Category Archives: Waco

TSTC Alumnus Inspired by Electricity

(WACO, Texas) – Brad Bodine’s exposure to electrical work happened early on since his grandfather was an electrician and owned his business. 

Today, Bodine is director of field services at Saber Power Services in Rosharon in Brazoria County. The Texas State Technical College graduate primarily works in the company’s testing group.

“In the testing world, we are at the customer’s mercy when they can turn power off,” he said. “They cannot do it during normal production hours. It is not a super-easy job, it is not in the air conditioning,  and you have to be ready and willing to work.”

The company specializes in electrical services for industrial and commercial businesses, including data centers and refineries. He said the company is involved with efforts to help Southern Louisiana recover from Hurricane Laura.

“In a lot of the places that are really hard-hit, our construction team is doing a lot on the pole work, distribution lines and transmission lines,” Bodine said. “But on the testing side, when the switch gear floods and it is damaged from water, we clean it up and test it and recondition it.”

The company has an aggressive five-year growth plan to expand operations.

“I am helping to oversee and grow new offices,” Bodine said. “It is everything from helping sales to overseeing the financials and making sure we are going in the right direction with all our offices.”

Bodine said the electrical field is great to pursue because of the job security. 

“Electricity is not going anywhere,” he said. “It is a necessity that is the last thing most people give up.”

Paul Beaver, Saber’s director of project development and training and a TSTC alumnus, said the company has a challenge in filling senior- and upper-level technician positions when they become open. He attributes this to a shortage of people going into the electrical field.

“Everybody has it in their heads that they can just get a two-year degree and they will not make money,” Beaver said. “They are horribly mistaken with that.”

The company has hired several TSTC graduates from the Waco campus, including recently for its San Antonio office, said Dan Bateman, TSTC’s statewide chair of the Generation, Transmission and Distribution department.  

Bodine said he sees the company working more in the future with TSTC’s Fort Bend County campus because it also offers the Electrical Power and Controls program and is close to its headquarters.

Jonathan Bonkoske, lead instructor of TSTC’s Electrical Power and Controls program in Fort Bend County, said geography is a benefit to students.

“I have been noticing students are wanting more to stay close to home and not go and move out and do a lot of travel,” he said. “They want to stay close to home base.”

Bodine said he knew when he was a student at Teague High School that attending a four-year university was not for him. After attending another two-year college, Bodine enrolled at TSTC’s Waco campus. He received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electrical Power and Controls in 1998.

During Bodine’s time at TSTC, he did cooperative work on weekends and holidays at Shermco Industries in Irving.

“It gave me 100 percent an idea of what I am getting into,” he said.

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Alumnus Pursues Video Game Industry

(WACO, Texas) – Joshua Dickens grew up in Clifton and studied music at a two-year community college.

“I still enjoy music,” he said. “But for me, now it’s something I enjoy doing with friends, with my family, that type of thing. It is not something I am trying to make money on in a career.”

After graduating and working a few years, Dickens wanted to do something different. He enrolled at Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus and graduated in 2018 with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Programming Technology.

“TSTC gave me the perfect background as far as computer programming went,” Dickens said.

Dickens began work at Sickhead Games in Dallas as an intern programmer in fall 2018. In early 2019, he was promoted to a game programmer position.

Susie Watkins, a TSTC Computer Programming Technology instructor, said the degree is the first step in becoming a video game programmer.

“It introduces them (the students) to the industry-standard languages for game programming,” she said.

Dickens’ work involves taking video game components that work on a computer and transitioning them to game console and smartphone platforms.  He has been involved in less than 10 projects so far, even as he works remotely now at his home in McGregor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dickens said people interested in the video game industry should have an interest in mathematics and physics, a willingness to learn, and good communication skills.  He said potential employers do not want to see class projects, but rather what students have created on their own.

“They are looking for people to push the industry,” Dickens said.

Dickens began researching employers and jobs during his last two semesters at TSTC. He also attended video gaming conferences in Austin and Dallas to meet people in the industry.

“That kind of gave me a better understanding of what I was jumping into to get a better mindset,” he said.

He found Sickhead Games through LinkedIn.

“When I got hired with them, they were a team of four people,” Dickens said. “I basically made the case that I am very new, it is my first gaming job, but I have a portfolio of things I have done already.”

