![\"\"](\"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/TSTC-AgExpo-2.jpg\")
<\/a>TSTC 1993 Farming Ranch Management alum.<\/p><\/div>\n
(HARLINGEN) – David Ramirez spoke with local high school and Texas State Technical College Agricultural Technology students recently during the college\u2019s eighth annual Agriculture Expo hosted by TSTC\u2019s Office of Talent Management and Career Services.<\/p>\n
This is Ramirez\u2019s sixth year attending the event.<\/p>\n
He is a 1993 graduate from TSTC\u2019s Farming Ranch Management program, which is now Agricultural Technology and works with the Customs and Border Protection as a technician at the Brownsville Port of Entry.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing to TSTC was one of my best decisions,\u201d said Ramirez. \u201cIt feels great coming back and helping young minds find their way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Remembering that he was once in their shoes, Ramirez said he is thankful he is able to give back to a college that gave him so much.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal is to make students aware of the career opportunities that are there for them once they graduate from TSTC,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I cannot stress enough the importance of an education. I can\u2019t wait to work with some of these students someday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramirez, in addition to other agencies such as six branches of the United State Department of Agriculture, Texas Department of Agriculture and the United States Border Control, presented information on career opportunities and their departments.<\/p>\n
Guadalupe Gracia, Mexican fruit fly coordinator with the USDA Animal and Plant health Inspection Service facility in Harlingen, said she enjoys attending this event because highly-skilled and trained students in agriculture are in demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis event is a great opportunity to recruit for our internships and temporary positions,\u201d said Gracia. \u201cWe get great people from TSTC who don\u2019t need to be retrained and have a great work ethic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gracia said thanks to the USDA-Step2 Grant – a program designed to provide mentored research experiences in biological and agricultural sciences – \u00a0shared through TSTC and other Texas colleges and universities, at least 25 agriculture students from TSTC\u2019s program have already been awarded summer internships and scholarships.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the time our internships lead to temporary and permanent jobs with the USDA, which is a great advantage for those students,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a win-win-win; for us, the college and its students.\u201d<\/p>\n