Category Archives: All TSTC

TSTC Receives ETMC Equipment Donation

(MARSHALL) – Texas State Technical College’s Biomedical Equipment Technology program in Marshall recently received an equipment donation valued at more than $100,000 from East Texas Medical Center in Henderson.

The program received four Nihon-Kohden Monitor Systems for bedside usage with nursing central station telemetry, a CONMED Electrosurgical Unit used for incision and ridding the body of tissue masses, six Abbott Plumb intravenous infusion pumps and a stress test unit.

“Generous donations like this give TSTC the opportunity to train students on the broadest variety of equipment they may see in the field and give them the hands-on training that make our students so successful in the workplace,” TSTC in Marshall Provost Bart Day said.

The equipment will be used in the program’s Physiological Instruments and Biomedical Clinical Instrumentation courses, Associate Professor Nicholas Cram said.

“The equipment is termed ‘end of life’ in the industry,” Cram said. “This means that the hospital can no longer be certain that parts and technical support is available for this equipment. The equipment is four to five years old and very serviceable for student use. It gives us at TSTC in Marshall the ability to use relatively new equipment for labs.”

Fred Ingham, a biomedical technician at the Henderson hospital, said staff thought the retired equipment would be best for the program. Ingham said East Texas Medical Center in Tyler has an internship program with TSTC in Marshall and has made previous equipment donations

The Biomedical Equipment Technology program currently has 48 students enrolled. Students can receive an Associate in Biomedical Equipment Technology in Marshall.

Students with a biomedical equipment technology degree can work for medical centers, equipment manufacturers and digital industrial companies, according to the Medical Device Manufacturers Association and the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation in Healthcare Technology.

For more information on how to make a cash or equipment donation to TSTC, contact The TSTC Foundation at 254-867-3900.

Registration continues for Fall Semester. For more information log on to tstc.edu.

TSTC Flight Team Takes Home First at National Championship

Texas State Technical College will celebrate its first place win at the National Intercollegiate Flight Association’s 2016 SAFECON with an awards ceremony at noon Friday in the Aerospace Center terminal.

TSTC’s flight team, comprised of 10 students, placed first for of two-year colleges at the competition held May 9 through 14 in Columbus, Ohio. SAFECON, which began in 1949, awards teams and individuals in the categories of outstanding team member, navigation, pre-flight inspections, safety, men and women’s achievement, and more. Teams must complete each challenge while meeting all flight safety standards.

Daniel Shanks, a third semester Aircraft Pilot Training student, competed for the first time this year. He first competed in the regional competition held in Mississippi, and then nationals.

“At regionals there were five schools. At nationals there were at least five times the competition there,” Shanks said. “The people that were there were the best of the best. It was exhilarating to be able to compete on such a small scale initially, and then see how big of a deal nationals are.”

The country is divided into 10 regions, and the top three from each region go on to the national competition.

Shanks competed in several events including aircraft recognition, power-on and power-off landings, instrument flight rules, message drop and aircraft pre-flight. In the aircraft pre-flight event, they add 60 “bugs” to an airplane, and the students have to find and fix them in the dark.

“There’s an aircraft in a hanger. It’s completely black, and you go in with a flashlight and deem it worthy or unworthy of flight,” Shanks said.

TSTC Flight Instructor Jack Gainer, who was the group’s adviser, said the competition is about more than flight.

“One of the ground events that we did was computer accuracy,” Gainer said. “They have to calculate different flight and navigation skills. Two of our competitors in those events were Air Traffic Controllers.”

Shanks said the time the team put into training paid off.

“We put in a lot of time and effort,” Shanks said. “It was nice to have somebody like Jack, who has a lot of prior military experience, coach us. He was able to bring some of that to the team. He really helped mold us into the pilots we’ve become. He brought a new mindset. Once everybody started putting in the extra effort, it was nice to get the top two-year school in the nation.”

But the team walked away with something even more important than a trophy.

“I think we definitely grew as a team. Prior to the event, we weren’t as close as we were when we came out of it,” Shanks said. “What’s so cool about the NIFA experience is that it’s not a single effort event. You have to do as well as the entire team. It takes the entire team working well together to get that top award. The camaraderie we came out of Ohio with is amazing. I think we’ll all be friends forever, and that’s something I like a lot.”

Gainer said he was extremely proud of his students on the win.

