(WACO) – Taylor Allen could not wait to meet as many as possible of the more than 250 high school students attending Thursday’s Women in Technology Day at Texas State Technical College.

Allen, 19, a TSTC Building Construction Technology major from Woodway, had a lot to tell and show.

“It meant being able to empower the high school students,” she said. “I want them to understand that hands-on work is 100 percent better than the book. Women are getting the jobs. Some of us are here to be No. 1.”

Students and faculty in Cloud and Data Center Management, Electrical Power and Controls, Laser Electro Optics, Visual Communication Technology and other TSTC programs showed off their skills and answered questions for the high school students. Students from the Connally, Itasca, La Vega and Waco school districts attended the event.

Tara Mulcahy, a health science technology teacher at Waco High School, wanted students to be exposed to different technical fields that female students are now pursuing at TSTC. She wanted to use the visit to boost the number of students participating in SkillsUSA and take that interest to the college level.

“It is extremely important to know they can do it and the opportunities are out there,” Mulcahy said.

Jessica Farmer, 18, a senior at Waco High School, enjoyed learning about electronics and digital forensics. Her career goal is to pursue film production.

One of the favorite parts of Farmer’s day was listening to a professional panel of employees from Tulsa-based natural gas and natural gas liquids company ONEOK.

“It really made me want to do technology in the future,” Farmer said.

Kaylee Payne, 16, a sophomore at Itasca High School, has an interest in space science and the medical field.

Payne and other students worked on picture frames while learning about the Building Construction Technology program. The students also learned about equipment safety.

“I liked the girls that were in there,” Payne said. “They were really nice, and it was cool seeing them doing everything.”

Payne also enjoyed touring the Col. James T. Connally Aerospace Center, home to all of TSTC’s aviation programs, and seeing the airplanes and helicopters. She also got to experience a flight simulator.

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