(WACO) – Several Texas State Technical College in Waco students and faculty members were honored Friday with a fries and hamburger lunch before departing this weekend for Louisville, Kentucky to take part in SkillsUSA’s 53rd annual National Leadership and Skills Conference.

TSTC in Waco will send 41 students to the conference which brings together more than 6,000 high school and college students nationwide to compete in contests ranging from automotive technology to welding from June 19-23 at Louisville’s Kentucky Exposition Center.

“Hopefully we are going to bring home some medals,” said James Matus, TSTC statewide SkillsUSA manager.

Marcus Crespin, 21, of Victoria will return to the conference to take part in the Residential Systems Installation and Maintenance contest which he won the national gold medal for in 2016. Crespin is a Computer Networking and Systems Administration major scheduled to graduate in August.

“I know what I’m capable of,” Crespin said. “I’m hoping for a bit more competition to test the skills I have.”

The national conference will mark Boyd native Logan Moore’s last work with TSTC. He graduated in the spring with an associate degree in Culinary Arts and will give up his SkillsUSA state presidency after the conference.

Moore, 21, finished sixth in last year’s SkillsUSA Restaurant Service contest which he will take part in again this year. He has practiced for the contest in recent days with TSTC Culinary Arts faculty members.

“I’m ready to compete and improve on what I did last year,” Moore said.

Moore is eager to collect pins from SkillsUSA delegations. He said he was successful last year getting pins from all 50 states and U.S. territories and hopes to repeat the feat this year.

The TSTC students qualified for the national conference by placing first in SkillsUSA’s Texas postsecondary competitions held in the spring in Waco.

The group is scheduled to return to Waco on Saturday, June 24.

For more information on SkillsUSA, go to skillsusa.org.

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

(WACO) – Timothy Hays, 66, moved from Manor to Waco to study for Aircraft Airframe Technician and Aircraft Powerplant Technician certificates at Texas State Technical College in Waco. He is scheduled to receive his first certificate in August.

Hays grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, and has studied fine arts and education at universities in Louisiana and Oklahoma.

What have been some of your previous careers? “I was an elementary school teacher and middle school teacher. I was a professor for teachers coming back for a master’s program. I was a civilian employee in the U.S. Coast Guard in Yorktown, Virginia, and left in 2005.”

What made you decide to study at TSTC? “I have a private pilot’s license and have become interested in kit building since I retired. There was a lot I didn’t have experience in.”

How are you enjoying studying aviation maintenance? “It draws on a lot of the fine arts. I was doing painting and focused on three-dimensional design. I am really enjoying the classes. I just got done purchasing a kit plane. I flew to Missouri and rented a moving truck and picked it up and brought it home. Some of the students helped me unload it. Everything I’m learning has a direct impact on the kit I will build. I have learned a lot about hydraulics.”

Why should other retirees consider going back to college? “I would encourage them to go back and do it if they are interested and passionate. Now they have the time and probably have the money. It may be a good second or third life. Don’t let the grass grow under your feet too long.”

TSTC offers certificates and associate degrees for Aircraft Airframe Technology and Aircraft Powerplant Technology. Some of the classes students take in the technical programs include Aviation Physics, Landing Gear Systems, Aircraft Welding and Airframe Inspection.

TSTC will host summer Registration Rally events on June 23, July 14 and Aug. 11. For more information, go to tstc.edu/rally.

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

(WACO) – Bobby Horner, Craig Johnson and Edward Hernandez attended Texas State Technical College in different decades but are united through their majors and work helping Waco grow responsibly.

The men all graduated from TSTC with what were then Associate of Applied Science degrees in Architectural Drafting and Design. Horner received his degree in 1978, Johnson graduated in 1981 and Hernandez walked across the stage for his degree in 1998.

Today, Horner is an inspection supervisor, Johnson is a plans examiner and Hernandez is a building inspector – all for the city of Waco.

“All of us have either had our own business with design and drafting or worked with architects and smaller projects,” Horner said. “We have the training of design and drafting to pull from.”

The three have roles, along with their co-workers, in the planning and construction of structures in the city. And Waco is seeing a lot of development, from the eight-story Marriott Springhill Suites planned for South Jack Kultgen Expressway to apartment development on Bagby Avenue near the Central Texas Marketplace.

“I don’t see a lot of letup, personally,” Horner said. “It’s exciting to me.”

Johnson sits in on weekly municipal predevelopment meetings to discuss several facets of proposed projects, from easements to fire, health and safety matters. The meetings are times to ask questions and develop solutions to make the permit process and construction flow.

