{"id":1606,"date":"2017-05-19T14:33:56","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T14:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1606"},"modified":"2017-05-19T14:33:56","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T14:33:56","slug":"tstc-student-finds-more-opportunity-with-night-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1606","title":{"rendered":"TSTC Student Finds More Opportunity with Night Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"

(FORT BEND) – Carlos Velasquez is described as a skilled welder by his instructors and peers at Texas State Technical College.<\/p>\n

The Wharton native is a Welding Technology student and is expected to earn his certificate during TSTC in Fort Bend County\u2019s first commencement ceremony in August.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old first discovered TSTC when college recruiters did a presentation at Wharton High School. By this time, Velasquez had already began welding with his uncle and knew it was a career he wanted to pursue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a guy who likes to work with his hands,\u201d said Velasquez. \u201cSo when I discovered I liked welding and was good at it, I went with it and TSTC was there for me.\u201d\"Carlos<\/a><\/p>\n

Velasquez said had it not been for TSTC, he would not even be in school. The night classes offered at TSTC\u2019s Industrial Technology Center have helped him achieve his goal of a college education.<\/p>\n

\u201cNight classes are convenient especially because I have to work full-time to be able to pay for college,\u201d said Velasquez. \u201cTSTC has made it possible for me to get an education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Velasquez works at INFRA Technology, a provider of economical technologies for the production of synthetic fuels from natural gas, as a pipeline welder in Wharton. He also does welding work for side projects requested throughout his community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m working toward a stable job and future,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd TSTC is helping me fulfill those goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Velasquez also credits his welding instructors and his family for his success during the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy instructors give us the freedom to be creative in the shop and practice our skills,\u201d said Velasquez. \u201cAnd my parents support all of my efforts even helping me purchase a work truck complete with welders and tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also added that the state-of-the-art machines and tools available to him on campus is his favorite thing about his program.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is hands-on. We have an actual welding shop filled with new machinery and tools we can use,\u201d he said. \u201cActually it was exactly this that helped me get the job I\u2019m at right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Velasquez hopes to continue his education to pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree in Engineering, but not before working and getting experience in his field. He has his eyes set on Sunland, a local pipeline company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company is close to home, I can get experience, there\u2019s room for growth and I can use my own welding truck, that\u2019s everything I want. I\u2019m hoping for the best,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe someday I can even own a business. These dreams all started at TSTC.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about Welding Technology call 346-239-3452 or visit tstc.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(FORT BEND) – Carlos Velasquez is described as a skilled welder by his instructors and peers at Texas State Technical College. The Wharton native is a Welding Technology student and is expected to earn his certificate during TSTC in Fort Bend County\u2019s first commencement ceremony in August. The 19-year-old first discovered TSTC when college recruiters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fort-bend"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606","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=1606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1608,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1606\/revisions\/1608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}