(WACO, Texas) – Zachary Muth is planning to continue his education in the fall.

Muth, who graduated from Texas State Technical College’s Diesel Equipment Technology program last month, wants to add an occupational skills award in welding to his associate degree.

“I plan to return this fall because the more skills I have, the better my chances of being hired,” he said. “I am currently looking at all of my options in the diesel field.”

Muth likes the options because they have one thing in common.

“I have always liked working with my hands. I was never a big fan of sitting behind a desk,” he said.

Muth was drawn to TSTC after attending an open house suggested by his high school English teacher.

“I have always been interested in cars, but I wanted to do that more as a hobby,” he said. “I was looking for a career, and after touring the diesel program, I could see myself doing this as a career.”

Entering his final semester, Muth said he overcame the challenge of motivating himself to complete online work. He said the best part of his week is when he is in the lab, completing a task.

Having experienced instructors helped him overcome other obstacles.

“I was never into the electronics and how things may work. All of the instructors are great in understanding how you need help in some areas,” he said.

The instructors also help students by bringing in company representatives for job interview sessions.

“The instructors have so many different contacts. We had a company from Georgetown in here one day for interviews,” Muth said.

Muth said he is proud of completing his associate degree work and hopes other people look at TSTC for a career.

“If you have recruiters come to your campus, listen to what they have to say,” he said. “TSTC is a good launching point for a lot of hands-on skills.”

As for the fall, Muth is ready to learn a different trade in welding. The occupational skills award allows students to take a nine-week course to learn basic technical skills needed for an entry-level career.

“I am ready to learn a different skill to help me with a career,” he said. “I am excited to be part of the welding program and look forward to what I learn.”

For more information, visit tstc.edu.

(WACO, Texas) – A Texas State Technical College graduate recently placed first in the Wacotown Chalk + Walk arts event sponsored by Creative Waco.

Shay MacMorran, of Waco, graduated in 2003 with an associate degree in Commercial Art and Advertising. She is currently a graphic designer at Winstar Marketing in Austin but works remotely from her home. The company specializes in apparel, promotional items, social media and web design.

What took place during the competition? 

A bunch of artists and businesses paired together, but businesses could pay for a certain artist. They worked together to make a design for the street or a wall.

I teamed up with LaSalle Shoppes to create a chalk design on Austin Avenue. They do antiques, so we decided to do an “I Love Lucy” crossover with “I Love LaSalle Shoppes.” There is specific street chalk we can use, and also spray paint chalk. You just get into a zone and just go. It’s big, but you have to spend several hours working on it.

Creative Waco and some other groups are working very hard to make the arts scene in Waco more visible. Artists are solitary creatures. You don’t really get out there and see other artists because you are working at home doing your thing. This is a way to bring everyone together.

I was confident, but there are about 50 other artists there. It was based on voting, so you do not know how people will vote. I chose a spot in the LuluBelle’s Market at Magnolia’s Silobration in October in Waco.

What is your job like? 

It’s a little different every day. Most of the time, it is laying out uniforms, but I also do a lot of T-shirt and logo designs.

We usually do a lot of things by Zoom, mostly because of the pandemic. We have quarterly team meetings where we have lunch and folks can come out and talk. It’s a small group, so we are all tight-knit. We talk by email. 

Because I work from home, I can home-school my son, work on personal art projects when I have extra time, and spend time with our dog. It is just a lot more freeing than working in an office. 

What factored into your decision to attend TSTC? 

I wanted to do something with art, and it just seemed like the best fit for me at the time. We didn’t have a lot of money for a huge school. TSTC gave me everything I needed to get started. I went in not knowing how to use Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. I was just a traditional artist. I would always draw or paint. I use Adobe products every single day now.

What advice do you have for people interested in pursuing the design field? 

I think it would help to have a creative eye. Otherwise, it is going to be more difficult if you do not have one. Having the ability to take criticism without taking it personally is good.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, graphic designers in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $49,000. The state is projected to need more than 20,000 graphic designers by 2028, the third-highest number in the country.

TSTC offers an online associate degree in Visual Communication Technology. Students can gain hands-on experience in art direction, digital publishing and graphic design, and do a required commercial art and advertising internship.

Registration is underway for the fall, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

(WACO, Texas) – Instrumentation plays a critical role in the operation of oil refineries, petrochemical facilities, and power generation plants. Workers use programmable logic controllers, calibrate equipment, and maintain the control of flows, levels, temperatures, and pressures for production.

Many of Texas State Technical College’s Instrumentation Technology graduates either have jobs before they graduate or shortly thereafter.

