{"id":1211,"date":"2017-01-27T14:41:27","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T14:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1211"},"modified":"2017-01-27T14:41:27","modified_gmt":"2017-01-27T14:41:27","slug":"building-for-success-tstc-building-construction-students-receive-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1211","title":{"rendered":"Building for Success: TSTC Building Construction Students Receive Scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Texas State Technical College Building Construction Technology students Robert Pi\u00f1a and Isaac Salda\u00f1a have recently been awarded scholarships by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Rio Grande Valley Chapter.<\/p>\n

Each student was awarded $500 to use toward tuition, books and other college expenses. This scholarship is awarded yearly by the organization to students pursuing a certificate or associate degree in Building Construction Technology.<\/p>\n

Pi\u00f1a, a husband and father from San Benito, said receiving this scholarship was a sigh of relief for him and his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so thankful for this money. I was so fortunate to have been selected,\u201d said Pi\u00f1a. \u201cIt feels like a huge burden has been taken off my shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 41-year-old worked numerous years in the customer service industry, mainly restaurants, and changing careers for hopes of a more stable job and better benefits has taken a toll on his family\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a full-time student, trying to finish,\u201d said Pi\u00f1a. \u201cWorking full-time for me is out of the equation, but I still have to support my family, so any kind of scholarship is a great big help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pi\u00f1a is currently employed through TSTC as a part-time work study in Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technology, the program he earned his first associate degree from in 2016.<\/p>\n

The San Benito native said \"Building<\/a>he hopes having two associate degrees will make him more marketable when searching for a job. He hopes to work as a handyman in maintenance for either a hospital, hotel or even TSTC.<\/p>\n

As for Pi\u00f1a\u2019s classmate, Salda\u00f1a, also from San Benito, enrolled at TSTC following in his children\u2019s footsteps.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of my children have attended and graduated from TSTC,\u201d said Salda\u00f1a. \u201cI am here because of their college advisors\u2019 perseverance to get me enrolled.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scholarship recipient said he moved to Texas after losing his job of 19 years in a California fencing company.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had nothing but a high school diploma when I lost my job,\u201d said Salda\u00f1a. \u201cIt was a real eye opener for me on how important an education is, and scholarships, like the one I just received, make working toward my degree a whole lot easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the 48-year-old has had to work the graveyard shift at a McAllen security company throughout his time at TSTC, he said he is sharing his story to show his children and future college students that it\u2019s never too late to get an education and pursue your dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cEducation is something that can never be taken away from you,\u201d said Salda\u00f1a. \u201cAnd AGC has made it possible for me to continue on and graduate this semester.\u201d<\/p>\n

AGC of the Rio Grande Valley Executive Director Perry A. Vaughn spoke to the Building Construction Technology students during the scholarship presentation about the latest industry survey which says the construction business has never been better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe building industry is in dire need of educated, trained and qualified employees,\u201d he said. \u201cWe anticipate a pretty big bump in the year ahead nationwide, but Texas and the Valley are doing great. The market has never looked better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaughn went on to explain that hiring is so competitive that companies are increasing salaries and offering overtime, bonuses and benefits to lure employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have firms that are turning down work because they can\u2019t find qualified employees,\u201d Vaughn said.<\/p>\n

TSTC Building Construction Technology instructor Rolando Cuellar said learning what they have about the recent survey, and talking with their industry partners, scholarships like the ones received by Pi\u00f1a and Salda\u00f1a, make it easier to retain the students who are the future of the construction business.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of these students pay for college out of pocket, putting a financial strain on them and their families,\u201d said Cuellar. \u201cBut for students like Robert and Isaac, this scholarship is a huge financial relief, allowing them to concentrate on the training we provide and successfully fulfilling the requirements needed to earn a certificate or associate degree, and fill the industry need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building Construction Technology is also offered at TSTC\u2019s Waco campus.<\/p>\n

For more information on the program call 956-364-4770.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Texas State Technical College Building Construction Technology students Robert Pi\u00f1a and Isaac Salda\u00f1a have recently been awarded scholarships by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Rio Grande Valley Chapter. Each student was awarded $500 to use toward tuition, books and other college expenses. This scholarship is awarded yearly by the organization to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1213,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211\/revisions\/1213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}