(WACO, Texas) – Richard Rensing is ready for takeoff.

“It is eye-opening, especially now that I’m close to graduating,” said Rensing, a student at Texas State Technical College from McKinney. “I’m realizing my dreams are coming true. It’s cool to see how things have come together.”

Rensing is a candidate for graduation for an Associate of Applied Science degree in Aircraft Pilot Training Technology at TSTC. He joins more than 500 candidates for graduation receiving associate degrees and certificates at TSTC’s Spring 2019 Commencement at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7, at the Waco Convention Center.

“I have made a lot of really close friends,” Rensing said. “It is rare to find others your age that are interested in the same thing you are. I have enjoyed the friendship and the teaching environment and the knowledge I have gained.”

Jessica Ogden, a flight instructor in TSTC’s Aircraft Pilot Training Technology program, said she admired Rensing’s humble attitude in the cockpit.

“He knows pilots, and that can help a lot,” she said. “He is coachable and can take criticism.”

Rensing’s early exposure to aviation was through his father’s employer who had a company jet and also through traveling with his family.

“I wondered about the science of it,” Rensing said.

When Rensing was young, he would ride his bicycle to watch airplanes land and take off in McKinney. At 13, he flew in the passenger seat of an airplane with a private pilot for the first time, and three years later he started pilot lessons.

While in high school, Rensing took classes in the McKinney Independent School District’s McKinney Aviation Academy. More than 200 students from McKinney’s three high schools attend, taking the first two years of aviation classes on their home campuses and the last two years of courses at McKinney National Airport. Rensing graduated in 2017 from McKinney Boyd High School.

Todd Curtis, an aviation teacher at the McKinney Aviation Academy, quickly noticed Rensing’s ambition.

“He would hang out with pilots at air shows,” Curtis said. “He would talk to anybody. Everything started to click. When he started flying, it was interesting seeing the transition from freshman to when he earned his pilot’s certificate before his high school graduation.”

Curtis said the academy is a great way to expose students to the aviation industry before entering college.

“I think it is a great way to inspire,” he said. “I don’t know that everybody understands how you get a job in aviation. It exposes not only the kids that are interested, but they talk to their friends. It builds chatter about a much-needed career field.”

After his graduation from TSTC, Rensing will start certified flight instructor instrument classes with American Flyers in Addison. Later this year, he will work at TSTC as a flight instructor and pursue an online Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Science: Professional Pilot at Texas A&M University – Central Texas.

“Whenever you are teaching the next generation of pilots, it’s cool to give them your knowledge,” Rensing said. “I get to instruct while flying, which is the best part.”

Rensing is in the Envoy Air Cadet Program, which he hopes will be his flight path to becoming a pilot for American Airlines.

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

(WACO, Texas) – Two Texas State Technical College alumnae have been hired by Cisco.

Among the company’s many accolades, Cisco has been named on the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work list for the 22nd year in a row.

Lori Wise and Ruusa Bolton are training to become technical consulting engineers at Cisco.

“IT (information technology) is very exciting. Everything is really happening at such a fast pace,” Bolton said. “Nothing stays new for a long time. There’s always something new happening; it’s an innovative field. What you are striving for is to remain relevant in an ever-changing industry.”

Before attending TSTC, Bolton served as an engineer in the U.S. military.

“People should not be afraid of technical fields,” Bolton said. “It’s probably one of the most learnable industries. No one expects you to know everything. As long as you have a problem-solving mindset, everything else can be taught.”

Bolton encourages more people, especially women, to pursue technical careers.

“Women should be courageous and not feel that they’re restricted, because we don’t see enough women in the field,” Bolton said. “Right now, the time is ripe with opportunity.”

Wise taught special education for 13 years. She discovered her love for technology after continually fixing computer issues at school.

“After I left teaching, I still wanted to make an impact on the world, and I can do that through technology,” Wise said. “I never thought after teaching for 13 years that I would be at a Fortune 500 company. So don’t limit yourself. Don’t look at a job description and go, ‘I don’t have all that,’ and not apply.”

Both women are excited to work for Cisco and love the working environment the company provides.

“I knew that Cisco was where I wanted to be, and nothing was getting in the way of that,” Wise said. “I love how you can innovate. I can play around with problems, make my own patch or make my own invention.”

“Cisco has a very inclusive policy when it comes to women empowerment and diversity,” Bolton said. “You can really see more credible and visible representation.”

