{"id":1214,"date":"2017-01-27T14:43:45","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T14:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1214"},"modified":"2017-01-27T14:43:45","modified_gmt":"2017-01-27T14:43:45","slug":"new-energy-leads-to-a-new-career-for-tstc-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1214","title":{"rendered":"New Energy Leads to a New Career for TSTC Student"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – With a knack for adventure and a love for education, Texas State Technical College student Robert Craig McWhinney enrolled in Wind Energy Technology and Engineering to pursue a new career.<\/p>\n

The Pittsburg, Pennsylvania native said he and his brother were avid rock climbers, seeking adventure throughout their home state. It is this hobby that McWhinney parlayed into Wind Energy Technology, an industry that requires employees to climb up four-story turbines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 55 years young and ready for a new degree and new career,\u201d said McWhinney. \u201cThis is a new chapter in my life and I\u2019m excited for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

McWhinney earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in 1987 and shortly after his master\u2019s degree, both in English Literature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only worked for\u00a0a short time teaching basic composition as a graduate assistant,\u201d he said. \u201cMusic was my primary passion and I\u2019m still doing that today.\u201d<\/p>\n

His band, \u201cPelican West,\u201d has been together for 30 years, performing throughout the states and calling South Padre Island its new stage.<\/p>\n

In addition to his music, McWhinney has been the Ministry Coordinator at Christ\u2019s Harbour Church in Laguna Vista for the past six years. So why the drastic career change?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started with a\"Robert<\/a> brochure on wind energy and I thought I want to climb those,\u201d said McWhinney. \u201cBut as I did research I found that wind energy is a growing industry and technicians are in demand. So I started researching programs and it led me directly to TSTC.\u201d<\/p>\n

McWhinney said although he looked at this new career with trepidation because of math, he knew he was up for the challenge and a fresh start.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was an English major. I avoided math,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the instructors here at TSTC have really helped me eliminate my fear of math and become successful. I\u2019m entering a career where students like me are in high demand, and TSTC is the place to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

McWhinney, who today holds a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, credits his Wind Energy Technology Instructor David Gomez, Math Instructor Mehrdad Hosseinpour and Engineering Instructor Abdulhakim Agll for his current success.<\/p>\n

\u201cTSTC is set up to help their students succeed,\u201d said McWhinney. \u201cEveryone is a canon of knowledge, helpful and supportive. I\u2019ve been in my fair share of colleges, and none of them compare to TSTC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lead Instructor for Wind Energy Technology David Gomez said the department works hard to prepare students like McWhinney for the high demand jobs in the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe place students in not only wind energy, but also in construction and utilities,\u201d said Gomez. \u201cThe doors of opportunity are open for our students if they\u2019re willing to work for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gomez said he knows that McWhinney will be a great asset to any company.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe (McWhinney) is highly intelligent, knowledgeable, engaged in his studies and overall a great person to work with,\u201d he said. \u201cHe has many aspirations in this field and he will be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

McWhinney is one of 135 students enrolled in Wind Energy Technology this semester, which has increased from the 60 students enrolled in Fall 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cWord of mouth and our wind turbine skyline is attracting people to our program,\u201d said Gomez. \u201cI get 3 to 4 prospects a week in my office interested in discussing their future in Wind Energy Technology and opportunities available in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

TSTC\u2019s Wind Energy Technology is backed by the American Wind Energy Association, and according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wind Energy is the fastest growing profession in the U.S. with a starting salary around $50,000 per year.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents who graduate from our program have opportunities to work locally, across the state, through the U.S. and even overseas,\u201d said Gomez.<\/p>\n

Since the initiation of Wind Energy Technology in 2010, 200 students have graduated from the program which holds a 100 percent placement rate.<\/p>\n

Wind Energy Technology is also offered at TSTC\u2019s Sweetwater campus.<\/p>\n

For more information on Wind Energy Technology call 956-364-4729.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – With a knack for adventure and a love for education, Texas State Technical College student Robert Craig McWhinney enrolled in Wind Energy Technology and Engineering to pursue a new career. The Pittsburg, Pennsylvania native said he and his brother were avid rock climbers, seeking adventure throughout their home state. It is this hobby […]<\/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-1214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214","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=1214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1216,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1214\/revisions\/1216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}