(HARLINGEN) – What do the Harlingen Cotton Committee and the late Ruben Vela’s former drummer have in common? A passion for agriculture.

On Thursday night, during the annual Harlingen Cotton Committee 2018 First Bale of Cotton Auction and Scholarship Fundraiser, Juan Martinez, former drummer for the late conjunto and accordion legend and 13 other Agricultural Technology students at Texas State Technical College were presented with a $15,000 check, which was matched dollar-for-dollar by the Lozano-Long Foundation, bringing the total to $30,000 for scholarships.

The funds were divided equally among the 14 students.

“After spending 10 years in the music industry and as a Valley music teacher, this career change has come with its challenges; mainly financial,” said Martinez. “So this money is going to help me put gas in my car, help earn my associate degree and continue what my grandfather started.”

Martinez grew up in Santa Rosa, working farms with his grandfather planting different crops such as sugarcane, cotton and vegetables. But his career path instead followed his father’s who was the lead singer for Vela.

“I still love music, but after my grandfather passed away a couple of months I wanted to honor him, and this is how I’m doing it,” said Martinez. “I thank TSTC and the Harlingen Cotton Committee for allowing me this opportunity.”

Sam Simmons Jr., Cotton Committee chairman, said the organization’s ultimate goal is to help students like Martinez pursue an education in a field where the number of farmers is decreasing annually.

“We want to empower students to better their lives,” said Simmons. “And we hope that every student we touch can lead a successful career in Agriculture. We need them.”

The partnership between the Harlingen Cotton Committee and TSTC began in 2011. Since the organization’s first recorded donation, the funds provided for scholarships has grown along with the partnership.

To date the organization has donated more than $60,000 to TSTC.

“The Harlingen Cotton Committee do so much for the agriculture community in the Rio Grande Valley, including for our students here at TSTC,” said Amy Lynch, TSTC senior field development officer. “They care so much about agricultural education and ensuring that students have the resources they need to make their dreams a reality. It’s amazing.”

And making their dreams a reality is something that Martinez, who completed an internship with Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Weslaco and was immediately hired on; and Samantha Mendoza, also a TSTC Agricultural Technology student, are familiar with.

“I’m graduating next semester and I will transfer to Texas A&M-Kingsville to pursue a degree in pre-veterinary medicine,” said Mendoza. “And all of this is possible because of TSTC, its instructors and the money I have just received from the Harlingen Cotton Committee.”

“I struggle financially and this has brought such a huge relief. I’ll be able to focus on getting to the finish line,” she added.

TSTC Agricultural Technology Department State Lead and Instructor Sam Gavito said he is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the organization’s generosity to his students and program.

“There are no words to describe how appreciative I am for the help our students are getting,” said Gavito. “Every student here is worthy of this scholarship. They have proven their academic success and I can’t wait to see what else they can achieve with this help.”

Gavito added, “This is an amazing event. I send a huge thank you to everyone.”

All proceeds from the 2018 First Bale of Cotton Auction and Scholarship Fundraiser benefit the committee and Algodon Club of Harlingen Scholarship Fund.

“This donation is life-changing for many of our students,” TSTC Provost Cledia Hernandez. “That one tank of gas can mean the difference between graduating or dropping out and this organization understand that.”

“They are friends of TSTC,” Hernandez added. “The impact they have on our TSTC students is amazing. Tremendous.”

For more information on TSTC Agricultural Technology, visit tstc.edu.

(HARLINGEN) – Workforce Development and Continuing Education at Texas State Technical College are working with local small businesses in Cameron County to help them have the trained personnel they need, thanks to Skills for Small Business grants awarded by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

“TSTC and the TWC are working together on a small-business initiative to ensure that, like larger industries, they have a trained workforce,” said Isidro Ramos, executive director for TSTC Workforce Training and Continuing Education. “Our community is made up of small businesses, and it is our responsibility to provide them with the resources they need.”

TSTC’s Continuing Education Department received $156,000 for 2019 to use for professional training and development among small businesses.

“Most of the time, small businesses have limited resources and training is not in their budget,” said Ramos.  “But with this grant, they’re able to get their employees the training they need. We can’t forget about our small businesses.”

TSTC has been conducting this training since 2016 and helped more than a dozen small businesses.

Small-business employers are able to apply for the training every year, but they must be able to pay the prevailing wages in the local labor market for the trainees funded under the grant.

“There is an application process, but most small businesses qualify,” said Ramos. “These trainings help make a business more effective, efficient, competitive in their niche market, and innovative. We encourage everyone to apply and take advantage of the resource.”

