(MARSHALL) – Aaron Perry is glad to be back home in East Texas.

Perry, 22, of Longview, began a new career earlier this month as a student recruitment representative at Texas State Technical College in Marshall.

Perry recently graduated from the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas and said he missed family, friends and Longview High School football games while he was away.

“We are so excited for Aaron to be part of the student recruitment here in Marshall,” said TSTC Recruitment Coordinator III Patty Lopez. “Although he has been with TSTC for two weeks, he has seamlessly transitioned into his role as a recruiter and I am sure that he will do great things once school is back in session. He is a true go-getter and we are lucky to have him.”

Perry took part in the technical college’s recent Registration Rally and is working with prospective students to give tours and aid in the registration process.

“We are working right now and trying to contact all the counselors that are in our region and set up dates where we could come and present to classes and attend a college fair or set up a booth,” Perry said.

He likes the technical college’s mix of students who have recently graduated from high school and those who have worked and are going back to earn a certificate or associate degree. He said the older students can mentor the younger ones in their fields of study.

“It feels awesome because I have been in the students’ shoes,” he said. “It feels great being able to help the students and guide them.”

And, he is eager to talk to prospective students about the cost effectiveness and affordability of a two-year technical education. According to the Brookings Institution and U.S. Department of Education data, TSTC has one of the highest degree values among two-year colleges in the nation.

Perry is a 2012 graduate of Longview High School, where he played baseball.

He graduated in May 2016 from the University of the Ozarks, where he played baseball, was a student ambassador and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

“I don’t think it’s too different from marketing,” he said. “We are trying to sell the school to the student.”

He heard about the TSTC job through Ashley Moore, a former TSTC in Marshall recruiter who is now attending graduate school at Syracuse University to study sports broadcasting.

“At Longview High School the sports people stuck together,” Moore said. “I played basketball and he played baseball. I thought he would be a good fit for TSTC job. He’s talkative and outgoing.”

Registration continues for fall semester. For more information, log on to tstc.edu.