Hernandez said the use of modern business materials, such as cardboard siding, has kept himself and his co-workers learning about new construction techniques.

“My background in drafting and design helped me transition into being a plans examiner,” Hernandez said. “Because I knew how plans were put together, I know what to look for.”

Horner said people interested in pursuing drafting and design should have an understanding of construction materials and terminology.

Hernandez said drafting and design graduates can work for companies who will teach them the specific software being used.

The men are members of the Bluebonnet Chapter of the International Code Council encompassing Central Texas. They can earn continuing education credits to keep organization certifications updated.

Horner, 59, grew up in Hamilton and graduated from Hamilton High School in 1976. He said TSTC was his top option because he enjoyed drawing and worked with a builder when he was in high school. Both his grandfathers worked in construction and he also had friends who worked in roofing.

Horner fondly remembers technical college life.

“My dorm room was one of the officers’ barracks,” he said.

Johnson, 56, graduated in 1979 from Midway High School in Woodway. Johnson said he went while growing up to the Lake Air Drive-In where Richland Mall is now located.

Johnson’s interest in drafting and design was piqued as a child while riding his bicycle and exploring Woodway.

“There were a lot of homes being built,” he said. “It fascinated me how the homes were put together. When we moved to Woodway, the western part from Poage Drive was not built.”

Hernandez, 54, grew up in San Antonio and graduated from Antonian College Preparatory High School. He served in the U.S. Navy for six years as a firefighting instructor. He worked in the construction industry before starting classes at TSTC when he was 35. He also taught for nine years at TSTC.

TSTC offers associate degrees in Architectural/Civil Drafting Technology and Mechanical/Electrical Drafting Technology.

TSTC is having summer Registration Rally events for prospective students to finalize plans to attend the fall semester. For more information, go to tstc.edu/rally.

For information on the TSTC Alumni Network, go to tstc.edu/tstcfoundation/alumni.

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

(WACO) – Texas State Technical College’s Building Construction Technology program hosted students from Belton and Mansfield this week for a SkillsUSA construction boot camp.

Four students from Belton High School and one student from the Mansfield Independent School District worked on carpentry and building skills to prepare for SkillsUSA’s 53rd annual National Leadership and Skills Conference taking place June 19-23 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Students from TSTC who will compete in the conference’s collegiate division also perfected their skills and bonded with the high school students.

Michael Carrillo, a TSTC Building Construction Technology program instructor, used past SkillsUSA exercises to simulate timed competitions the students will encounter.

“Sure, we compete under the same roof as the college team, but our kids can communicate with one another,” said Craig Sullivan, a construction technology teacher at Belton High School. “We want Texas represented well. We are rooting for TSTC just like they are rooting for us.”

Sullivan said this was his fourth building construction squad to have won the Texas SkillsUSA high school construction contest in the spring, enabling them to go to the nationwide competition.

Andres Zapata, 19, a 2017 graduate of Belton High School and future TSTC Building Construction Technology major, said framing was his strength on the building team.

“It’s an honor to work with these technical college students,” Zapata said. “It prepares us as well to see teams compete against us. This will make us better.”

Matt Peeler, 27, a TSTC Building Construction Technology major from Belton, did not have the opportunity to take construction technology when he attended Belton High School. But he said if he had the chance to go back to high school to do it, he would.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to work alongside the students,” Peeler said. “It’s a great experience and lets us know where we stand and where they stand.”

Carrillo said the program has hosted SkillsUSA high school students for three years to allow them to work with TSTC students.

“So far it’s going well because it’s pretty much them against a different team,” he said. “They can gauge efficiency, time and coordinating with team members.”

The Belton High School SkillsUSA construction contest group is made up of Chloe Bush, 18; Allan Harlow, 19; Joseph Hermann, 19; and Zapata.

Jacob Dawson, 17, a senior at Mansfield’s Legacy High School who also attended the Ben Barber Innovation Academy, will compete for Texas in the individual carpentry competition. He spent three days on the Waco campus working on blueprint reading, wood framing and other skills, along with meeting program faculty.

“Practicing has made it easier to get a feel for what I am doing,” said Dawson.

Besides Peeler, TSTC’s Teamworks group for SkillsUSA is made up of Building Construction Technology majors Jack Chance, 19, of Waxahachie and Edgar Cuellar, 26, and Jose Perez, 19, both of Waco.

TSTC Building Construction Technology major Larry Johnson of Mount Pleasant will compete in the individual carpentry contest at SkillsUSA. He and Dawson did their own simulation competition to practice for the Louisville contest.

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