(FORT BEND) – Texas State Technical College recently hosted its first Community Resource Fair to serve the students and the residents of Fort Bend County.

The fair focused on health and wellness and finance, hosting six businesses: 24 Hour Fitness; Texana, Mental Health Agency; Frost Bank, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office; Access Health, a medical facility that provides affordable healthcare to those with or without insurance; and TSTC’s Veteran Services.

The businesses set up in the entrance of TSTC’s Industrial Technology Center, providing information and guidance for those needing or having an interest in their services.

Director of Student Services Georgeann Calzada said this event was held with the students’ needs in mind. Every business at the event is located within a 10 to 15-mile radius from the campus, also giving students the benefit of proximity.

“We want our students to be healthy and make good financial decisions,” said Calzada. “We encourage healthy lifestyles and I’m so glad all of these businesses were willing to help us.”

Calzada said she hopes students found the information they received useful and that they will take advantage of the services that were offered during one-on-one conversations between students and the company representatives.

“Many of the students and even faculty and staff on campus, can benefit from these services,” she said. “We hope to make this a yearly event and grow the partnerships we have with our local service-orientated businesses around the county.”

During the event, TSTC staff also encouraged students to register for the college’s Emergency Notification System (ENS), an alert system that utilizes phone calls, text messages and emails to send notifications in case of inclement weather or dangers around the campus.

“Safety at TSTC is our number one priority,” said Calzada. “It’s an important factor at school, work and in life.”

Calzada said students can expect a Spring Break Awareness Fair in the coming month to provide students with the information they need to stay safe during the one-week break from classes.

For more information on the services offered to TSTC students or to sign up as a business partner, call 364-239-3422.

(FORT BEND) – Texas State Technical College has received a $10,000 donation from Houston-based Fluor Corporation, a global engineering and construction company, to fund the college’s Texan Success Scholarship campaign.

The donation is matched by TSTC dollar-for-dollar and is awarded to new, full-time students to assist with tuition, books and other expenses.

“A partnership like this significantly increases our ability to provide a high quality education for our students while increasing the TSTC brand in Fort Bend County,” said Vice Chancellor and Chief Execution Officer Randall Wooten.

Wooten said Fluor has also expressed interest in hiring TSTC graduates, participating in an intern program and placing representatives to serve on the college’s Welding Technology Advisory Committee.

“We are pleased to partner with TSTC in its efforts to provide scholarships to students. Investing in organizations that provide best-in-class student training is what’s required to prepare the next generation, to not only find jobs, but to grow into careers, “ said Callie Coester, vice president of Project Operations E&C Americas at Fluor. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with TSTC in the future.”

Wooten added that having a partnership with a large corporation like Fluor will play a huge role in supporting the college’s mission of placing more Texans in good paying jobs.

“The recruiters at Fluor will know our instructors and be able to observe the work of our students,” he said. “In essence, they will be able to hire the top performers and place them in high paying jobs which fulfills our state mandate of placing more Texans in great paying jobs.”

TSTC’s Industrial Technology Center opened in August and is expanding with its second building scheduled to open in Fall 2017. Wooten said with TSTC growing in the Fort Bend market, the partnership with Fluor could not have come at a better time.

“This partnership adds a tremendous level of credibility to TSTC in Fort Bend County as we continue to grow in the market. We appreciate Fluor’s forward thinking and support,” Wooten said. “And as we expand we will continue to look for other industry partners who will benefit from the work of our highly-trained students.”Wooten would like to encourage other large corporations to invest in TSTC.

“We feel that there will be other large companies that will be willing to invest in TSTC because of the reputation that we have earned throughout the state of Texas,” he said.

For more information on the Texan Success Scholarship and how you can do your part to help a deserving student, call 346-239-3417.

(ROSENBERG) – Texas State Technical College and Bartlett Cocke General Contractors celebrated a project milestone for the college’s second building on TSTC’s Fort Bend County campus with a “topping out” ceremony Wednesday, Feb. 22.

A long-standing tradition in the construction industry, a topping out ceremony marks the placement of the last structural beam and celebrates the progress and timely construction of a major project.

“A topping out ceremony is very important in the construction process, because it gives us a point in the progression to pause and celebrate that a lot of people have come together to make a complex thing happen,” said TSTC Chancellor Mike Reeser.

TSTC’s 57,000-square-foot Brazos Center is anticipated to be completed in July, and classes are on track to begin in the new building starting Fall 2017.

The Brazos Center will bring four new programs: Robotics Technology, Electrical Power & Controls, Environmental Technology – Compliance specialization and Electrical Lineworker Technology. The building will also provide space for various student support services, including recruiting, student accounting, veterans programs, financial aid, admissions, a bookstore and a learning resource center.

TSTC Vice Chancellor and Chief Execution Officer Randy Wooten said he expects the new offerings will increase the economic vitality of the region.

“These programs were specifically selected because of the regional employers’ needs, as well as high salaries for the graduates,” Wooten said. “TSTC is an integral part of making ‘the American Dream’ attainable to those who don’t attend a four-year university, and we’re proud of that.”

