(RED OAK) – Texas State Technical College in North Texas will host two Registration Rallies this summer – all part of an effort to make the registration process as easy as possible for students starting classes in the fall semester. The first rally will be held on Tuesday, June 19, with the second following on Tuesday, July 17.

Recruiting and Admissions staff will be on standby to walk students through the registration process. They will also offer tours and help with applications.

The Registration Rallies will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the campus at 119 N. Lowrance in Red Oak. Attendees will be able to meet with faculty, learn more about the different technologies offered at the Marshall campus and tour the facilities.

In addition to Recruiting and Admissions; personnel from Financial Aid, Testing, Student Success and Veteran Services will be available to answer questions and lend a helping hand. Prospective students will be able to learn all about resources available to them.

Students who need help finalizing their registration are encouraged to bring the following: copy of driver’s license, high school transcript or GED, any college transcripts, proof of bacterial meningitis vaccination and TSI scores.

For more information on the Registration Rally, go to tstc.edu/rally.

(RED OAK) – Texas State Technical College has welcomed a new recruiter. Annie Garcia began working at TSTC on April 30.

Garcia, a Palmer resident, most recently worked as a Job Corps admissions and outreach professional in San Antonio. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Public Relations from the University of Texas at Arlington.

When Garcia found the opening at TSTC, she said it was an opportunity for a seamless relocation.

“I had heard all good things about the school before,” Garcia said. “When we were looking into moving back into this area and I saw there was an opening, it kind of seemed like it was meant to be. With the position being so similar to what I was already doing, and it being so close to home, it was kind of perfect.”

Although the job duties are similar, Garcia said she noticed one big change: the teamwork.

“Even though I was doing something similar before, it was very much me on my own, almost like they wanted us to compete,” she said. “Here, we work as a team. Whether it be all of the campuses or all of the recruiters at one campus, I definitely feel like the three girls I work with will be pretty close-knit.”

TSTC Provost Marcus Balch said he is happy to have Garcia on board.

“We’re excited to welcome Annie to our team and once again have a full student recruitment staff,” Balch said. “The team is critical to the continued growth of our campus as we work to meet the needs of our industry partners in the area. Annie has hit the ground running and brings enthusiasm to our campus and to the students she serves.”

Garcia is enjoying her new position.

“I love it,” she said. “I haven’t met one stranger since I’ve been here. I get along with everybody, and I like the job. It makes it easy for sure.”

So far, her favorite thing about TSTC is the enthusiasm she sees from her co-workers.

“Everybody that’s here is very passionate about what they do,” Garcia said. “Whether it be the provost or the instructors or the recruiters, everyone is very passionate about the school and their position. It makes the school worth coming to for the students because if they’re going to spend the next two years here, they need to be around people who believe in what they do.”

TSTC prides itself on being “a great place to work” and is currently hiring for positions at its 10 campuses statewide. For information on open positions at TSTC, visit tstc.edu/about/employment.

(RED OAK) – Texas State Technical College employee Kevin Liptak goes the extra mile for his students and his campus. Liptak’s initiative has earned him TSTC’s Chancellor’s Excellence Award, an honor given to TSTC faculty and staff who model excellence at the college.

Liptak, who began working at TSTC in 2015, was excited to be chosen for the award.

“Like everybody else, I try to go above and beyond what we’re asked to do,” he said. “I’ve taken on large class loads and worked on a couple of special projects for TSTC.”

Liptak oversees TSTC’s Industrial Maintenance and Electrical Power & Controls programs in North Texas.

“I like my job,” he said. “There are a lot of responsibilities, a lot of tasks here. I run two programs, so every day is new.”

Liptak takes pride in building relationships with his students.

“So far with every student that has graduated, there have been things we’ve helped them out with,” he said. “Whenever Red Oak had tornadoes, there were several students that lost property and we kind of became a support center for them. It’s the right thing to do.”

His favorite part of working at TSTC is the work environment.

“There are a lot of teamwork aspects here that are lacking elsewhere,” he said. “Everyone is here to move forward, and we all work together to get the job done.”

The Chancellor’s Excellence Award began in 2001, and over the past 15 years nearly 300 TSTC employees have received the honor. Recipients are chosen based on outstanding contributions and achievements, commitment to excellence, and character. Honorees serve as agents of change in the advancement of TSTC initiatives.