Courses offered through the grant range from leadership in customer service and communication skills to beginner, intermediate and advanced Microsoft Office and QuickBooks trainings to marketing and basic supervision.

There are nearly 20 courses offered.

For Victoria Barrientos, billing officer and certified mastectomy fitter for MediForce in Harlingen, the QuickBooks trainings she completed through TSTC will help her and the business she works for advance in the way they use the software program.

“We use QuickBooks every day, and there were still features of the program we had no idea existed,” she said. “This course taught us how we can use QuickBooks to help us work smarter, not harder.”

Barrientos, who has been with the company for 10 years, and four others from the company recently completed the QuickBooks beginner and intermediate courses.

“This was a great learning experience all around, and I can’t wait to implement what we learned,” said Barrientos. “We want to work on using QuickBooks not only for retail and services, but now for quotes, reporting and inventory since becoming aware of these features in our courses.”

Laura Alvarez, a clerk for the construction department at Harlingen Glass & Mirror who has only been with the company for three months, jumped at the opportunity to take a QuickBooks training course.

“I had no QuickBooks knowledge prior to this training,” said Alvarez. “I’m 61 years old and thought I couldn’t learn anything new, but the learning experience and hands-on training made understanding easier, and now I’m ready to use this knowledge at work.”

Osvaldo Sosa, president and owner of Harlingen Glass & Mirror,  said professional development is something he encourages all of his employees to pursue.

“I am pleased that TSTC is offering this type of resource,” said Sosa. “This gives me the skilled employees I need and my employees the confidence they need in themselves to do their job well and work with customers. It’s like I always tell them: education cannot be taken away from you.”

TSTC’s Waco and Fort Bend County campuses also received a Skills for Small Business Grant for training within their communities.

For more information on Workforce Development and Continuing Education at TSTC, call 956-364-4590 or visit tstc.edu/workforce.

(HARLINGEN) – Estefany Ruiz earned her associate degree from Texas State Technical College in Biology during Spring 2018, but she is back studying Engineering and expects to finish this semester.

The 21-year-old Alamo native holds an impressive 3.5 grade-point average and works with the Office of Student Success as an English tutor.

What your plans after graduation?

I am currently a student at TSTC and enrolled at Texas A&M University-Kingsville where I’m studying Chemical Engineering. However, I have just been accepted into the Medicinal Plant Chemistry program at Northern Michigan University, so I’m looking at possibly transferring there.

What’s your dream job?

My dream job is to become a medicinal chemist and to own a company where I can research and manufacture medicines.

What has been your greatest accomplishment while at TSTC?

My greatest accomplishment while at TSTC has been developing my passion for chemistry. In high school, even though I liked the subject, it was not my forte. I have to credit my instructors for helping me find my passion. If not for their advice, helping hand and caring nature I would not be pursuing this career today.

What greatest lesson have you learned about yourself or life?

The greatest lesson I have learned is to believe in yourself and have a positive mindset and attitude. Having both of these attributes will help a person achieve whatever goal they have in mind; there’s no stopping.

Who at TSTC has had the most influence on your success?

The person who has had the most influence on my success is my organic chemistry instructor Everardo Villarreal. He believes in all of his students, more than we believe in ourselves. He believes in us so much that even we can’t doubt ourselves.

What is your advice for future TSTC students?

My advice for future TSTC students is to make concise decision about your education and your future, stay positive no matter what and find like-minded people who have similar goals as yours.

(HARLINGEN) – From homeless to a six-figure salary, Texas State Technical College Surgical Technology graduate David Flores accomplished what he set out to do – turn his life around.

The Donna native graduated from TSTC with a certificate in 1997 and with several job offers.

“I grew up very poor. We didn’t have much, but I always had my dream,” said Flores. “And this is what kept me motivated and determined. I knew I had to change my way of life. I needed to break the poverty cycle for my family.”

The 41-year-old is now a Certified Surgical First Assistant at Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen, where he started as a surgical assistant immediately after college.

He has been with the hospital for 22 years and has seen raises and promotions he never expected; but it was not easy getting to where he is today.

At the beginning of the Surgical Technology program, Flores and his family were homeless and living in a warehouse where his dad worked for little money.

Because his family could not afford even the basic needs, Flores did not have transportation to class and instead had to rely on fellow students for a ride.

“People always asked me why I remained so positive and motivated despite my struggles, but honestly it was my struggles that kept me going,” said Flores. “I grew up with practically nothing, yet I felt I had the most to lose. I had no choice except to succeed.”

Since then, Flores has made a name for himself in the healthcare community working with various surgeons, physicians and hospital directors around the Rio Grande Valley.

