(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Culinary Arts program will begin serving for the fall semester at its student-run restaurant on Wednesday, Sept. 25. 

The restaurant is located in the Greta W. Watson Culinary Arts Center on Campus Drive and is open to the public. Students in the program will prepare meals with chosen themes every week such as Peru, Central Mexico and Parisienne Bistro. 

Culinary instructor Marc Silvas said he is excited to see what the students will do with the themes they have chosen.

“All of them are very unique and have something to bring to the table,” Silvas said.

Food will be served from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays from Sept. 25 to Nov. 27.

The serving days and themes are:

Sept. 25 and Sept. 27: Texas

Oct. 2 and Oct. 4: Peru

Oct. 9 and Oct. 11: Central Mexico

Oct. 16 and Oct. 18: Parisienne Bistro (French)

Oct. 23 and Oct. 25: Chef’s Choice

Oct. 30 and Nov. 1: Peru

Nov. 6 and Nov. 8: Central Mexico

Nov. 20 and Nov. 22: Parisienne Bistro (French)

Nov. 27: Live-Action Buffet 

Menus and dates are subject to change without notice.

Call 254-867-4868 to make reservations. Reservations are not accepted on serving days. Customers should arrive 15 minutes before their seating time.

The restaurant is not providing to-go orders this semester. 

For menus and other information, visit https://tstc.edu/about/culinarydiningwaco or the Greta W. Watson Culinary Arts Center at TSTC in Waco Facebook page.

(WACO, Texas) – Mark Schneider, division director of Culinary Arts at Texas State Technical College, has been selected to compete at Food & Hotel Asia (FHA) Food & Beverage 2020 next  spring in Singapore.

Schneider was selected because of his membership in the Epicurean World Master Chefs Society. This will be his first international competition, which takes place March 31 to April 3, 2020. He will be on a team of up to five American chefs, along with a support staff.

“The Singapore competition is touted as one of the toughest in the world,” he said.

Schneider will compete in the seafood category, creating three identical plated dishes using grouper and scallops. He will also incorporate garnishes, starches and vegetables in his presentation. And, he has 45 minutes to do it all.

“You have to fabricate the fish there, which is a little time-consuming,” Schneider said.

Schneider will create the dish and design the plating throughout the fall semester with timed practices starting in February. Some of TSTC’s Culinary Arts students will help him during the 15 practice sessions he hopes to have before leaving.

He will also plan what ingredients to take with him overseas.

“I know what I can get in an American market, but what can I get in a Singapore market?” he mused.

Schneider hopes to learn about Singapore’s culinary scene during his downtime on the trip. He said this could involve visiting a food market or going to a lesson and lecture.

“Food is allowing me to travel the world and experience flavors and spices,” he said. “To bring all that back to TSTC is amazing.”

Chef Marc Silvas, a TSTC Culinary Arts instructor, said students have a lot to learn from Schneider and the rest of the program’s faculty.

“It shows what the students can strive toward,” Silvas said. “They have a front-row seat to what is happening. They can experience what it takes at that level.”

FHA Food & Beverage 2020 will feature more than 2,000 exhibitors in 54 pavilions at the Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre. About 48,000 attendees from 100 countries and regions are expected to attend, according to event information.

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

(WACO, Texas) – It is blue, shiny and looms large at Texas State Technical College.

Portland, Oregon-based Daimler Trucks North America LLC recently gave TSTC’s Diesel Equipment Technology program a 2010 Freightliner Coronado SD. The in-kind gift is valued at $40,000.

The diesel truck will be stationary for students to learn about air conditioning, brakes, electrical and other components during hands-on lessons.

“Once they (the students) do something, they tend to remember,” said David Folz, an instructor in TSTC’s Diesel Equipment Technology program in Waco.

The diesel truck was previously a test unit, said Lisa Pulaski, Daimler Trucks North America’s specialty used vehicles operations manager.

“We would test components on it and it had gotten to the end of its life cycle with us,” she said.

The company typically donates its diesel trucks after their usage.

“We donate so diesel technician students can get a hold of actual trucks,” Pulaski said. “We donate to technical colleges to train future diesel technicians.”

Folz said the donation process took about eight months.

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

(WACO, Texas) – Tristan Landers compares working at a construction site to saving lives in a hospital.

“Commercial construction in general is very comfortable for me,” said Landers, a graduate of Texas State Technical College and a health, safety and environmental senior coordinator for the Austin area for Flintco. “It is very much like working in an emergency room. You never know what is going to happen. I kind of look at it as I save lives every day, only I do it before people get hurt. And in the process, I get to build $300 million buildings.”

Landers’ work touches on all aspects of construction, including contracts, bids, case management, insurance, pre-task planning and risk management. She also deals with city, state and federal building and environmental regulations.

Texas currently has more than 3,600 health and safety engineers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The career field is projected to increase to more than 28,000 workers nationwide through 2028, according to the agency.

“There are not enough human beings out there working every day in these jobs and roles to keep these guys safe,” Landers said. “That’s good for TSTC. Grow those safety professionals, and get them into the field.”

Landers grew up in Lorena and is a graduate of Lorena High School. She studied nursing and worked as a trauma nurse for 12 years before making a career change.

She graduated in 2015 from TSTC with associate degrees in Environmental Technology Compliance and Occupational Safety Compliance Technology. She was also president of the American Society of Safety Professionals’ on-campus student chapter.

“I liked the occupational safety compliance part of it because I was very familiar with part of it being in nursing,” Landers said. “I took one class with Mr. (Lester) Bowers and decided to do the environmental degree.”

Martin Knudsen, an instructor in TSTC’s Occupational Safety Compliance Technology program in Waco, said Landers’ profession is tailor-made for her.

“I knew from the very start, she was highly motivated,” he said. “She’s definitely chosen a field that is male-dominated. It goes to show if you have the right tenacity, you can overcome any stereotyping.”

After graduating, Landers did safety work in Waco and Arlington before moving to Austin.

“For me, TSTC was very important and critical to me being able to go out into the workforce and function as a competent safety professional,” Landers said. “Coming from an associate degree program, I was more ready to go to work than a lot of people coming out of a bachelor’s program. You cover so much information in the time you are there, and it is pertinent and relevant.”

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

(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.