Liptak will join 15 other TSTC employees statewide who will be honored later this month at the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Awards dinner and celebration in Austin.

TSTC prides itself on being “a great place to work” and is currently hiring for over 100 positions at its 10 campuses statewide. For information on open positions at TSTC, visit tstc.edu/about/employment.

(RED OAK) – Texas State Technical College welcomed two new student recruiters in April at its North Texas campus.

Shaunice Cyrus, of Mesquite, and Brandy Robertson, of Powell, joined the recruitment team at the beginning of April.

Cyrus comes to TSTC after working as a student worker in recruitment during her time at Tarleton State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. Most recently, she worked in customer service.

“At Tarleton, I did tours and other recruitment duties such as planning events,” she said. “I worked very closely with the recruiters, like I do now.”

So far, Cyrus is enjoying the added duties.

“Here, I am actually going out to different schools and traveling to recruit the students, attending college fairs, career days and things like that,” she said. “So, with this job it’s more responsibility, but it’s also a lot more fun.”

Cyrus said she loves what the college stands for.

“I love the fact that it’s so affordable and it’s a really good option for students who don’t think that they’re going to go to a traditional college, or don’t think they’re going to college at all,” she said. “It gives them an opportunity to broaden their horizons and see what all is out there.”

She takes pride in knowing she can possibly change the future for someone.

“I’m glad just being able to explain to a student the options that they have for higher education,” she said. “So many times in high school they told us ‘Go to this school. Go to the big names,’ but there’s so many other options out there. It just really warms my heart to show students that they can get a degree in welding and have a job making more money than somebody who had a degree from a four-year university.”

Robertson, who holds business degrees from Navarro College and Texas A&M Commerce, is also no stranger to the field of higher education.

“Before here, I worked at Vista College in the admissions department doing recruiting, admissions, helping register students, tours and sending them to financial aid,” she said. “Basically I would walk the students through the enrollment process.”

Robertson enjoys speaking with potential students at college fairs.

“They really give you an opportunity to get out there, mingle and help the students and spread the word about our school,” she said. “It’s pretty cool.”

One thing that has stood out to her is the enthusiasm of TSTC’s instructors.

“The instructors I’ve had the privilege of working with so far have all been great,” Robertson said. “I love how passionate they are about their programs. You can walk in and ask any of the instructors whose program is number one and they’re all going to say their program is best.”

She was glad to join the TSTC team, and hopes she can help students make smart educational choices.

“I like the fact that I am able to reach more students and help them,” Robertson said. “Here, we actually put students first. I feel like I’m making a difference in students’ lives by going out and showing them that they can still do all these things they love, for not even a fourth of the cost of other colleges. It’s amazing. I like it here. I feel like I’m at home.”

TSTC Provost Marcus Balch said they are proud to welcome Shaunice and Brandy to the team.

“As a growing campus they will play a vital role in the surrounding communities as well as in the local school districts,” Balch said. “Both come to us with experience in the field and we are pleased that they will be working with our prospective students and their families.”

TSTC prides itself on being “a great place to work” and is currently hiring for positions at its 10 campuses statewide. For information on open positions at TSTC, visit tstc.edu/about/employment.

(RED OAK) – Texas State Technical College is giving area high school welders a chance to put their skills to the test at its welding competition Saturday, May 5. More than 40 students from nine area schools will compete in the contest beginning at 8 a.m.

TSTC welding instructor David Reed said he hopes the contest will pique interest in the North Texas campus.

“We’re bringing in juniors and seniors for the competition,” Reed said. “It’s a friendly game. We bring them out here and showcase the instructors, our welding lab, TSTC in North Texas — it’s a win-win.”

Reed said they asked the participating schools to create a school crest to be judged at the competition.

“Ahead of time, they are supposed to manufacture these before the competition, according to certain parameters,” he said. “It shows school pride for them.”

Alvin Adams, also a TSTC welding instructor, said students will have a few different welds to do and will also compete in a cutting contest.

“They’ll be doing a 1-2-3F — that’s fillet welds,” Adams said. “One, two and three are different positions. That represents the position of the weld. They’ll be doing a 1-2-3V-groove weld also. Then we’re going to have the cutting contest.”