Program faculty said they have noticed a change in hiring patterns during the pandemic, but companies are starting to reach back out to TSTC. Mike Martin, a faculty member in TSTC’s Instrumentation Technology program, said Celanese, Dow Chemical Co. and Phillips 66 are some of the companies that have hired TSTC graduates in the past.

“We still have students interviewing for jobs,” Martin said. “We have some waiting for final replies back from companies.”

Robert Lovelace, TSTC’s statewide lead in the Instrumentation Technology program, said graduates tend to go to work for refineries and power plants after graduation.

The Luminant Generation-owned Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Somervell County has hired several TSTC graduates. The plant employs about 1,300 employees and has two nuclear reactors.

Somervell County Judge Danny Chambers said Comanche Peak is a valuable asset to that area. The power plant pulls in workers not only from throughout the county but from neighboring counties as well. And those workers need some sort of education to handle the daily grind of producing power.

“When you get an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree, it opens doorways and leads to a better future,” Chambers said.

Chambers is familiar with TSTC, having taken Automotive Technology classes there himself. His son graduated from TSTC’s Electrical Power and Controls program in Waco.

Chambers said the county benefits from having the nuclear plant by way of property taxes, which the city of Glen Rose does not receive. But the city reaps the benefits of tax money as out-of-town workers sleep in hotels, eat in restaurants, buy gas and shop for groceries during planned plant outages.

“Without the power plant, Glen Rose would not be what it is now,” Chambers said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, power plant operators in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $78,000. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators and gaugers in the state make a yearly median salary of more than $76,000. The state will need more than 13,000 workers by 2028.

The Instrumentation Technology program has over 100 students taking classes this summer. Students work toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in Instrumentation Technology. Martin said the students attracted to the program typically know someone who works in the industry.

Starting this fall, Instrumentation Technology students will be in labs for longer periods. Lovelace said seven of the program’s 12 classes will have lab time expanded by an hour with less lecture time. He said the program’s goal is to provide more hands-on experiences for students.

Instrumentation Technology is part of TSTC’s Money-Back Guarantee initiative, which enables students who do not find a job in their profession within six months of graduation to have their tuition refunded.

Registration continues for the fall, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

(WACO, Texas) – As the aviation industry continues to grow in Texas, so does the need for more mechanics and technicians.

“The aviation maintenance industry is picking up steam really quickly,” said Robert Capps, Texas State Technical College’s statewide lead in the Aviation Maintenance program. “When COVID-19 hit, a lot of the airlines started temporarily mothballing airplanes. As air traffic is picking up, pulling them out of storage is a lot of work to keep them in regular service.”

Capps said a lot of aviation mechanics who left as the pandemic raged on took retirement packages or left the industry for other jobs. He said many of those workers will stay retired, making room for new workers.

Trim Aire Aviation in Mexia is currently searching for an aircraft structure mechanic and paying between $18 and $28 an hour, according to Indeed.com.

“Right now we are working on some applications that are finally coming in here,” said Buddy Miller, Trim Aire’s owner. 

In the past, Miller said it has taken a while to fill technician and mechanic positions. The business has 11 people working on airplanes, with five being licensed mechanics. The remaining workers are apprentices and helpers.

Miller said apprenticeships are a great way for people interested in the aviation maintenance field to get valuable job experience. During their apprenticeships, they can work toward an airframe and powerplant certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Ricky Rodriguez, vice president of aircraft maintenance at Texas Aero in Waco, said he likes to hire military veterans because of their mindset and experience.

But he said it is challenging to find qualified people holding airframe and powerplant certifications who want to work in general aviation. Rodriguez said the certificate provides many opportunities for people to work anywhere in the country and make good money.

“It seems like as soon as they come out of school, the airlines come in and swoop them up,” he said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, aircraft mechanics and service technicians make a yearly median salary of more than $66,000. The highest concentration of workers is in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas. Texas is projected to need more than 19,300 workers by 2028, the highest number in the country.

TSTC offers associate degree programs in Aircraft Airframe Technology and Aircraft Powerplant Technology and certificates in Aircraft Airframe Technician and Aircraft Powerplant Technician.

Registration continues for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC. Scholarships are also available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

(WACO, Texas) – Motivation is not a problem for Andrew Grisham.

“With life in general, every day is a new day,” he said. “Anything can happen on any given day. Just seeing what happens is a motivator for me.”

Grisham, who grew up in Robinson and is a graduate of Texas State Technical College’s Biomedical Equipment Technology program in Waco, is a medical imaging engineer at Tri-Imaging Solutions in Fort Collins, Colorado. He works from home and covers four hospitals, doing preventive maintenance and emergency repairs on Toshiba Aquilion CT scanners. He recently celebrated his first anniversary with the company.