“As an educator, we always want to see our students do well,” Gainer said. “Usually that’s only measured for us when they get a job; pass a checkride; small measurements like that. To be able to be labelled as national champions, that gave me an enormous amount of pride for both my students and the program here.”

The awards ceremony congratulating the team will be at noon Friday in the Aerospace Center terminal. For more information on TSTC’s Aerospace programs, visit www.tstc.edu.

TSTC Receives Equipment Donation From VanTran

(WACO) – Students in the Electrical Power and Controls program at Texas State Technical College will benefit from an equipment donation from a local company.

Staff from VanTran Industries Inc. on Imperial Drive in Waco delivered three new pole mounted 5 kilovolt-amperes transformers earlier this week to program faculty and staff in the Electronics Center. The donation valued at $1,000 marks the first time the company has donated equipment to the program.

“The students can get real-world knowledge and experience as opposed to working with a simulated model,” said Robbie Morehead, VanTran’s sales engineer and project coordinator.

The Electrical Power and Controls program has 190 students.

Dylan Hammick, 23, of Lorena and an Electrical Power and Controls major said he looked forward to labs using the new transformers.

“It will give you better field experience,” he said. “The training here at TSTC is good. This is real life.”

Hammick attended Industry Career Day in March at TSTC and met with several employers, one which has already interviewed him for a job.

“Electricity is a steady job market,” he said. “Power is power and everybody has to have it.”

Another Electrical Power and Controls major, 26-year-old Tino Alvarado of Waco, wants to work with the new transformers as soon as he can. Alvarado said using the transformers will be good experience for when he starts as a substation technician on Aug. 29 at Oncor Electric Delivery Co. in Fort Worth.

“I like everything about electricity,” he said. “It’s not easy to learn but it gets me interested in learning what is going on.”

VanTran has had a representative on the program’s advisory committee the past few years to offer suggestions on how the program curriculum could continually be tailored to the needs of industries.

The company was founded in 1963 and makes liquid filled transformers shipped throughout Canada and the United States.

For more information on how to make cash or equipment donations to TSTC, contact The TSTC Foundation at 254-867-3900.

Registration continues for Fall Semester. For more information log on to tstc.edu.

TSTC Hosts Local High Schools for Program Highlight Day

Texas State Technical College in North Texas hosted 30 students from the Midlothian and Red Oak High Schools for their second Program Highlight Day last week.

Director of Student Recruitment at TSTC in North Texas, Cory Gropp, said he came up with the idea to hold Program Highlight days because prospective students have a hard time understanding some programs, like Industrial Maintenance.

“Students get caught up on the ‘maintenance’ part and often we hear ‘why do I need to go to college to push a mop?’” Gropp said. “These students do not realize the salary that comes with Industrial Maintenance positions. So, originally, we wanted to get a day for students to get hands-on experience and see what the program is really about.”

Gropp said these highlight days are important to make sure students know about the programs available and give them some hands-on experience with them.

“We do fun activities to pique their interest. Some of the comments I heard last Friday were ‘I never knew TSTC had a program like this,’ and ‘I am definitely coming here when I graduate,’” Gropp said. “We want the students who are thinking about becoming engineers. We want students who excel in math and science. TSTC not only provides the training to help students become engineers, but also to earn high paying jobs after graduation.”

Industrial Maintenance Instructor Kevin Liptak said the high school students toured the building and then instructors spoke to them about the Industrial Maintenance program.

In the afternoon, students competed in a tournament to see who could build a tower with a pneumatic crane fastest. Each school had two groups competing. The Midlothian groups won first and fourth place, and Red Oak won second and third.

“I think everybody had a lot of fun,” Liptak said. “They got pretty competitive on the crane.”

Bryan Rogers, an Engineering and Robotics teacher at Red Oak High School, said the school believes that students should see the opportunities that exist for their future education.

“The crane lab was engaging,” Rogers said. “The school system sees the benefits of exposing the students to the option of a technical education, so we’ll continue to bring groups over.”

TSTC’s first Program Highlight Day was held Dec. 11, with students from Red Oak, Waxahachie, Palmer and Ferris High Schools learning about Precision Machining and Computer-Aided Drafting. The students designed their school’s logo in Computer-Aided Drafting programs and etched the logo onto a plastic plaque in the machining lab.

TSTC is enrolling now for the fall semester. For more information on the college, or to apply, visit www.tstc.edu.

TSTC Provost Named to Hutto Area Chamber of Commerce

(HUTTO) – Edgar Padilla, provost of Texas State Technical College in Williamson County, was recently appointed a member of the Hutto Area Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors.