In the cutting round, students will be judged on uniformity, dross (residue left behind in the melting process of metals) and speed. Each contest is staged in rounds.

“From each discipline, we will be giving a first-, second- and third-place medal,” Adams said. “As we go, we’ll go through the process of elimination.”

Students will compete individually, but schools will earn a team trophy for first, second and third place overall.

The Northeast Texas Blacksmith Association will also be attending the event.

“Several of the founding members from their club will be here with furnaces and anvils, hammering out metal,” Reed said. “I’ll be out there myself because a lot of my students enjoy watching the artistic work. I’ll be making roses out of single pieces of rebar and be demonstrating to the students. If there are students who want to, they’ll be able to come up and hammer out some metal with myself and the other smiths.”

Reed hopes students will not only learn to work together, but also be able to see where they stand among their peers in a welding environment.

“A lot of people from small ag shops think they weld really well, but they get out to these competitions and they say, ‘Man, I need to step up my game’ or ‘Wow, we did really well. This validates our program here.’ And TSTC will further complement the program that they have,” Reed said.

TSTC is registering now for the fall semester. The last day to register is Monday, Aug. 20, and classes begin Monday, Aug. 27.

For more information on TSTC, visit tstc.edu.

(RED OAK) – Texas State Technical College employee Kim Campbell takes pride in making a difference in students’ lives. That passion has led her to receiving TSTC’s Chancellor’s Excellence Award, an honor given to TSTC faculty and staff who model excellence at the college.

Campbell joined TSTC in North Texas in 2016 and, as of April, serves as campus director and academic manager. Campbell said she was delighted to receive the award.

“I’m extremely honored to have been nominated for this award, and I was very excited and happy to have been selected,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the conference and the dinner with my family.”

Campbell, along with 15 recipients of the award from TSTC’s nine other campuses, will be honored later this month at the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development awards dinner and celebration in Austin.

Campbell feels that being at the relatively small campus in North Texas has helped her grow closer to her peers. She believes she was nominated because her co-workers know they can depend on her.

In her earlier role as a career services coordinator at TSTC, Campbell felt a sense of accomplishment in helping students reach their goals.

“Being in career placement and having students come in and say, ‘I got that job you helped me with!’ is so rewarding,” Campbell said. “I wish I had a bell on the outside of my door that I could ring every time someone came in. The excitement that you see on the student’s face is so gratifying. Just sharing that thrill and excitement with the student made it all worth it.”

Campbell is proud to work for the college.

“I like knowing that I helped make a change in the students’ lives, not just today, but for their future and for their families,” she said. “TSTC is such an amazing place to work.”

The Chancellor’s Excellence Award began in 2001, and over the past 15 years nearly 300 TSTC employees have received the honor. Recipients are chosen based on outstanding contributions and achievements, commitment to excellence, and character. Honorees serve as agents of change in the advancement of TSTC initiatives.

TSTC prides itself on being “a great place to work” and is currently hiring for over 100 positions at its 10 campuses statewide. For information on open positions at TSTC, visit tstc.edu/about/employment.

(RED OAK) – Texas State Technical College in North Texas has named Kim Campbell its new Campus Director and Campus Academic Manager.

Campbell previously worked at TSTC in Abilene from 2000 to 2009, holding positions including Recruiter, Coordinator of Support Services, Student Government Advisor and Director of Student Activities.

In 2009, Campbell married and moved to Lubbock, where she worked as Director of Career Services for Vista College, and after a period of self-employment, Enrollment Coordinator for Virginia College.

Campbell rejoined the TSTC team in March of 2016 as a Career Services Associate.

Campbell said she’s excited about the new role she’s taken on.

“I have worked with the Student Services side of TSTC for over ten years,” she said. “Working with Student Learning will be an opportunity of new growth and challenges to excel in.”

In the new role, Campbell will work more closely with the instructors, and statewide department chairs and directors. She will make sure statewide guidelines and procedures are met.

“I feel truly blessed to be working with such an amazing team of instructors at North Texas and I’m looking forward to the new journey,” Campbell said.

Campbell said that, though she’s worked for other schools, TSTC is where her heart is.

“I love working for TSTC and my passion is working with the students,” she said. “I’ve worked at other colleges but I’ve always thought about TSTC as a home and as my family.”

Vice President of Student Learning Mike Bowers said Campbell’s background made her the right choice.

