{"id":1867,"date":"2017-07-24T14:30:14","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T14:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1867"},"modified":"2017-07-24T19:10:28","modified_gmt":"2017-07-24T19:10:28","slug":"tstc-gives-military-members-veterans-education-opportunities-in-west-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=1867","title":{"rendered":"TSTC Gives Military Members, Veterans Education Opportunities in West Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

(ABILENE) \u2013 Shawn Ogden of Clyde wants to continue working in the aircraft industry after discovering the career as a mechanic in the U.S. Air Force. <\/span><\/p>\n

But, he knew after leaving the military he was missing some of the certifications needed to professionally maintain aircraft. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGoing to college after being in the military can be intimidating and challenging, but it is absolutely worth the effort,\u201d said Ogden, 43, a student at Texas State Technical College in Abilene. \u201cThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is extremely helpful when it comes to making sure you have everything you need to complete your education.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Guiding Ogden through his time at TSTC is Veteran Services, which works with students who were in the military or are current active-duty members, along with their spouses and dependents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the military, in order to make rank and be successful, we have to have education in our background,\u201d said Annette Collins, veteran programs officer at TSTC\u2019s West Texas campuses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the popular programs that members of Veteran Services like to pursue include Computer Networking and Systems Administration in Abilene and Brownwood, and Nursing and Vocational Nursing in Brownwood, Breckenridge and Sweetwater.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ogden is part of the TSTC FAST Trac Airframe and Powerplant Program in Abilene that allows active-duty military members and veterans to study in an accelerated 13-week program focused on Federal Aviation Administration curricula. Classes are taught in hangar space at Abilene Regional Airport.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of veterans that come out and have worked on jets and airplanes the whole time in service but they don\u2019t have the FAA airframe and powerplant license,\u201d said Julia Humphrey, director of career services for TSTC\u2019s West Texas campuses. \u201cThe program is geared for them to get the license and go to work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ogden said he has felt at home at TSTC and knows he will be competitive and ready for job searching once he completes academic work in December.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTSTC offers a complete package with hands-on training, which I have never had access to before,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Veteran Services also brings people together who share experiences no matter what military branch they are affiliated with. <\/span><\/p>\n

Veterans, their spouses and dependents can work with TSTC\u2019s Career Services and Talent Management staff on career readiness, resume writing, networking and interview skills. The technical college also has hireTSTC, an online resource for students to connect with companies that have job openings tailored to certificate and associate degree programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI like TSTC because of the way they take care of their students,\u201d said Collins, a 24-year U.S. Air Force veteran. \u201cThe staff is willing to go above and beyond to help the students get the education they need.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of TSTC\u2019s student recruitment is focused on Dyess Air Force Base, which has more than 5,000 active-duty and U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees and an economic impact of more than $441 million, according to the Abilene Industrial Foundation. The military installation is also the largest employer in Taylor County.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the active-duty personnel ask about their benefits and if their spouses can use the benefits,\u201d Collins said. \u201cYes, they can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

TSTC will have Registration Rally events for the fall semester on Aug. 2 in Sweetwater, Aug. 3 in Breckenridge, Aug. 8 in Brownwood and Aug. 11 in Abilene. <\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

(ABILENE) \u2013 Shawn Ogden of Clyde wants to continue working in the aircraft industry after discovering the career as a mechanic in the U.S. Air Force. But, he knew after leaving the military he was missing some of the certifications needed to professionally maintain aircraft. \u201cGoing to college after being in the military can be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abilene"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867","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=1867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1869,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867\/revisions\/1869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}