(WACO) – Savannah Little is looking forward to seeing how far her interests take off.
Little, 20, of Houston is the only student graduating with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Avionics Technology from Texas State Technical College at Fall Commencement at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9, at the Waco Convention Center.
“Savannah is a remarkable student,” said Martin Segraves, lead instructor in the Avionics Technology program at TSTC. “Her ability to complete the degree program a whole semester faster than most students directly reflects her ability to master a subject quickly and to multitask effectively. She regularly hosts a study group for her peers, who tend to score better on their exams after they meet.”
Little grew up in Houston and in third grade started Irish dancing in an after-school program. She continued dancing for 10 years and hopes to perform again in the future.
“It takes a lot of money for the dress, the hard and soft shoes, the socks,” Little said. “My lucky outfit color was blue. I think this made me ritualistic – I am particular in sitting in front of the white boards as close as possible in class.”
In the summer between her junior and senior years at Northbrook High School in Houston, she studied electronics at a physics camp at Tarleton State University in Stephenville.
“That’s where I really fell in love with electronics,” Little said. “Everything was super cool and I got to use the equipment.”
The trip spurred thoughts about attending a four-year university, but she chose not to go due to affordability. Her parents suggested TSTC – Little’s mother had studied computer science and met her best friend while in Waco, and her father noticed there were programs that interested their daughter. Little eventually settled on Avionics Technology.
Little graduated in 2014 from Northbrook, where she was on the Bandoleras dance team, in the theater group and in the Math League. She took two years of physics, which she said helped her in her technical college studies.
Little said she applied to TSTC before seeing the campus and quickly adjusted to her classes in electrical principles, avionics electronics system installation and contemporary mathematics. She also learned she had a knack for determining wiring lengths for aviation radio components.
“I took all Advanced Placement classes in high school, so I was used to information being thrown at me all the time,” Little said. “I was hoping for hands-on work and I was pleasantly surprised.”
Little said she had no regrets switching plans to attend a two-year technical college.
“I see my friends on social media pages working late,” she said. “I’m glad my workload was not as stressful. I liked receiving individual attention from instructors.”
After graduation, Little wants to work on a startup business idea for what she called a “repair station” for airlines. More than half of Texas’ estimated 1,630 avionics technicians in Texas work in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Houston-Sugar Land-The Woodlands areas, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from May 2015.
Graduates from TSTC’s Fort Bend County, North Texas and Williamson County campuses will also receive certificates and associate degrees at the Waco graduation ceremony at the convention center at 1100 Washington Ave.
