Category Archives: All TSTC

TSTC Receives Large Donation from Hernandez Foundation

(HARLINGEN) – Texas State Technical College recently received one of the single largest donations for its Texan Success Scholarship.

Brownsville native Mike Hernandez, founder of the Hernandez Foundation, presented TSTC with a $100,000 check to be used for scholarships.

“We are so grateful to the Hernandez Foundation for their early support for the Texan Success Scholarship campaign,” said TSTC Senior Development Officer Amy Lynch. “These funds go a long way in helping our students achieve their dream of going to college. This is a big step forward in our goal but we still have work to do and we know this large gift early on is just a sign of great things to come.”

The funds from this donation will be used for scholarships to help assist new, full-time students from Brownsville pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at TSTC with tuition and other expenses.

All donations made to the Texan Success Scholarship campaign are matched dollar-for-dollar by the college. Matching funds will be available to benefit all incoming TSTC students.

“We appreciate Mike Hernandez for his support of our institution,” said TSTC Provost Dr. Stella Garcia. “With TSTC matching funds, this donation turns into $200,000, meaning that 400 students will benefit from this donation.”

Hernandez said he knew he had to support TSTC after taking a tour of its engineering center classrooms and labs.

“I’m very impressed with the way TSTC is doing things,” said Hernandez. “I’m proud to support

Mike Hernadez, founder of Hernandez Foundation

Mike Hernandez

TSTC’s efforts because everything starts with an education.”

Through his Project OP10.33 and his foundation, Hernandez is committed in his mission of educating every child in the community beyond a high school diploma and increasing business growth to create good-paying jobs.

David Estrada, a past Texan Success Scholarship recipient and Architectural Design and Engineering Graphics student, gave his testimonial at the event on how these funds have changed his life.

“Going to college meant that my parents would have difficulty providing for my college expenses and also providing for my siblings. So receiving the Texan Success Scholarship was a huge relief for my parents,” Estrada said. “This meant that I could be the first college-educated individual in my family.”

Estrada added that the scholarship is a blessing and he finds himself more motivated to show his instructors his potential. He is also excited about being able to purchase his first laptop computer soon.

For more information on the Texan Success Scholarship or to donate, call The TSTC Foundation at 956-364-4500.

TSTC Breaks Ground on New Abilene Campus

(ABILENE) – Texas State Technical College officials and community leaders broke ground on the college’s newest venture in Abilene on Thursday, April 20. The ceremony, held at 1717 Navajo Trail, marked the start of construction on a 56,000-square-foot Industrial Technology Center that will be the first of a multibuilding campus.

The college is excited for the opportunity to better serve the community with access to advanced technical education that can lead to great career opportunities.

“Our campus expansion in Abilene will support industry growth and expand the city’s economy while reducing the ever-widening midlevel skills gap,” said Rick Denbow, senior field development officer at TSTC. “This groundbreaking marks a new era for TSTC in Abilene and in West Texas.”

The Development Corporation of Abilene, Dodge Jones Foundation, Dian Graves Owen Foundation, Shelton Family Foundation, City of Abilene and community leaders have invested $6 million toward the project, which will allow TSTC to add programs in Industrial Maintenance, Welding, and Electrical Power & Controls and will house its growing Emergency Medical Services program.

“These programs were chosen from analyzing data from the Rick Perryman study where we looked at economic growth across the state and what the needs were in those particular areas,” said TSTC Executive Vice Chancellor and COO Elton Stuckly Jr. “We also did some research of our own and selected the programs based on the needs of the community and this region.”

Abilene Mayor Norm Archibald, a longtime supporter of TSTC, was quick to jump on the opportunity for a new TSTC.

“Who are the winners in all of this?” Archibald asked the crowd at the event. “First of all, construction jobs will be made. People that live in our community will be out here working. That’s good. Students will come to this campus and learn skills and go out and get a job that they can be proud of. They’re one of the winners. The workforce helps bring in businesses that think, ‘I’m thinking of coming to Abilene. Do you have the workers I need to make this business work?’ The answer will be yes.”

