(WACO, Texas) – Tiffani Cortez’s advice is simple for females figuring out what careers they want to pursue after college.

“Always try new things,” said Cortez, a graduate of Texas State Technical College. “Don’t let anyone tell you something is ‘for females.’”

Cortez teaches engineering classes at the Harmony School of Innovation in Waco and works after school with students on robotics. She is an advisor for the school’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. Cortez is also an adjunct instructor in Baylor University’s Interior Design program.

Her teaching goal is to have students do things they have not done before.

“I figured them having a role model and being successful in the area could encourage females to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields,” Cortez said.

More than 30 percent of women pursuing STEM degrees in college switch majors, according to the Society of Women Engineers. And, only 30 percent of women earning bachelor’s degrees in engineering are still working in the field 20 years later, according to the organization.

Cortez grew up in Rosenberg and graduated in 1998 from Lamar Consolidated High School. She said she enjoys the art and mathematics sides of architectural drafting and design.

Cortez has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Architectural Drafting and Design from TSTC’s Waco campus.

“She has always set goals for herself and accomplishes them systematically to keep herself in a constant state of progression,” said Chris McCauley, an instructor in TSTC’s Drafting and Design program. “I am very proud of all that she continues to accomplish, and the positive impact she has on this community and in the lives of her own students throughout each passing year.”

Cortez also has a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology from Tarleton State University. She is currently working on a master’s degree at Texas A&M University.

Before entering the teaching profession, Cortez worked in Central Texas Iron Works, engineering department using 3D modeling software to make digital models of steel structures and components.

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

(WACO, Texas) – The city of Hillsboro has more than 20 computer servers spread among city-owned buildings.

And, two people with the important role of keeping the city’s technology functioning are Texas State Technical College graduates. Antwon Gude is director of Hillsboro’s Management Information Systems (MIS) Department, and Nathan Stroud is anMIS technician.

For Gude and Stroud, the learning never stops.

“I look at what other cities are doing, and if it works for them, I try to implement it,” Gude said. “I read up on a lot of stuff, and we try to go to different trainings.”

Gude said one of his responsibilities is coming up with new technology to help the city function better and reminding staff to change their passwords to maintain security. Gude and Stroud are currently working to shift the city to a Cisco Meraki cloud-based system.

Gude grew up in Marlin and had an interest in computers. He received associate degrees in 2012 from TSTC in Computer Networking and Systems Administration and Network Security Technology.

He started working at Hill Regional Hospital in Hillsboro during his last semester in college and stayed for four years before moving into municipal government.

“That was a big deal to be in class and go to work and try something,” Gude said. “I was also exposed to working with clients.”

Stroud said an average day for him involves fixing network, internet and printer issues, along with working with vendors. There are also issues with cell phones, laptops and desktop computers that arise among the roughly 100 full-time city employees. He is also called upon to do forensics work for the Hillsboro Police Department.

“With the police department, I work with cell phones,” he said. “I get about 10 cases a year and use software to get into them, pull data off and give it to the police department.”

Stroud learned about the job opening in Hillsboro through a TSTC Alumni Association email.

He grew up in Temple and spent 18 months in the U.S. Army.

“I had an interest in technology in high school, but I went into the military after high school,” Stroud said. “I didn’t think straight out of high school I was mature enough for college.”

Stroud has associate degrees in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics Specialist from TSTC. While at TSTC, he was a student worker in the Cyber Security program.

“Nathan always strived to do the best job at whatever he was doing,” said Derek Smith, an instructor in TSTC’s Cyber Security program in Waco. “Whether it was in the classroom or completing his duties as a student worker, he always gave you his best at whatever he did.”

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

(WACO, Texas) – Annie Briggs sees big-city challenges but still has her small-town grit.

Briggs, a master technician at TA Truck Service near Atlanta, Georgia, got her professional start at TravelCenters of America in Hillsboro after graduating in 2014 from Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus.

“Atlanta is crazy,” Briggs said. “It was like exponential growth in a short period of time. There are all kinds of trucks, failures, accidents — things that happen.”

TA Truck Service locations operate 24 hours a day, so there is plenty of work to be done.

“You have to come in and see if there is a work in progress and find out if they (other technicians) are waiting for parts, or if there is anything in the shop to get finished,” Briggs said.

It is work that she sees a future in.

“I would not mind moving into a mentor position,” Briggs said. “I enjoy working on the floor and being on that side of it.”

Briggs grew up in Corsicana and is a 2012 graduate of Corsicana High School. She remembers the lead-up to her enrollment at TSTC.

“I actually registered before I took a tour of the campus,” she said. “When I took the tour, Richard Stranacher (an instructor in TSTC’s Diesel Equipment Technology program) was very welcoming, and he kind of put things in perspective. Going into it, I literally knew nothing. My dad sat me down a month before school started and taught me what the tools were called.”

Briggs graduated with associate degrees in three specializations in the Diesel Equipment Technology program and also earned a Welding Technology certificate at TSTC. The learning process was a challenge.

The need for diesel service mechanics and technicians in the United States is projected to increase to more than 304,000 workers by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The agency attributes this to an increase in freight travel and the popularity of diesel automobiles and trucks.

David Folz, lead instructor in TSTC’s Diesel Equipment Technology program in Waco, said companies contact the program regularly for graduates to fill jobs. The program has cultivated industry partnerships with companies such as TravelCenters of America, RDO Equipment Co. and Freightliner, enabling representatives to visit the campus to talk to students.