Texas has more than 260 video game companies, according to the Entertainment Software Association. Video game industry workers earn an average of $111,559 annually, according to the association.

“Gaming is a multimillion-dollar industry, and the skills learned are very transferable  and in high demand,” Watkins said. “Interactive 3D engineers and the programmers designing them open up the use of virtual reality, augmented reality and real-time 3D visualization to areas outside of gaming, which include consumer applications, business training and industrial manufacturing.”

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology Program in Williamson County Ready to Fill Area Jobs

(HUTTO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Precision Machining Technology program has started using a supplemental curriculum from the National Tool &Machining Association this fall to teach students.

Darren Block, TSTC’s statewide program lead, said students will get a more thorough education in machining, combined with the professional knowledge that faculty members bring to labs and lectures.

The program is using a hybrid teaching format for classes, with some being online and others involving in-person lab work.

Block is feeling good about machining jobs in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If it is man-made, we had our hands on it,” he said.

Waggoner Manufacturing Inc. in Round Rock manufactures and services aluminum, machined plastic, and stainless steel components and parts for the worldwide semiconductor automation and communication industries. 

Michael Wohlford, the company’s plant manager, said high school students, and those who want a career change, should have a personal appreciation for machining.

“They can watch YouTube videos and see firsthand how the CNC (computer numerical controlled) machines work, and they can have stars in their eyes and say it’s really cool and they would want to learn how to get into that,” Wohlford said.

He said the company likes to have job applicants who already have experience working with CNC machines in machine shops. New hires are trained in the company’s way of doing work.

Mark Thomas, president and chief executive officer of the Taylor Economic Development Corp., has reason to be optimistic about the future.

“We have had many projects, from small companies all the way to larger ones, that would love to have some level of comfort that they can hire machinists if they moved to our area,” he said.

Thomas said there is promise for the 750-acre RCR Taylor Logistics Park west of the city. The industrial park offers Union Pacific and BNSF rail service and has Foreign Trade Zone, Opportunity Zone and Triple Freeport designations.

“Our expectation is there will be advanced manufacturing and potential suppliers that we have already been talking to coming into that rail park,” Thomas said. “If we can say there is a training capacity for graduates or there are workers out there that need good jobs, any of these we can put to a good advantage to create jobs in the Taylor area.”

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology Program Ready to Fill Area Jobs

(RED OAK, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Precision Machining Technology program at the North Texas campus this fall has started using a supplemental curriculum from the National Tool & Machining Association to teach students.

Darren Block, TSTC’s statewide lead program instructor, said the curriculum will give students a more thorough education in machining. That, combined with the professional knowledge of faculty members, will help program graduates be more competitive for area jobs. 

In the 16-county area that Workforce Solutions North Central Texas covers, there are more than 8,200 machinists making an hourly wage of between $13 and $25 an hour.

Information from Workforce Solutions indicates that companies posted more than 1,900 listings since Jan. 1, 2020, for jobs in machining-related fields. Some of the employers with the highest number of job postings include Amazon, Cushman & Wakefield, Sabre Industries Inc. and RPO International.

Area economic development and industrial leaders said TSTC is essential for economic growth.

“We are very supportive of what TSTC is doing and the future employees they are teaching and turning out,” said Warren Ketteman, senior director of economic development for the city of Waxahachie.

Ketteman has been making business retention visits to some of the city’s companies and has walked away encouraged about the future.

“Almost every one of the manufacturing companies are hiring,” he said. “When COVID-19 first hit, some had furloughs. But all those people are back, and they are hiring more people. Business is good.”

Grady Easdon, economic development manager for the city of Cleburne, said several existing companies are hiring, and potential ones are eyeing the city because of affordable land costs and a lower cost of living.

Easdon credits Cleburne High School’s career and technical education program for providing opportunities for students.

“They have really developed strong partnerships with our local manufacturing companies and various industries around the area to develop intern programs and offer tours,” Easdon said. “It is just whatever they need to get students interested in pursuing the careers there.”

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Graduate Profile: Stanley Harris

(ROSENBERG, Texas) – Stanley Harris recently received his Associate of Applied Science degree in Welding Technology from Texas State Technical College. The job security that comes from a career in welding is what motivated him to pursue welding technology, and he is thankful for the education he received while at TSTC.

What was your experience like at TSTC?