“Kim has held many roles at TSTC and has over 15 years of experience in higher education,” Bowers said. “Kim was selected as Campus Director because of her background and proven leadership skills. We’re happy to welcome Kim to our team.”

TSTC prides itself on being “a great place to work” and is currently hiring for over 100 positions at its 10 campuses statewide. For information on open positions at TSTC, visit tstc.edu/about/employment.

(RED OAK) – Texas State Technical College in North Texas has been designated as an accredited testing facility by the American Welding Society, joining seven other Texas sites approved to certify welders.

The AWS Accredited Test Facility (ATF) program establishes minimum requirements for test facilities, their personnel and equipment to qualify for accreditation to test and qualify welders.

TSTC Welding Technology instructor Donnie Williams said he was approached by the AWS last August.

“We had to be audited by the AWS, and they had to come and see that our facilities and programs are up to par,” Williams said. “Our facilities are now accredited to do AWS certifications.”

Williams said the accreditation is a substantial achievement for TSTC.

“It’s a feather in the hat for TSTC,” Williams said. “It’s a validation for our program to be recognized by an industry organization, and it puts us on the map as far as the welding industry is concerned.”

The school’s being an accredited testing facility directly benefits TSTC students.

“It offers them a welder certification that is transferable,” Williams said. “These certifications come from the AWS and are entered in a national database.”

Though TSTC in North Texas is the first in the college’s system to receive this designation, Williams said it can also benefit the college’s other nine campuses.

“The ATF services are available to our other campuses also,” he said. “We can test remotely, so I can go to other campuses and certify other students who want to participate.”

TSTC Provost Marcus Balch said he is proud to see his campus become one of three test facilities in North Texas offering this distinction.

“One cool thing about this certification is that it is recognized worldwide, and, if maintained, the certification is valid for a lifetime,” Balch said.

Williams said a grant from the Texas Department of Labor helped to get the facilities accredited.

“We’re going to be offering certifications to industry and the general public also,” he said. “State organizations can also send their welders to us for certification.”

Balch believes the accreditation will offer great opportunities for regional welders.

“This certification program will bring welders from all over the region to our campus,” he said. “It will help provide more exposure to our welding program and, in turn, produce more welders that are earning a great wage for the state of Texas.”

TSTC is registering now for the fall semester. The last day to register is Monday, Aug. 20, and classes begin Monday, Aug. 27.

For more information on TSTC’s welding program, visit tstc.edu.

(RED OAK) – Since its inception in 2015, the Logistics program at Texas State Technical College in North Texas has graduated 10 students, all of whom are employed in their field.

Logistics instructor William Scott said he thinks the 100 percent placement rate is due to a couple of things.

“First of all, this is a very dynamic, large marketplace for logistics people,” Scott said. “The second thing is we’ve tailored the program to the specific requirements that the employers have asked for.”

Graduates of the program are working for companies such as Walmart, DB Schenker and others. Scott said the areas in which they work vary.

“It ranges across the board,” he said. “We have a couple of people involved with inventory control. We have somebody in shipping and receiving. We have somebody that is a supervisor for a distribution center.”

The program currently has 11 students in various stages of the curriculum.

“One will graduate this spring,” Scott said. “That student already has a job and is working at it. We have another student graduating in the summer, and they’re doing interviews right now.”

Ashley Roper, a 2016 graduate of the program, works as a shipment coordinator at DB Schenker. She manages shipments and handles customer issues.

“I assign trucks and make sure that the correct trailers get assigned to the correct shipment so the correct customers get them,” Roper said. “We have shipments that go to Canada, and we have to make temperature monitors which capture the temperatures to make sure that it’s at the correct temperature, so when it gets there, the product isn’t damaged. We have stuff that goes overseas, and we have processes … to make sure it gets across the border.”

TSTC’s Logistics program teaches students the ins and outs of the industry. The process begins with raw materials, which get made into inventory and then are transported to warehouses for distribution. Students can complete an associate degree in the program in four semesters.

Roper said she learned a lot in the program and it has helped her in her current position.

“Everything they talked about when I got here I already knew, but it’s really cool to be able to actually see it in real life,” she said.

TSTC began registering students for the summer and fall semesters on April 2. For more information on the college, visit tstc.edu.