TSTC’s Fort Bend campus came with encouragement and financial support from the city of Rosenberg, city of Richmond, city of Sugarland, Fort Bend County, Sprint Waste Services, the George Foundation and the Henderson-Wessendorff Foundation. The municipalities and foundations made more than $40 million in contributions to help TSTC expand its educational opportunities in the region.

TSTC Regent Joe M. Gurecky, himself a product of technical education, said the college will help make technical education attainable for area residents.

“It’s very dear to me to see technical training brought to Fort Bend County,” Gurecky said. “Many parents feel that a four-year college is something their children must go to, but it isn’t for everybody. TSTC has no problem placing students into employment when there are a lot of people with bachelor’s degrees who are looking for work anywhere just to pay off their student debt. Here, students can attend school and be able to live at home with their parents, making it a lot more affordable for the family. Our students don’t have to get out of college with a huge debt on their shoulders.”

Mary Garza, Bartlett Cocke’s vice president of operations for East Texas Region 4, said the company couldn’t be more proud to work with TSTC to bring the vision to light.

“The completion of this building structure is a major milestone for the TSTC Fort Bend campus and a celebration of yet another success story for a bright future for the students who will emerge as successful skilled technical partners,” Garza said.

Reeser agreed and urged the importance of partnerships.

“I can’t say enough good things about the architect and the builder in this project,” he said. “They’ve done simply an outstanding job on this building and the one that preceded it. Regarding partnerships, there’s no worthy endeavor that happens when someone works alone. Partnerships are the key to making really important things happen. You can search all over Texas and you won’t find a better community to make things happen than the communities in Fort Bend County.”

Ultimately, the TSTC campus will boast six to eight buildings and be able to serve a projected enrollment of 5,000 students.

TSTC serves Texas through 10 campuses in Abilene, Breckenridge, Brownwood, Fort Bend County, Harlingen, Marshall, North Texas, Sweetwater, Waco and Williamson County. TSTC has graduated more than 100,000 students into the state workforce in its 50-year history.

For more information on TSTC in Fort Bend, visit tstc.edu.

(FORT BEND) – Learning to live again, Dillon Cannon, a United States Army veteran and now a student at Texas State Technical College, just had the experience of a lifetime.

The Cyber Security Technology student recently attended the 2017 Presidential Inauguration. The invitation came from Helping Heroes, an organization that provides military and veteran support programs and donated a house to Cannon several years ago.

The Sugar Land native had the opportunity to sit nearly 30 feet from the podium where the newly elected president took his oath.

“This experience left me speechless,” said Cannon. “There is so much history in Washington, D.C., and to be a part of it was amazing. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There’s no other way to describe it.”

The 30-year-old and the group he was with were scheduled to have lunch with Vice President Mike Pence and attend a military ball, but because of protests they were unable to attend those events.

“I was disappointed that we had to alter our schedule,” he said. “We were really looking forward to it, but in the end I still got to experience Washington, and for that I’m fortunate.”

It was not too long ago that Cannon thought he would never get to experience anything again. His life changed forever in December 2006 during his tour of duty in Iraq. He was serving as a military police officer when a sniper shot him in the neck, shattering a portion of his spinal cord.

“In a split second everything changed,” said Cannon. “You live the first 20 years of your life being able to do everything, and suddenly you’re wheelchair-bound.”

Cannon said he had to relearn how to do simple, everyday things such as writing, driving and cooking.

“Basically, I had to learn how to live again,” he said.

This is Cannon’s second semester at TSTC, making it his first time back in school in 11 years. He said that at this point in his life he is ready to pursue a college education and a new career.

As a Cyber Security Technology student, he gets to explore his love of computers and technology while working toward his goal of finding employment with the FBI or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I’ve always loved computers, and I’m hoping to use that skill to stop hackers and reduce identity theft,” Cannon said.

Cannon is also an active volunteer with TSTC’s Veterans Center and other military and veteran organizations in Fort Bend County. He works closely with disabled veterans and children, showing them that they can live a normal life and do whatever they set their minds to.

“I see Dillon achieving anything that he focuses on in his future. He always has an infectious attitude whenever he’s around,” said Reginald Dunn, TSTC Veteran Services representative. “Dillon has honorably served our great nation, and it is a pleasure to ensure that we provide a great service to him by way of his educational benefits in return.”

TSTC’s Veterans Center is a centralized resource department that assists veterans and their dependents with admissions, financial aid, GI Bill and Hazlewood benefits and provides support with internal and external referrals.

Cannon said if he has learned anything at all from his experiences it is that life is short and meant to be lived to its fullest.

“We all just have to get through life the best way we can,” he said. “We can’t let anything stop us. We have to go out and do it.”

He said he tries every day to follow his own advice and does everything he can to remain active because he is working toward one big goal.

“Whether on my own or with the help of technology, I will walk again,” he said.

For more on the services offered at TSTC’s Veterans Center, call 346-239-3425.

For more information on TSTC’s Cyber Security Technology, call 346-239-3449 or visit tstc.edu.