The Development Corporation of Abilene (DCOA) was among the first to invest in the new campus.

“The DCOA went through an extensive strategic planning process and identified 10 goals we want to focus on,” DCOA Chairman Dave Copeland said. “One of those goals was to build a more highly skilled workforce. Another was to support our existing businesses’ growth and prosperity. The businesses in this town are closely linked to the workforce. We feel that this new facility takes us a long way toward those goals.”

Stuckly stressed the importance of building relationships.

“TSTC is known for providing a skilled workforce for Texas, but of course everything you do takes money,” he said. “Without the support of the county, the city, the DCOA, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Denbow shared the same sentiments.

“TSTC has a reputation of doing great things,” said Denbow, “Growing businesses, growing the economy, transforming lives — but we can’t do any of that without you.”

The new building is expected to open in the summer of 2018. For more information on Texas State Technical College and the programs currently offered, visit tstc.edu.

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TSTC, Marshall ISD Announce Expanded Dual Credit Initiative

(MARSHALL) – Marshall High School students will have more opportunities to take technical education classes this fall at Texas State Technical College.

Leaders from TSTC and the Marshall Independent School District announced Wednesday plans to increase technical education classes that high school students can take at the Marshall campus starting in the 2017-18 academic year. The initiative has been named Mav Tech, a combination of the high school’s Mavericks mascot and TSTC’s education focus.

“Mav Tech is long overdue,” said Dr. Jerry Gibson, superintendent of the Marshall Independent School District. “It’s an exciting day that we have this partnership with the college that is closest to our campus. Marshall High School and Marshall ISD should have, with TSTC sitting where it is, one of the largest career technical education programs in the state of Texas. And, this is going to be the first step in us building a bigger program in career and technology.”

At least 25 high school juniors and seniors are expected to take classes in Computer Aided Drafting and Design, Computer Networking and Systems Administration, Cyber Security and Software Development Technology programs this fall, said Michelle Ates, TSTC’s dual enrollment manager in Marshall.

“The students are getting a head start in the technical programs,” Ates said. “The tuition helps because it is affordable to the students.”

Marshall High School students began taking Business Management Technology and Welding Technology classes for dual credit in the 2015-16 academic year at the high school. These program offerings will continue in Mav Tech.

“Exposing students to a broader number of career options available to them gives them a greater ability to make a well-informed decision when matching a career and a higher education pathway,” TSTC in Marshall Provost Barton Day said. “I like to think of today as reaching the starting line rather than the finish line.”

TSTC in Marshall also works with several high schools in Cass, Gregg, Harrison, Marion, Upshur and Wood counties on dual enrollment. This fall, the technical college will work with the Timpson Independent School District on an early college high school initiative.

For more information on the Marshall Independent School District, go to marshallisd.com.

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

TSTC Student’s Career Future Full of Clouds

(WACO) – Omar Francia learned about work responsibility early in his young life.

Francia, 19, began work at 16 at a Corsicana grocery store as a stocker, cashier and clerk. The money helped pay for some of his books and classes at Texas State Technical College in Waco, where he will graduate in May with an associate degree in Cloud and Data Center Management.

“I like the feeling of graduating at 19,” Francia said. “I am young and I have lots to do.”

Andy Kroll, lead instructor in TSTC’s Cloud and Data Center Management program, taught Francia in classes focusing on Amazon Web Services and the open-source operating system Linux.

“He has been able to learn and implement advanced concepts quickly and then turn around and explain it to his fellow students, which shows great understanding and leadership,” Kroll said. “He has consistently been on top of his work, and the work he submits is always top quality. We will be sad to see Omar leave us, but we know he will accomplish great things with the knowledge he has gained at TSTC.”

Some of his most challenging classes were Introduction to Scripting Languages and Administering SQL Server because of the amount of new material he had to learn.

