![\"Katelyn](\"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Katelyn-Bateman-01.jpg\")
<\/a>exas State Technical College alum Katelyn Bateman has a waspy, fresh-faced, sorority girl look \u2013 blonde, pretty and petite.<\/p>\nBut she\u2019s proven she\u2019s much more than good looks, making her way in a man\u2019s world and doing a good job of it.<\/p>\n
The Valley Mills native is a utility designer for Oncor Electric Delivery, an electric power company in Round Rock, and a 2015 graduate of the Electrical Power and Controls program on the Waco TSTC campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy education at TSTC was superb. I still use theory every day that I learned in my first semesters, and sometimes I find myself explaining electrical concepts to my co-workers,\u201d said Bateman.<\/p>\n
Today in her job, Bateman works with new construction in the Pflugerville, Hutto and north Austin areas, engineering the design that will bring electricity to new homes and buildings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis career is great in many ways,\u201d explained Bateman. \u201cIt\u2019s challenging, hands-on, a perfect mixture of field time and office time. Plus, the money is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bateman says that as a child she liked to take things apart and put them back together. When it was time for college, Bateman considered teaching or nursing but in the end was drawn to a career with a hands-on aspect.<\/p>\n
As a student at TSTC, Bateman was one of only a handful of ladies in a male-dominated program. She says it took a while for her male classmates to warm up to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to prove myself with the other students because I was female,\u201d said Bateman. \u201cI would hear the guys say things like, \u2018Go ask the girl,\u2019 like I didn\u2019t have a name.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bateman eventually won the \u201cguys\u201d over with her work ethic, leadership skills and knowledge. In 2014 she was awarded the \u201cWomen in Trades\u201d scholarship \u2013 one of only two Texans to win the award.<\/p>\n
Today Bateman hopes to inspire more women to look beyond traditional careers and take up the challenge of entering male-dominated technology industries.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy advice to women is don\u2019t let the stereotypes of women or typical jobs influence you. I get compliments daily on my courage and capability to jump into this male-dominated field,\u201d said Bateman. \u201cI\u2019m proud to work in utility design.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bateman is now working on her bachelor\u2019s degree in electrical engineering, recently enrolling in Tarleton State University\u2019s online program. She hopes to complete her bachelor\u2019s in two to three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the time I have a bachelor\u2019s degree, I will also have four to five years of experience under my belt. This will increase my options of advancing within my company.\u201d<\/p>\n
TSTC has 10 locations across Texas. For more information on TSTC programs near you, visit us online at tstc.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lynda Lopez Texas State Technical College alum Katelyn Bateman has a waspy, fresh-faced, sorority girl look \u2013 blonde, pretty and petite. But she\u2019s proven she\u2019s much more than good looks, making her way in a man\u2019s world and doing a good job of it. The Valley Mills native is a utility designer for Oncor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-waco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511","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=1511"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1513,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511\/revisions\/1513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}