He is one of the first doctors call to assist with cases and surgeries. He was even one of the first from his hospital to be recommended for a nine-month surgical first assistant certification course, which he completed successfully.

“Without TSTC and the support from my instructor Robert Sanchez and the rest of his team, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he said. “This program (Surgical Technology) has opened so many doors of opportunity for me. I feel like everything has fallen into place.”  

Flores has come a long way from the high school student who knew what he wanted to do, but had no idea how to make his dream a reality.

“I had no idea in high school how to become a surgical technician, I didn’t even know what the job title would be,” Flores reminisced. “And I didn’t know where I would go to school.”

Flores remembers teachers and counselors pushing him to be a nurse and advising him that’s the only way he would make his dream come true, but deep down that is not what he wanted to be when he grew up.

“It was not until a college fair during my senior year that I began to feel discouraged,” he said. “No one had my program, then there she was, a TSTC representative who told me about Surgical Technology.”

Flores does not recall the TSTC representative’s name, but said because of her, he enrolled at TSTC before even graduating from high school. While his friends were enjoying their summer, he began the journey toward his new career.

His career has led him not only to Rio Grande Regional, but also as a contracted surgical first assistant for doctors across the Valley and to Guatemala, where he has done two years of missionary work providing free medical and surgery services to those less fortunate.

From passing tools to his father while he repaired cars to passing tools to surgeons while they operate, Flores said he has come full circle, and it’s his father who serves as his inspiration.

“The success I have found is because of my father and my family,” he said. “They motivated me through school and encouraged me to believe in myself and my skills. They worked hard so I could live my dream. Everything I am I owe to them.”

Flores has also worked closely with TSTC’s Senior Surgical Technology Instructor Anna San Pedro in initiating a preceptor program, which assigns students to mentors, sits on the TSTC Surgical Technology advisory board and has been named TSTC’s Preceptor of the Year for two years.

“I love being able to give back to the college that gave me so much,” said Flores. “I always tell students that this career is rewarding, can give them so many opportunities if they put the work into it and that we have lives in our hands so it’s important to continue learning even after we graduate.”

For more information on Surgical Technology, visit tstc.edu.

(HARLINGEN) – Computer Networking and Security Technology at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen is celebrating a unique national distinction. The program was recently named a Center of Excellence for Cyber Defense for two-year education programs by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National Security Agency (NSA).

“With this distinction we are joining an elite group of colleges and universities across the country,” said Norma Colunga-Hernandez, program associate professor. “Not just any program receives this honor and it proves that our faculty are doing everything to provide the industry with highly-skilled professionals when they graduate from our program.”

The National Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) in Cyber Defense was created to recognize and grant designations to institutions that offer rigorous degree programs in information security.

“Your ability to meet the increasing demands of the program criteria will serve the nation well in contributing to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure,” Karen Leuschner, National CAE Cyber Defense program director stated in a letter to TSTC. “There is a shortage of cyber security professionals and higher education is the solution to defending America’s cyberspace.”

To receive the designation, which runs through academic year 2023, TSTC’s Computer Networking and Security Technology program had to meet numerous criteria such as the program’s curriculum had to be approved by the CAE selection board; the institution must have a networking security plan in place; program faculty must have all necessary cyber security certifications; student enrolled in the program need to practice cyber security skills outside of the classroom; credits must be transferable to a four-year institution and the program must practice community outreach.

“The application process was long, but well worth it. Even our curriculum received great reviews,” said Hernandez. “But we had so much support from our leadership and others on campus, it was invaluable and we couldn’t have done it without them.”

TSTC in Harlingen Provost Cledia Hernandez said this is a great honor for the program and the college.

“We are honored by this designation,” said Cledia. “We have amazing faculty that have worked so hard to meet the rigorous application process.”

The program’s graduating class of Spring 2019 will be the first to earn an associate degree and a certificate from the NSA and DHS, a recognition only a handful of students who graduate from a center of excellence receive across the United States.

According to Hernandez, students who receive the NSA and DHS recognition are more marketable in industry and are more likely to receive higher paying jobs within prestigious organizations.

“This designation fits with our mission. Here at TSTC we strive to make our students more marketable and this designation will allow them to be more competitive and have an edge in the labor market,” said Cledia.

The demand for skilled Cyber Security professionals is expected to increase by 2021 with at least 3.5 million positions unfilled according to a February 2018 cyber security job report from Cybersecurity Ventures.

“We’re preparing our students for jobs such as network and computer systems administrators, computer network architects and information security analysts,” said Hernandez. “And with federal jobs on the rise, there is no doubt our students will have plenty of opportunities.”

To learn more about Computer Networking and Security Technology, visit tstc.edu.