“My instructors are all down-to-earth people you can talk to,” Francia said. “They know what to do and are able to teach really efficiently.”

Francia has gotten experience away from his classes by working up to 20 hours a week in a paid internship in Information Technology and Systems at Baylor University. His work involves setting up desktop computers for laboratories and working with faculty and staff on their technology needs.

Francia grew up in Corsicana and graduated in 2015 from Corsicana High School. He likes playing video games with his friends when he goes home.

“It was nice growing up there,” he said. “I grew up with the same people my entire life. Out of my group of friends, I was the go-to techie kid.”

His brother first told him to consider TSTC when he was in high school. Francia toured the campus and was attracted to the data center on the first floor of the John B. Connally Technology Center that is used by technology students.

“I chose TSTC because it’s straight to the point,” Francia said.

He wants to work in the technology field in the Austin or Dallas areas after graduation.

“Don’t be scared to do what you think you want to do,” he said.

Candidates for graduation from TSTC’s Fort Bend County, North Texas, Waco and Williamson County campuses will gather for Spring Commencement at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 1, at the Waco Convention Center at 100 Washington Ave.

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

TSTC Announces Waco Chancellor’s Excellence Award Recipients

(WACO) – Three longtime Texas State Technical College employees in Waco have been honored by the college for their skills and contributions to technical education.

Jennette Alvarez, David Kofnovec and Rosie Smiley have received this year’s Chancellor’s Excellence Award.

“Those selected model excellence for us all and are recognized for both their sound character and for advancing TSTC’s new direction,” said TSTC Chancellor Mike Reeser. “Due to their caring and dedicated efforts, TSTC continues to make a difference in the success of our students.”

Alvarez of Waco has worked as a bookstore specialist for 13 years. Some of her tasks include working with instructors at the Fort Bend County, North Texas and Waco campuses in adopting and ordering books and ensuring books are organized on shelves. Alvarez also works with vendors on credits and invoicing.

“I live my life the way I was raised,” she said. “Do your best every day, treat people the way you want to be treated, never judge, give and you shall receive. I am me and will be the best me I can be.”

Alvarez, 50, is a native of Waco and a graduate of University High School and McLennan Community College, where she studied business accounting.

Kofnovec is a senior financial analyst in the Finance, Analytics and Budget Office. He has been at TSTC for 19 years and has served as a vice president of financial services and held accounting positions in the TSTC system.

Kofnovec, 60, works with the chancellor’s office on legislative financial reporting, which includes fiscal notes, appropriation requests, cost studies and performance measures. He also studies the accuracy and integrity of financial data and reporting, makes recommendations for monetary adjustments and manages projects.

The work has evolved from a time when he and co-workers used penciled ledgers and spreadsheets in the late 1990s to now using desktop programs to consolidate accounting tasks.

“I enjoy the sense of everyone around you making you feel like a family,” Kofnovec said. “No matter which of our many locations you visit, that same feeling always exists. The family feeling energizes you to plow through your daily trials and tribulations knowing you are contributing to the common good of the family.”

Kofnovec is a native of Abbott and a graduate of Abbott High School. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas. He lives on land that is part of his family’s farm in Hill County.

The third campus award recipient, Rosie Smiley, is executive director of the Physical Plant. She has worked for seven years at TSTC and said working with the campus community is what she enjoys most about her job.

Smiley, 37, of Elm Mott is a graduate of Chilton High School in Falls County. She has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from Texas A&M University in College Station.

Award recipients will be invited to attend the annual National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development’s International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence in May in Austin.

This is the 17th year the recognition has been given to employees across the 10-campus system.

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

TSTC Hosts First Auto Tech Day

(SWEETWATER) – Local high school students had the opportunity to work side-by-side with Texas State Technical College Automotive Technology students during the college’s first Auto Tech Day.

The event was focused on recruiting students to TSTC’s Automotive Maintenance and Repair dual enrollment pathway – an educational initiative that allows high school students to take college courses.