When he gets service calls, he goes to the hospital with the problem and talks to staff. He works with the equipment until the problem can be figured out. Grisham is able to call the company to work through problems, if needed. Parts can also be ordered and delivered in less than 24 hours. His work sometimes requires him to go to Phoenix, Arizona, to do equipment repairs.

“You do travel, depending on who you work for,” Grisham said. “It is not the same work every day. You always have something new coming up. You also get to work in air conditioning in a hospital setting. You get great pay and benefits.”

Grisham enjoys his job because he sees how relieved hospital staff are when machines are up and running.

“No matter what, you always have an opportunity to work,” he said.

Grisham also likes his downtime from work, which he spends eating at new restaurants and hiking.

“I live at the edge of the Rockies, which is beautiful,” he said. “I get to experience a different culture in Colorado.”

Grisham is a graduate of Robinson High School. Between graduation and when he enrolled at TSTC, he worked various jobs.

“I did bartending for nine years,” Grisham said. “I was with an agency for acting and modeling. The year before I went to TSTC, I was living in Indiana doing construction there. That is where I found I liked working with my hands.”

A friend recommended that Grisham take a look at TSTC. When he reviewed the list of programs, he decided what to study.

“I wanted to help people, but I can’t do blood,” he said. “Nursing is out of the question. I figured if I could help maintain machines, it can help a doctor or nurse save a life.”

Grisham graduated in summer 2020 from TSTC with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Medical Imaging Systems Technology Specialization.

“Andrew was an excellent student with high energy who took his training seriously in both lecture and lab,” said Victor Fowler, an instructor in TSTC’s Medical Imaging Systems Technology Specialization program. “He quickly gained confidence working on medical imaging systems and secured a job before his last semester was over.”

Registration continues for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

(WACO, Texas) – Recent graduates of Texas State Technical College’s Digital Media Design program have an impressive array of career options.

Pleasanton native Hannah Selby works at a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary as a marketing coordinator and real estate photographer. Abilene resident Arabel Mullen aspires to be a professional illustrator and already has sold a client some illustrations for a book. 

The two women have graduated from TSTC’s Digital Media Design program and are taking opposite career paths, but both have been trained in traditional graphic design skills and industry software like Adobe Creative Suite. 

“The day-to-day usage of digital media design has really helped me in my current job,” Selby said. “I work full time for a real estate agency, and I handle all of their graphic design and social media. But I’ll be changing careers a bit, doing real estate photography.” 

Selby described how much she enjoyed taking photography classes and learning more in-depth skills like Photoshop and lighting techniques. Even though her degree might suggest a 9-to-5 career in graphic design is in her future, Selby says she plans to keep it part-time and focus on photography.   

“I’ll be doing contract graphic design for a few small businesses, including a T-shirt design company, and offering my contract services to an advertising agency in San Antonio,” Selby said. “I really appreciate how working in this field, you have the opportunity to set your own schedule. I might even start my own agency down the line.” 

Jerry Vavra, TSTC’s chair of the Digital Media Design program, noted that students have an open and lucrative job field to look forward to. Instead of being limited strictly to digital design, students gain a tool belt of skills they can take anywhere. 

“The job outlook for this program is always strong. We’re not just thinking of local areas and campuses; we’re thinking of the entire state of Texas,” Vavra said. “With a quick search of the job title ‘graphic designer’ in Google for Texas, hundreds of jobs are showing up.” 

Vavra emphasized the breadth of specialized avenues available to students in the Digital Media Design program. 

“Graphic designer is sometimes a job title that other specific titles get lumped into. But we have specific areas that students can go into that are a bit outside that realm,” Vavra said. “They can be videographers, animators, web designers and illustrators.”  

Defining herself as more of the traditionally artistic persuasion, Mullen aspires to work as an illustrator for herself or with an agency. Formerly a cake decorator, Mullen decided to pursue her dream of being an illustrator and researched careers she could enter that would be both profitable and fulfilling. 

“I wanted to be a traditional artist when I graduated high school, but there’s the saying ‘starving artist,’” Mullen said. “I found TSTC and spoke with some instructors about the design program. They explained all the things I could do with design, including starting my own business.” 

Mullen’s personal brand and online store Novel Insights can be found on Etsy, though she dreams of working with a creative team such as those at Chris Do’s studios The Futur and Blind, and putting her graphic design training to work. 

“There’s so many avenues you can take with this program. We learn so many different aspects of design, from graphics to photography to videography, and some animation,” Mullen said. “Going forward, I think that being a digital artist will be a really successful career in our world of technology.” 

Registration continues for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC. For more information, go to tstc.edu.