My experience at TSTC was great. The instructors really showed a lot of care when it came to the education of all us welders in the class, and they pushed us beyond our limits when it came to the skill of welding.

Do you have any favorite TSTC memories?

My favorite TSTC memory has to be all the hard work I put into welding every day, and learning via Moodle, allowing me to become a better welder. That made me very proud.

How has TSTC helped prepare you for your career?

TSTC equipped me with all the tools and knowledge I need to know in the field, so I know I will succeed.

 What words of advice would you give to others who are about to start their journey at TSTC?

Every day, put your focus toward mastering your craft. It is your future.

To learn more about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.

TSTC Graduate Honored With Campus Award

(WACO, Texas)  – When Nancy Talley graduated from Texas State Technical College in August, she learned she was the recipient of a special award: the Mike Torres Jr. Leadership Award. 

Talley, of Waco, worked in technology sales for several years and took a couple of courses along the way at a four-year university. She then decided to pursue work that was more hands-on, so she went into bartending.

“It got monotonous,” Talley said. “I needed something that challenged my mind and helped me think. I wanted to get more settled, more into a routine.”

Talley began classes at TSTC’s Waco campus in fall 2018. She graduated in August with associate degrees in Environmental Technology – Compliance and Occupational Safety Compliance Technology.

“It is important that we protect people and our environment so others can have jobs and they can go to work and come home safely to be with their families,” she said. “We can provide a better place on Earth for everyone to live.”

Talley said some of the work she enjoyed in her programs took place in her Site Assessment and Safety Training Presentation Techniques courses. She also did an internship at ARC Abatement Inc. in Waco, where she learned about asbestos and lead abatement. One of the projects Talley worked on was creating a condensed version of the company’s safety guidelines for workers to use in the field.

Talley was nominated for the Torres award by Lester Bowers, TSTC’s statewide chair of the Environmental Technology department.

“Nancy is a well-disciplined, industrious student with a pleasant personality,” Bowers said in his award nomination letter. “Not only was she interested in and motivated to learn the material, but she also put great work into assimilating it into her own experience and developing her own ideas about each environmental topic that we discussed.”

The Mike Torres Jr. Leadership Award is given to honor the memory of Waco native Mike Torres Jr., who taught in TSTC’s Digital Media and Design program until his death in 2005. Torres graduated from Reicher High School and TSTC’s Commercial Art Advertising and Integrated Digital Image program, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald. 

The award signifies qualities that Torres was known for: courage, honesty and integrity. The award is given each semester at commencement to a candidate for graduation who is nominated by faculty or staff members. The award was first given in fall 2011, according to TSTC archival information.

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu. 

TSTC Graduate Profile: Frederico Luna

(ROSENBERG, Texas) – Frederico Luna knew he wanted to become a lineman after seeing the disaster brought on by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. This semester, he graduated from Texas State Technical College with a certificate of completion in Electrical Lineworker Technology.

What was your experience like at TSTC?

My experience at TSTC was amazing. The instructors work with you one-on-one, and as a student you begin to understand that once you begin this career path, there are no shortcuts to becoming a lineman. You have to be 100 percent focused and dedicated all the time. While in school, I learned through hands-on experience and by observing our instructor show us how to do something. All of us would observe one another through the courses and learn from our mistakes as a team.

Do you have any favorite TSTC memories?

My favorite memory I have is when I was finally capable of going sideways on the lineworker pole. It seemed scary at first, but you trust in your gear to hold you, and it makes you feel safer. It felt amazing, and I enjoyed that memory.

How has TSTC prepared you for your career?

TSTC has prepared me for the journey once I start working. I was taught the basics about how to set up crossarms, double crossarms. I now know my knots and my transformer connections, and so much more. Our instructor taught us so many methods to do these processes because not every company does things the same way.

What would you say is your greatest accomplishment?

My son, Jonah. A month after I graduated high school, my son was born, and I became a teen dad. Juggling school, work and the new responsibility of being a parent was not easy. But I knew that I wanted what was best for my family, and that pushed me to focus on my education.

To learn more about programs available at TSTC, visit tstc.edu.

 

Students begin fall semester at TSTC

(ROSENBERG, Texas) – Texas State Technical College recently celebrated summer graduates with a virtual commencement that livestreamed on Facebook. Friends and family commented online with joy and excitement about the momentous occasion as they wished their loved ones all the best on their journeys after college.

