his shoes – he had to learn how to do things for himself all over. Being with him in the hospital setting made me decide that’s what I wanted to do.”

Moore graduated from Texas State Technical College in 2001 with a Certificate 2 in Vocational Nursing. That same year, she began working as a nurse at Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital in Sweetwater. Moore has worked in medical surgery and now deals with orthopedic patients on surgery preparations, insurance, X-rays and relationship building.

Rolling Plains is one of the top four employers in Sweetwater with more than 300 workers, according to the Sweetwater Enterprise for Economic Development Inc. The medical center has a range of services for Nolan County residents including gynecology, nuclear medicine, physical therapy, sleep examinations and ophthalmology. TSTC graduates are a big part of the hospital’s work in nursing and information technology.

Having a hospital and technical college in the same county is a win for economic development because the city’s core businesses are in health care, manufacturing, conventional and renewable energy, logistics and hospitality. Having local emergency and health care options are factors for companies when deciding where to locate facilities, said Ken Becker, executive director of the Sweetwater Enterprise for Economic Development Inc.

“Each of these industry sectors has special needs when it comes to training,” said Becker. “TSTC has developed training programs to meet the specific needs of individual companies to industry sectors. As job opportunities and technology continue to evolve, continuous training will be required for entry-level to advanced manufacturing and everything in between.”

The technical college offers a four-semester Certificate 2 in Vocational Nursing in Sweetwater. Students study anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, neonatal nursing, surgical nursing and other skills. Nursing graduates must be licensed by the Texas Board of Nursing to work in healthcare environments.

LaBritta Rule, 41, of Sweetwater works in internal medicine and has been at the hospital periodically since the mid-1990s when she began in the admissions department. She graduated from TSTC with a Vocational Nursing certificate in 1999.

“I loved my instructors and everything they taught me,” Rule said. “I loved being able to do my clinicals at the hospital and be able to have primary nurses that I knew and was comfortable with teaching me. I loved being able to go to work following graduation at this hospital that I love being part of.”

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

Area Company Hires Five TSTC Welders

(BRECKENRIDGE) – Christmas came early for five TSTC Welding Technology students who will graduate Monday with job offers from 1954 Manufacturing, a company based in nearby Graham, Texas.

One student, who grew up in Graham, interviewed with the company on his own and relayed to his classmates that they were interested in hiring more welders. Monday, Welding instructor Gregory Nicholas packed up five of his students to visit the company.

“I took them because most of them didn’t have the gas money to drive out there. It’s a little harder when you’re a full-time student,” Nicholas said. “So I said ‘Alright, let’s load up and go!’ and I took them out there.”

Nicholas said he hoped the trip would make a difference for his students.

“I wanted to help change their lives and help them get their career started in what they came to do,” he said.

The students interviewed and toured the company, and were all offered jobs.

“When the instructor brought in the other students, they were more than qualified. We’ve had people apply from [another welding school] but they haven’t been as qualified,” said 1954 Manufacturing Manager Courtney Hayes. “After they took our weld test, we were interested in bringing them on.”

Hayes said the company hopes to bring on more TSTC graduates in the future.

“The instructor was very helpful. We’re definitely interested in partnering with TSTC and interested in any candidates coming through his class that he thinks would be a good fit,” Hayes said. “If they all have training like the other applicants that came in, it’s exactly what we’re looking for.”

The company, which was founded in 2014, focuses on building truck bodies. They expect to hire another 10 to 20 welders next month.

“We have a sister company in California and we’re moving our entire water tank department here in January, which is why we’re trying to ramp up and hire more welders,” Hayes said. “Once we make that transition, we’ll be looking for more people to put in those positions and we foresee continued growth.”

According to Onetonline.org, Texas will see a 13 percent increase in jobs for welders over the next eight years.

The two-semester welding program will teach students multiple welding processes including oxy-fuel welding (OFW) and cutting, shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW).

TSTC is enrolling now for Spring 2017. To apply, or for more information, visit tstc.edu.

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Three TSTC in West Texas Employees Earn Chancellor’s Excellence Award

(ABILENE) – Texas State Technical College in West Texas honored the recipients of this year’s Chancellor’s Excellence Award at a luncheon Friday in Abilene. Three West Texas employees were chosen as recipients.

This year’s award winners are Adam Harvey, lead application administrator at TSTC in Sweetwater; Griselda Sanchez, community standards liaison at TSTC in Sweetwater; and Andy Weaver, health science statewide division director at TSTC in Abilene.

The Chancellor’s Excellence Award began in 2001, and over the past 15 years 270 TSTC employees have received the honor. Recipients are chosen based on outstanding contributions and achievements, commitment to excellence, and character. Honorees serve as agents of change in the advancement of TSTC initiatives.

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