“We want to make sure students are aware of the college opportunities available to them while still in high school,” said TSTC Manager of Dual Enrollment for West Texas Rene Rolston.

Students at the event were treated to breakfast and got to hear from TSTC West Texas Campus Provost Eliska Smith, TSTC Automotive Instructor Henry Ortega, TSTC Automotive Division Director Mark Koslan and TSTC Automotive Advisory Board member and owner of J&M Automotive in Sweetwater Josh Waldon.

After presentations, the high school students were paired with TSTC students to get hands-on experience in areas such as air conditioning, diagnostics, brake repair and engine maintenance and repair.

“When choosing a career path it’s important to know what you’re getting into,” said Rolston. “And there’s no better way than having an event dedicated to exposing students to a field and giving them an opportunity to experience it hands on.”

Rolston said she hopes this event will encourage students to pursue this pathway because there are benefits to enrolling in dual enrollment courses.

“When a student enrolls in dual enrollment they are saving themselves time and money in the future,” she said. “When they complete the pathway they have one semester under their belt.”

TSTC currently has 43 school districts that are utilizing the dual enrollment pathway for its junior and senior high school students in Sweetwater and surrounding counties, including nine online pathways for those who are too far to travel to campus.

Dual enrollment classes are typically offered Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the TSTC campus.

“We have students as far as 250 miles away taking dual enrollment courses through TSTC,” said Rolston. “So our online pathways make dual enrollment a reality with us when students live too far but want to take advantage of this great partnership.”

For more information on the dual enrollment Automotive Technology pathway call 325-235-7319 or go online at tstc.edu.

Student Success Profile – Alandra Avelar

(HARLINGEN) – Alandra Avelar is pursuing classes in engineering and physics at Texas State Technical College. She earned her associate degree in Mechatronics Technology from the college in 2016 and currently boasts a 3.7 grade-point average.

The Brownsville native said she remembers being four or five years old and wondering how all of her toys work and breaking them to inspect the inside gears. Although her interest in engineering began at a young age, the 21-year-old added that the thought of pursuing engineering as a career did not begin until she was in high school.

“My entire life, since elementary, I can recall teachers never believing I’d amount to anything but high school changed that,” she said. “So this is my chance to prove them wrong.”

What are your plans after graduating from TSTC?

I will be completing my courses here at TSTC this summer and in the fall I will begin pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University.

What’s your dream job?

After graduating I would like to experience work and life on an oil rig and positions in the industrial arena. Ultimately, though, I would like to be a mechanical engineer for corporate companies managing system controls.

What has been your greatest accomplishment while at TSTC?

Besides graduating with my associate degree, – I would have to say my other great accomplishment was being able to balance a full-time course load and two part-time jobs I needed to pay for college.

What greatest lesson have you learned about yourself or life?

These past three years have been quite a journey, there have been a lot tears. I have learned that as long as I apply myself, stay focused on my goal and continue doing my best, I will succeed and can get through anything. It may be a crazy ride but I am pursuing my dream.

Who at TSTC has influenced your success the most?

The person at TSTC that has influenced my success the most is Financial Aid Assistant Director Tillie Flores. College is expensive and I knew my family could not afford it but she helped me find scholarships and grants that have left me debt-free. I have no words on how her help has shaped my life.

What is your advice for future TSTC students?

Focus on your goal and do not let what is going on distract you from that. People will try to get you down, but do not let them, be strong minded. And always remember that everything you do will be worth it in the end.

TSTC Hosts Active Shooter Training Course

(HARLINGEN) – The Texas State Technical College Police Department recently hosted the Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events Train the Trainer course. More than 100 local law enforcement officers from across the Rio Grande Valley were presented strategies and guidance for surviving an active shooter incident. The trainings were presented by Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) instructors and addressed topics such as the history and prevalence of active shooter events, the role of the professional guardians, civilian response options, medical issues and drills.