Now TSTC is ready to safely welcome back students as the fall semester begins.

Campus enrollment executive Georgeann Calzada shared a message for new students, and she also gave advice on how they can maximize their experience at TSTC.

“Welcome to the TSTC family,” she said. “Make sure that you ask questions and check your TSTC emails regularly. Get involved in Student Life and SkillsUSA. You will not regret these opportunities.”

Associate Provost Bryan Bowling acknowledged that this semester will be vital for students.

“The rest of this year will be a monumental, course-correcting year for our students,” he said. “Not due to COVID-19, but to them beginning their journeys toward life-changing careers.”

He credited the dedicated instructors and staff at TSTC for making these opportunities possible.

“They (instructors and staff) heartily believe in the mission that we not only ‘place Texans in great-aying jobs,’ but ‘we change lives,’” he said. “Just as our students were incentivized to enroll in TSTC to land a great job in the industry of their choice, so too are we heavily incentivized to prepare them accordingly. Their success is our success.”

TSTC is strictly following its set of COVID-19 safety guidelines, including mandatory multilayered facial coverings, directional signs throughout the campus and social distancing. To learn more about TSTC’s coronavirus precautions, visit tstc.edu/coronavirus.

To learn more about programs offered at TSTC, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Welcomes Back Students for Fall Semester

(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus kicked off the new academic year on Monday.

TSTC students, faculty and staff are following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines in wearing masks, not gathering in groups, and sanitizing hands and work areas. All of this is being done due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I sincerely hope that everyone will greet your classmates back and extend a welcome and helping hand to those who are new,” said Patti Tate, TSTC’s interim provost. “When you are returning or new, you are off to an exciting start to learn and obtain skills and abilities to get you that great-paying job.”

Diesel Equipment Technology students noticed a big change, with engines being moved to a building that once housed the Solar Energy Technology program and tractor units moved into the main garage area.

David Mahood of Troy is studying for a Diesel Equipment Technology – Off-Highway Equipment Specialization certificate. He said he enjoys the hybrid format of his classes because he can better separate lab work from online lectures and quizzes.

“Nothing will stop us from graduating this fall,” Mahood said.

Kent Kahler, an instructor in TSTC’s Diesel Equipment Technology program, began as a lab assistant in 1977 and was later promoted to instructor. He said he is in his third generation of teaching students.

He said the first day of the fall semester never gets old to him.

“I still get excited about teaching,” Kahler said.

Tanner Vandeplas of Salado began his fourth semester in the Robotics Technology program on Monday. He is looking forward to taking the Robot Interfacing class this semester, which will be taught in a hybrid format. He said time management and consistent attendance are the keys to mastering hybrid classes.

Vanderplas is used to the first day of new semesters. He already has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electronics Technology from TSTC.

Parking was in ample supply at the John B. Connally Technology Center, the Student Services Center, and the Provence Graphic Communications Center. Some of TSTC’s programs have moved to an all-online format, eliminating the need for as many students, faculty and staff to be on campus.

Students saw mounds of dirt at the construction site for Griffith Hall, TSTC’s new dorm scheduled to open by August 2021. The dorm is being built between the Student Services Center and the Greta W. Watson Culinary Arts Center.

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.

TSTC enrollment coach inspired by students

(ROSENBERG, Texas) – As Texas State Technical College is gearing up to celebrate this summer’s graduating class virtually, enrollment coach Tracey Clayton at the Fort Bend County campus discussed some of the characteristics that add positivity to her job. She said she is inspired by students who pursue their education and become role models for those they love.

What are your responsibilities as an enrollment coach?

I assist students with registration, collect documents for admissions and assist with financial aid, among many other things. It is also always very important to me that I provide the best customer service.

What inspired you to work in higher education?

Being able to see others succeed. I was an adjunct instructor before I became an enrollment coach, and it was a great feeling to see students graduate and become successful.

What do you enjoy most about your career?

Helping people achieve their goals. It is inspiring to be able to help them further their education and become positive role models for their siblings and peers.

What is one of the best aspects about helping students change their lives?

One of the best things about helping students change their lives is saving their lives. We give students hope, strength and encouragement to be the very best they can be.

Registration for the fall semester is underway. To apply to TSTC, visit https://tstc.edu/admissions.