TSTC hosts spring counselors update

(RED OAK, Texas) – More than 40 educators on Friday learned about Texas State Technical College’s mission to help students earn certificates and associate degrees that could lead to great-paying jobs.

The Spring Counselors Update focused on dual enrollment, in-demand jobs and other components of TSTC. The gathering’s goal was to arm educators with new information to help them be advocates for technical education in their schools.

“We show them the best that TSTC has,” said Trey Pearson, coordinator of student recruitment for TSTC’s North Texas and Waco campuses.

TSTC currently has dual enrollment partnerships with 108 Texas high schools. Some of the programs that high school students can take courses in include Automotive Technology, Electrical Power and Controls, and Welding Technology. The goal of dual enrollment is to save students money and time when they get to college.

“From us, you will get 12 to 14 hours in a one-year period in technical education,” said Rene Ralston, TSTC’s director of dual enrollment.

Some of the top occupations projected to grow through 2026 in Texas with salaries above the Texas median wage of $36,168 tie into some of the technical programs TSTC teaches. They include software developing, construction and extraction work supervising, licensed vocational nursing and agricultural management, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

Scipio Igbeare, a counselor at Advantage Academy Grand Prairie East, visited TSTC for the first time. She was intrigued by the Computer Aided Drafting and Design, Cyber Security and Welding Technology programs.

“This has been really good information to better guide the students,” she said. “We have been pushing the four-year college for so many years. Not all of the students are ready for four years.”

Lisa Menton, career and technical education director for the Red Oak Independent School District, said she looks forward to sharing what she learned with her staff to better help students meet their potential.

“The challenge is to make the connection with what they can do at the high school level and at college and in high-demand occupations so they can have a good life,” Menton said.

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