TSTC Talent Search Awards Recording Contract

(STATEWIDE) – Punk rock band Punk-69 from Harlingen won Texas State Technical College’s Second Annual Talent Search, co-sponsored by Texas Music Café, with their original song Cough Syrup.

The three-man band made up of TSTC student Jose Cisneros, his brother Adrian Cisneros and family friend Ralph Lucio received a $2,500 recording contract.

“Music is in our blood,” said Adrian. “We owe this win to my grandfather and father and we hope our music is making them proud.”

Adrian’s brother mirrored the sentiment.

“Winning is just wow! There are no words,” said Jose. “This contract will skyrocket our career and we can’t wait to see where it takes us.”

The Texas Music Café finale, which airs on PBS, showcases the talents of Texas legends like Willie Nelson and rising stars like the four TSTC students from across the state who earned their spot in the finale thanks to YouTube likes from family, friends and the community.

In addition to the Cisneros brothers and Lucio, the other finalists included Jesse Guadarrama from Harlingen, Ruger Green from Marshall and Will Craig from Waco who competed for the grand prize.

All four musicians were judged by professionals in the music industry coming from places such as Hermes Music and iHeart Radio.

Executive Producer of Texas Music Café Chris Ermoian said the partnership between TSTC and the show started when TSTC Chancellor Mike Reeser approached him about hosting music events at all TSTC campuses.

“Mike wanted something fun for students on campus. Something to bring people together and music is the perfect component to do that,” said Ermoian.

Ermoian said that TSTC’s Talent Search contestants bring the combined best of what TSTC has to offer and he looks forward to next year’s competition and continued partnership with the college.

To learn how to compete in next year’s TSTC Talent Search call Student Life at 956-364-4370.

TSTC Students Find Opportunities at Annual Industry Job Fair

(HARLINGEN) – With resumes in hand, Auto Collision Technology student Victoria Ramirez explored the aisles of employers at the Texas State Technical College Industry Job Fair searching for a certain employer.

“My heart is set on Service King,” said Ramirez. “There is a lot of growth opportunity with this company. I already spoke one-on-one with the recruiter and left my resume. They seemed interested, so I’m staying positive.”

The 27-year-old will graduate Summer 2017 with a Certificate II and she said the recruiter told her to call before she graduates to begin the interview process.

Ramirez already holds a certificate in Automotive Technology from TSTC and she said she hopes this makes her more marketable to employers such as Service King, a collision repair center serving 24 states with 318 locations.

The Talent Management and Career Services department at TSTC hosts this job fair every April to help the large number of students, like Ramirez, who are graduating either in the spring or the summer and looking for job placement.

TSTC Director of Talent Management and Career Services Viviana Espinoza said for many of the students in attendance this is their opportunity to network with recruiters and apply with companies that are already hiring or looking to hire TSTC graduates.

“Our goal is to help our students increase their confidence when it comes to speaking with employers,” said Espinoza. “Ultimately, the confidence gain will lead to job placement and a career.”

More than 40 employers were on hand accepting resumes and conducting on-site interviews.

Matt Granderson, Los Vientos site manager for Duke Energy, a leading energy company focused on electric power, gas distribution operations and renewable energy assets, said they already hire TSTC graduates and are always impressed with their skill and work ethic.

“The students coming out of TSTC graduate with the fundamental foundation and understanding in safety and technology,” said Granderson. “They graduate with the skills that make them marketable and ready to work.”

Granderson added that he had collected numerous resumes from prospects he hopes will work for Duke Energy.

Espinoza said overall this year’s job fair was a success with nothing but positive feedback from employers and students.

“Employer satisfaction was high. They were especially impressed with our students,” she said. “Many of the employers present will be returning for program tours and recruitment. This is great news for our students.”

For more information on student, alumni and industry services offered by TSTC’s Talent Management and Career Services, call 956-364-4940.

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Texas State Technical College News Site