{"id":1493,"date":"2017-04-21T16:22:41","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T16:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1493"},"modified":"2017-04-21T23:03:25","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T23:03:25","slug":"tstc-alumnus-jump-starts-career-with-dual-credit-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1493","title":{"rendered":"TSTC Alumnus Jump-Starts Career with Dual Credit Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"

(WACO) \u2013 There is a special art piece on a wall in Rudy Cervantez\u2019s office in the Kultgen Automotive Center at Texas State Technical College.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pencil drawing on white paper depicts a sleek, modern bus drawn by one of Cervantez\u2019s former students, Caleb Grisham of Robinson. Cervantez is statewide chair for TSTC Auto Repair, and at one time taught Grisham in dual credit automotive technology classes when he was a student at Robinson High School.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s really talented and so sharp,\u201d Cervantez said. \u201cHe just has that artistic knack.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Grisham, 25, used that motivation and creativity to earn an associate degree in Automotive Technology \u00a0at TSTC and open Precision Wraps on Franklin Avenue in Waco. The small business specializes in designing and installing large-scale vinyl wraps for automobiles, trucks, boats, trailers and businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grisham was inspired to open the business three years ago while working for an automobile trim business in Waco.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI saw a niche for wraps here,\u201d he said. \u201cI got certifications and started a limited liability company. I had a good client base for window tinting, so that kept me afloat the first couple of months. I started graphics on the side in college and taught myself the programs. It\u2019s second nature now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Grisham has three employees who work with customers on design and installation. He said he takes pride in offering on-site installations for customers statewide, even as far away as Laredo on the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost weeks we are trying to cram in new projects so we can grow faster,\u201d Grisham said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grisham learned his work ethic from his family. He grew up on 22 acres of family land in Golinda.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy sisters went the university route and have master\u2019s degrees,\u201d he said. \u201cMy father has had his own business. There is kind of a freedom owning your own business, and I\u2019ve probably wanted to be like him. We are an extremely competitive family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Grisham was a gifted and talented student throughout his school career in the Robinson Independent School District. He played trombone in Robinson High School\u2019s music program, was on the powerlifting team and worked at a grocery store.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI finished high school my junior year, so I had to add classes,\u201d he said. \u201cI had taken Advanced Placement classes through McLennan Community College the year before. I was really interested in working on and customizing cars.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During his senior year, Grisham took morning classes at Robinson High School and drove to take afternoon automotive classes at the old Midway High School building (now Midway Middle School).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI do promote dual enrollment,\u201d Grisham said. \u201cIt\u2019s cheaper than paying for a semester of college. You need to work hard and apply yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cervantez was his teacher and used the same course plan for his technical college and high school students.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a really good guy,\u201d Grisham said. \u201cHe encouraged me to do a summer semester at TSTC. I took a couple of classes and stayed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Grisham commuted from home to take TSTC classes and said he enjoyed being around classmates who had common interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI liked the hands-on part of my classes,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Waco<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(WACO) \u2013 There is a special art piece on a wall in Rudy Cervantez\u2019s office in the Kultgen Automotive Center at Texas State Technical College. The pencil drawing on white paper depicts a sleek, modern bus drawn by one of Cervantez\u2019s former students, Caleb Grisham of Robinson. Cervantez is statewide chair for TSTC Auto Repair, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-waco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493","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\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1495,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions\/1495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}