“A lot of them (the students) are going back to their hometowns and know what they want to do,” Folz said.

Jim Reed, a vice president for TA Truck Service, said diesel equipment technology graduates can make a good living. But, he said the pool of potential employees is shrinking.

“Getting people to go from the traditional four-year bachelor’s degree to go for the technical degree and come into the market is getting tougher and tougher,” Reed said.

Current and new diesel technicians will need to adapt to new technology expected to be seen on roads and in garages in the next few years.

“Electric trucks are becoming more popular,” Reed said. “Once they figure out the battery and recharging, that is the next wave. It’s a good industry that is constantly changing, and the biggest thing is you want to get with a company that gives you the opportunity to grow your career.”

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

(WACO, Texas) – Randall Frett’s career in Waco is blossoming like a magnolia tree in springtime.  

Frett, a graduate of Texas State Technical College, is an information technology systems administrator at Magnolia, which encompasses real estate, vacation rentals, home decor and food.

“My responsibility is to be what my company needs for me to be,” Frett said. “We (the IT staff) find solutions to problems. And we solve issues, whether it is server-related or cloud-related, and we try to adapt to our environment.”

Frett must also be innovating, which for him means finding new ways to make technology more effective. He said this takes research and experimentation. 

“TSTC really taught me that in my career, I do not want to get to where I am complacent,” he said. “Complacency means you are too comfortable. I love what I do because I love to see things evolve and see things change.”

Frett graduated in 2006 from Waco High School, where he took technology classes.  He has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Networking and Systems Administration and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Network Security Technology, both from TSTC. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems, Information Technology from Tarleton State University.

Clint Pate is a TSTC instructor who taught Frett in networking classes when he was a student. Pate is now an instructor in TSTC’s Cloud Computing program.

“Randall was an up-and-coming student with a lot of potential,” Pate said. “He got into the networking side of the house quickly. He was quick to pick up on concepts.”

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

(WACO, Texas) – A Texas State Technical College instructor in the Culinary Arts program in Waco has been chosen to work with a team of chefs from Canada at the IKA/Culinary Olympics next February in Stuttgart, Germany.

Chef Michele Brown will work with the Agricultural Culinary Team Manitoba on pastry arts. Assisting Brown in Germany will be her son, William, who works at Southern Methodist University and Williams-Sonoma and is a culinary illustrator.

“It’s pushing the limits of creativity,” Michele Brown said. “It pushes your endurance and organizational mind.”

Competition practice will take place via Skype and conference calls due to cost constraints. 

“I will be fundraising,” Brown said. “I have a GoFundMe page. I will be practicing with the assistance of our students.”

This will be the third time Brown has participated in the IKA/Culinary Olympics. She also has international experience providing support for Epicurean World Master Chefs Society members  Patrick Mitchell and Morris Salerno on the gold medal-winning regional Texas team at the 2014 Expogast Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

“For the Culinary Arts program, this is an excellent credential for the students to be trained by students on the world stage,” Brown said.

Chef Gayle Van Sant, an instructor in TSTC’s Culinary Arts program, said Brown has a great passion for ingredients and exploring new products, skills and techniques.

“She is an inspiration to our students,” Van Sant said. “She will challenge our students to become all they can and encourage them to dream on a bigger scale.”

Chef Jackson York, a member of the Texas Chefs Association’s East Texas chapter, has known Brown professionally for several years.

“I have seen her not only excel and grow very fast in her career, but influence so many other people she has trained and mentored,” he said. “Anything that she has done, there is no halfway about it.”

The IKA/Culinary Olympics is the oldest and largest culinary arts exhibition in the world. At the 2020 event, the jury and guests will be able to experience creations by chefs from 39 countries.

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

(WACO, Texas) – More than 500 graduates received certificates and associate degrees at Texas State Technical College’s Summer 2019 Commencement held Friday, Aug. 16, at the Waco Convention Center.

Adam Hutchison, provost of TSTC’s Waco campus, led a moment of silence at the start of the ceremony for Mary Williams, a TSTC faculty member who passed away earlier in the day. Williams taught several electronics and electrical classes and she was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

Many of Friday’s graduates already have jobs.

Joshua Miller of Hewitt graduated with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Cyber Security and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Cyber Security – Digital Forensics Specialization. 

“It’s nice to have people who understand the terminology and that we went through this together,” Miller said.

He has been hired as a project engineer at JWS Enterprises in Carrollton. 

Jasmine Burkes of Killeen received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Culinary Arts. She said she will miss her classmates.

She will be working as a baker at Aramark at Baylor University.

“It is exciting,” Burkes said. “After I got the job, I got a new car and (was) approved for my apartment.”

One graduate will soon be going on a north-south adventure to celebrate his accomplishment.

Luis Reyes of McGregor received the Associate of Applied Science degree in Diesel Equipment Technology – Heavy Truck Specialization. He is working at Behlen Country in McGregor as a welder, but will search for a job in his field after riding his motorcycle on a trip to Washington state in September.

Reyes is the first member of his family to graduate from college.

“It’s finally done,” he said. “I’ve been going to school since I graduated from high school and working full time. I think it is an honor being the first in my family to graduate and setting the example for my siblings.”

For more information, log on to tstc.edu.