John Washington, a TSTC Computer Networking and Systems Administration associate professor, said he was happy for the success Bolton and Wise have had. He also said the alumnae are great examples for current students.

“There are certain people that are going to be successful in life just because of their attitude,” Washington said. “The fact that they’ve gotten this far proves it. Hopefully it will encourage other students to know that they can be successful by seeing our graduates out there doing well.”

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

(WACO, Texas) – Not everyone can claim to have received a U.S. patent.

But Cecil C. Rhodes Jr., who received his degree from Texas State Technical Institute (now Texas State Technical College), can.

Last year, he and his team at Texas A&M University were awarded U.S. Patent 9,957,035 for Un-Manned Aerial Vehicle Having Adjustable Wing Module, Tail, and Landing Gear, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Rhodes, now a flight mechanics specialist for the Texas A&M aerospace engineering department, helped create the Pegasus unmanned air system.

“I was able to use my experience as an airplane mechanic and working with airplanes to actually put the airplane together,” Rhodes said.

After studying aviation maintenance and receiving his airframe and powerplant licenses from TSTI, Rhodes moved to College Station to attend Texas A&M University but found that his credits would not transfer.

“I do think it’s kind of neat that I came here to take aerospace engineering and then ended up here working in the department as a staff member,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes started to attend Blinn College but decided to seek full-time employment instead. He began working for the Texas Highway Department (now Texas Department of Transportation) as a mechanic, but he also worked part time on airplanes.

“I always had that desire to work full time on airplanes, and the opportunity came up in ‘99 to work for a company (Avlink) that had a fleet of jets,” Rhodes said. “So that was really appealing to me.”

Rhodes worked for Avlink for one year until the company went out of business. He then worked for Z Jets for five years.

“One of my fellow aviation buddies told me that A&M was starting a flight research lab, and they had an airplane over there and they wanted someone to come look at it,”

Rhodes said. “So, as fate would have it, I came over and worked on the airplane a couple times.”

Eventually Rhodes went to work for William Saric at Texas A&M University’s aerospace engineering department. Although the flight lab closed in 2015, Rhodes stayed on.

“I’ve always hired my own technicians, and he is by far the very best,” Saric said. “He has a multitude of skills. But the main thing is that he enjoyed doing new things and learning new things.”

“I’m a support person with mechanic experience,” Rhodes said. “I’m the technical support, the bridge between what they want to do and how they get it done.”

Rhodes also enjoys working with students.

“I’ve got the best of both worlds. I love working with my hands, and I love working with these students,” Rhodes said. “I’m able to help them go out and be the best that they can be.”

One of those former students at Texas A&M University, Andrew Carpenter, learned about the maintenance and regulation aspects of the aviation industry from Rhodes.

“He’s always had a great attitude, regardless of what he’s doing,” Carpenter said. “He helped out whenever he could, and he was a good mentor.”

Rhodes loves his job and is excited to continue working for Texas A&M University.

“For right now, I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing. I get a huge satisfaction from the people I work with,” Rhodes said. “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

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

(WACO, Texas) – The last few weeks have been busy for the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technology program at Texas State Technical College.

David Brannen, the program’s lead instructor, said several companies have visited the campus to recruit HVAC students for jobs. Brannen is happy about this because the program has a very high job placement rate for graduates.

“Everybody picks up this time of year because the cooling season is upon us,” said Brannen.

Brannen also said as senior-level technicians retire, younger workers are needed to replace them.

“This industry pays as good or as better than any industry out there,” Brannen said.

Jobs for heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers is projected to grow 15 percent nationally through 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Texas has more than 25,200 workers earning an annual mean wage of more than $46,000.

Some area businesses said it is difficult finding the right employees to fill HVAC jobs.

Andrew Smith, a recruiter and salesman at Construction Force Inc. in China Spring, said prospective employees need basic hand tools and a willingness to work.

“We can train new people, but it helps to have some of the background,” Smith said.

More than 100 students were enrolled this spring in TSTC’s HVAC Technology program in Waco, which offers an associate degree as well as a certificate.

Brannen said students entering the program should  have a fascination with how things work. He said students coming into the program are a mix, from those who know people in the HVAC industry to some who have never touched a wrench.

“I have guys that want to go where the money is and some that want to go home to work,” Brannen said. “Even the small towns need HVAC technicians.”

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