He was selected by Board Chairman Seth Simmons and will work with other board members in guiding policy direction, budgeting and other facets of the chamber made of more than 300 members.

“TSTC represents how much our Hutto values education and working together,” Simmons said. “By educating and preparing people to realize their potential, we are creating an appealing business environment in which families and businesses can thrive together for many years to come.”

Padilla said his appointment signified the college’s mission to contribute to the economic development of Texas.

“By working closely with the Hutto Area Chamber of Commerce, it’s my hope that our scope and mission will continue to grow in Williamson County resulting in enrollment growth for the campus and the attraction of more industry partners for our graduates,” he said. “We know working closely with community partners is an integral part of our success at TSTC, and our responsibility to our local communities extends beyond student outreach.”

Padilla has been provost since November 2015. Before moving into his current position he served as senior executive director for TSTC’s statewide Industry Relations and Talent Management and TSTC in Waco’s director of career services and coordinator of career services. He also worked with Campus Living hiring and training resident advisors, coordinating staff development initiatives and tracking student satisfaction, parent relations and residence life.

He also has had involvement in the Lacy-Lakeview Chamber of Commerce, the Waco Collegiate Forum, the Work in Waco Committee, the Greater Waco Education Alliance and the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Padilla has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management with a minor in Information Systems from Schreiner University in Kerrville. He is currently working on a Master of Business Administration degree in Global Marketing and Entrepreneurship from St. Thomas University.

Registration continues for Fall Semester at TSTC. For more information go to tstc.edu.

TSTC Student Awarded Houston-Based Scholarship

(WACO) – Hillary Taber is not one to shy away from creativity and hard work.

Taber, 23, of Wichita Falls and a student at Texas State Technical College, recently received the Baxter + Korge Education Fund Scholarship from the Advertising Education Foundation of Houston and the American Advertising Federation – Houston. She will use the scholarship to pay for two classes she is taking this summer. And, she is the first student from TSTC to win the scholarship.

The scholarship was presented at a luncheon the organizations hosted in April at the Junior League of Houston. The organizations announced $60,000 in scholarships being awarded to recipients in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and a portion of Louisiana.

“I met the other winners and it was really amazing to get that kind of recognition,” said Taber.

Taber credited Michael Lewis, department chair in Visual Communication Technology, for encouraging her to apply. He wrote her letter of recommendation for the scholarship application.

“She has a strong sense of deadlines and works well under pressure and is highly organized,” Lewis said. “She is able to interpret instructions and return a design that accomplishes the stated objectives. She is flexible enough to re-evaluate a design and change it in the middle of the process if the client’s needs change or the creative team decides to approach the project from a different direction.”

Taber is scheduled to receive an Associate in Visual Communication Technology – Technology Design Specialization in August and will be eligible to participate in Fall Commencement in December.

She said her passion for graphic design grew in classes like Basic Graphic Design, Digital Publishing and Publication Design. Her classes involve a heavy use of the Adobe Creative Cloud. And, her appreciation for fashion and bright colors inspires her work.

Taber graduated in 2009 from Wichita Falls High School. The next year she accompanied her father to a photography workshop in San Antonio which she credited for growing an interest in photography. Her first camera was a Canon Rebel XTI.

Taber and her husband David moved from Wichita Falls to Waco so he could study automobile body repair. The couple learned about TSTC in Waco through mutual friends.

“The greatest thing is Waco is bigger but it does not have tons of traffic,” she said. “But we are on our own.”

She noticed on TSTC’s website an Associate in Visual Communication Technology – Photography Specialization was offered and eventually received the degree in 2014. She liked how project-based the classes for both her degrees were.

Taber said she was glad to take advantage of on-campus housing for her husband and two young children.

Her plans after graduation are to continue studying graphic design in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“Eventually I want to work for a cool design team where I can be a good fit,” Taber said. “I want to be part of a big team for a major company.”

For more information about the Visual Communication Technology program contact 254-867-3310 or michael.lewis@tstc.edu.

Registration for Fall Semester continues at TSTC. For more information log on to tstc.edu.

Scholarship Campaign Kicks Off at TSTC

(HUTTO) – Texas State Technical College in Williamson County is raising money for a new scholarship by having its first Welding Pro-Am and Show & Shine from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 11 at the East Williamson County Higher Education Center in Hutto.

The event includes a welding pro-am judged competition and tours of TSTC’s welding labs.

