{"id":2721,"date":"2018-04-02T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T08:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=2721"},"modified":"2018-03-28T16:55:31","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T16:55:31","slug":"historic-first-for-tstc-students-in-fort-bend-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=2721","title":{"rendered":"Historic first for TSTC students in Fort Bend County"},"content":{"rendered":"

(FORT BEND) – Texas State Technical College\u2019s Fort Bend County campus is sending its first SkillsUSA team to state competition at TSTC\u2019s Waco campus next month.<\/p>\n

At least nine students will compete in the categories of Diesel Equipment Technology, HVAC, Welding Technology and job skills demonstration.<\/p>\n

SkillsUSA is a professional organization teaching technical, academic and employability skills that help high school and college students pursue successful careers. Members build these skills through student-led team meetings, contests, leadership conferences and other activities.<\/p>\n

Students in Skills USA participate in hands-on competitions in various fields such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics, building construction and culinary arts.<\/p>\n

SkillsUSA TSTC campus advisor and Diesel Equipment Technology instructor Spencer Paige said he is happy he was able to implement this program – the first for the campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore TSTC I worked for the school district and was the advisor for high school skills,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw so much of the benefits students received from this program, that I wanted our TSTC students to have the same opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paige added that students who compete in SkillsUSA get to practice and improve on the skills they have learned in the classroom, build on their soft skills such as public speaking and interviewing and network with industry professionals who judge the competitions.\"TSTC<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe selling point for our students is getting to meet and speak with industry professionals, many of which are also recruiters,\u201d said Paige. \u201cIn SkillsUSA our students get to showcase their skills and some leave with interviews or job offers. This is a big deal for our students and our college.\u201d<\/p>\n

TSTC Diesel Equipment Technology student Troy Ketchum expects to earn his certificate in August, but first will compete at the SkillsUSA state competition. This is his first time ever competing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited and nervous all at the same time,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to visit another TSTC campus, see where we (students) stand among other college students in our field and meet with professionals in our field.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old said he jumped at the opportunity to participate.<\/p>\n

He will be the only one from the campus competing in job skills demonstration and will present on the topic of, \u201cThe Importance of Tire Pressure and Tread Depth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working hard on preparing for SkillsUSA, we all have,\u201d said Ketchum. \u201cThis is our first year and we all want to make a mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rosenberg native has been staying after regular school hours preparing his presentation and practicing in front of other students, faculty and staff.<\/p>\n

Paige said it has been all hands on deck, helping the students practice, prepare presentations and working with Talent Management and Career Services on updating resumes and interview skill building.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur job is to help these students do their very best and make the best impression possible,\u201d said Paige. \u201cWe all have a common goal and that is to get to nationals and produce skilled students who are competitive in the job market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nationals SkillsUSA competition will be held in Oklahoma this coming summer. Historically, TSTC is a top competitor at nationals with students bringing home the most medals.<\/p>\n

For more information on programs offered at TSTC, visit tstc.edu.<\/p>\n

Registration for Summer and Fall 2018 begins April 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(FORT BEND) – Texas State Technical College\u2019s Fort Bend County campus is sending its first SkillsUSA team to state competition at TSTC\u2019s Waco campus next month. At least nine students will compete in the categories of Diesel Equipment Technology, HVAC, Welding Technology and job skills demonstration. SkillsUSA is a professional organization teaching technical, academic and […]<\/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-2721","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\/2721","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=2721"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2723,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2721\/revisions\/2723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}