“We will be hosting welding professionals, industry partners and vendors from all over the state who will team up with our students and show off some of the coolest welding equipment the industry has to offer,” said Edgar Padilla, provost of TSTC in Williamson County.

Proceeds will go toward the Make a Texas-Sized Difference campaign developed by The TSTC Foundation to raise money for the Texan Success Scholarship. TSTC will match each donation made – dollar per dollar.

The community has the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of TSTC students throughout the campaign.

“The goal is to grow TSTC, get our students in school and on track to complete a program and eventually enter the Texas workforce,” Vice President of Institutional Advancement Beth Wooten said. “This is bigger than just TSTC. This is about filling the skills gap in Texas and providing industry with the skilled workers desperately needed.”

Technical degrees and certificates will be critical to have in the next decade. Wind turbine service technology and health care jobs in physical therapy, home health and ambulance driving are predicted to be some of the fastest growing occupations by 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“A large number of well-paying jobs go unfilled in Texas because employers cannot find workers with the right blend of technical skills,” TSTC Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer Mike Reeser said. “At TSTC we teach those skills needed for these great jobs. We hope more students will be encouraged to consider the benefits of a technical education and the great jobs that result from them.”

New, incoming students can receive the non-need referral based $1,000 scholarship at TSTC’s 10 campuses. TSTC recruiters, faculty members and high school counselors can make recommendations for students to receive the money.

“I’ve had the privilege to speak to most of our community and many area employers about the Texan Success Scholarship,” said Padilla. “We are very excited about a scholarship campaign that will specifically benefit TSTC students at our EWCHEC location.”

TSTC in Williamson County has 11 technical programs offering certificates and associate degrees in technical areas from computer tech support to welding technology.

For more information on the welding contest, contact instructors Brooke Williams or Keith Armentrout at 512-759-5632.

For more information on the Make a Texas-Sized Difference Campaign and other ways to contribute to TSTC, log on to tstc.edu/tstcfoundation or call 254-867-3900.

TSTC Student Powers Through Learning

(WACO) – The fall semester of 2014 is one that Alexander Gonzalez may not forget.

The 29-year-old was finishing his first semester at Texas State Technical College as Michelle Gonzalez, his wife and a TSTC employee, had their daughter Natalia. He juggled taking finals, visiting his wife and newborn daughter at the hospital and working on their home in Bellmead to get it move-in ready.

“She has always been big on education and motivating people to get an education,” he said about his wife. “I saw her study and earn a psychology degree at Baylor University and I wanted to have something as well.”

Gonzalez and more than 460 other students will graduate at Texas State Technical College’s Spring Commencement at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Waco Convention Center. He will receive an associate degree in Electrical Power and Controls.

Gonzalez got hands-on experience with low and high voltage systems, power line design and other aspects of electricity in his courses.

“They have the labs that really start you right off with good experiences,” he said.

Dan Bateman, program chair of Electrical Power and Controls, said his job would be easy if he had more students like Gonzalez.

“I don’t think he missed a class,” Bateman said. “He turned the assignments in on time. I think any company would be lucky to have him.”

Graduates with Electrical Power and Controls degrees can work for utility companies, government entities and computer and electronic manufacturing companies. The career field is expected to grow in Texas through 2022 by more than 2,500 workers, according to projectionscentral.com. The average median wage nationwide was $61,130 in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Gonzalez is currently interviewing for jobs and hopes to work in the Waco area.

He and his wife want to be good examples for their daughter. He hopes that one day his daughter, and future TSTC students, will get assignments and studying done on time and listen to the advice of instructors.

“I think we are definitely going to encourage her and have her see the payoff in going to school,” he said.

Gonzalez likes to work on his house and play guitar when he is not studying.

Gonzalez is a 2004 graduate of La Vega High School in Waco. Shortly after high school he met his future wife, who is a college outreach representative in New Student Outreach/Admissions at TSTC.

He worked in the insurance field and at other jobs to support her as she studied at Baylor.

“He has supported every aspiration and goal I have had both educationally and professionally,” Michelle Gonzalez said. “It has been my absolute joy to return that support and love as he has worked so hard to obtain this degree. I have no doubt that he will do great in his field and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for him professionally.”

Registration is going on now for Summer and Fall semesters. Go to tstc.edu for more information.

Area Companies Using TSTC for Workplace Training

(MARSHALL) – Area companies have turned to Texas State Technical College for training workers to improve their skills in manufacturing and production.

“We do have a training capacity for the local area within a 50-mile range,” said Bryan Maertins, executive director of Workforce Training and Continuing Education at TSTC in Marshall. “We have started a statewide direct marketing campaign geared toward companies.”

Cabot Norit Activated Carbon Americas in Marshall has sent workers to learn about different kinds of welding and process training. The training began in January and ended in April with another session scheduled to start in June. This was the first time the company has partnered with the college.

“Their goal is to run 35 people through the training,” said Maertins.

Master Woodcraft Cabinetry in Marshall continues to send six workers to train for mechanical troubleshooting, motor controls, programmable logic controls and the basics of electricity.

The company makes enough cabinets to fill the equivalent of 65 tractor-trailers a week and sent to 35 states. Some of the equipment workers use include computerized chop and gang rip saws and water-based ultraviolet cured finishing lines.

“In maintenance, the machinery we buy is very sophisticated and highly technical and computerized,” said Mark Trexler, the company’s president and chief executive officer. “We have to continue to educate these guys to work on the more complicated equipment.”

Trexler said having TSTC in Marshall was an asset in utilizing faculty expertise and equipment.

“We are very happy or we would not continue to do it,” Trexler said. “They (workers) have to work their shift and they go over to TSTC for training,” he said. “It’s a huge benefit to have them local. If we had to send them to Longview or Shreveport, we would probably not do it.”

Earlier this year, LP Building Products of Carthage sent eight workers to learn more about programmable logic control systems and hydraulics theory, troubleshooting and design. Maertins said the company requested an assessment of its workers before and after the training to see how much they have developed.

Edward Chaney, an instructor and assistant department chair in Industrial Maintenance/Engineering, said workplace safety comes from respecting the equipment being used and repaired.

“Understanding the how’s and why’s give technicians a better understanding of troubleshooting and a better of understanding of how to design and upgrade equipment efficiency,” he said. “With this knowledge comes a better technical team and a safer team.”

To learn more about workforce training opportunities contact Bryan Maertins, executive director of Workforce Training and Continuing Education at 903-923-3442.

MHS Alumna, TSTC Student Setting an Example for Females

(MARSHALL) – Chastity Rhodes is going for her own triple crown at Texas State Technical College.

Rhodes, 33, of Marshall will receive associate degrees in Computer Networking and Security Technology and Cyber Security at the college’s Spring Commencement at 6 p.m. Friday at Julius S. Scott Sr. Chapel at Wiley College.

She already graduated with an associate degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology in 2014 at TSTC.

“I want to make sure I have a wide range of skills to make money for me and my children,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes discovered an interest in network support when she took networking classes for the Biomedical Equipment Technology degree.

“I kind of always wanted to work in a hospital setting but I’m not the nurse type,” she said. “I’m a very technical and analytical person. When I heard about this degree plan that lets you work on medical machines and networking in hospitals and you have to do a lot of security with HIPA (Health Information Privacy Act) too, it was everything I wanted actually.”

Alan Towery, an instructor in the Cyber Security program, said Rhodes was one of the hardest working students he has had.

“She would come up here to campus as much as she could to get help and even when she was not in class,” he said. “She was always asking questions to understand the material more.”

Towery said TSTC in Marshall’s cyber security graduates have gone on to work for school districts, hospitals and communication companies since the program began in the 2011-12 academic year.

Rhodes has been moved up from an internship to full-time employee at Seven Networks LLC in Marshall. Her internship involved server room network administration, cyber security work and network monitoring.

“The only way I have gotten to where I am at is to push myself and not be completely satisfied and work to do better,” she said. “My hopes are to keep this job and grow with this company and get tons of experience and exposure and hopefully have this real awesome career.”

She said she wanted to be an inspiration to younger females to pursue networking and technology as a career.

“I got into biomedical and the other two programs because they are predominately male. That to me is a challenge,” she said. “If they can do it, I can do it. If I would give any advice to any young lady coming out of high school, it is if you are good at mathematics, science, computers and even if you just like that kind of stuff, get involved and do something with your brain. In the end, your brain is going to be the only thing that matters. It’s an exciting field and there are advantages to females being in the IT field or any technology field.”

Rhodes graduated in 2000 from Marshall High School.

She visited TSTC when she came to the realization six years ago that a college degree was a necessity. She has appreciated the encouragement that faculty members gave her to succeed.

Her future academic plans include earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

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