{"id":3010,"date":"2018-05-31T20:59:11","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T20:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3010"},"modified":"2018-06-01T01:32:48","modified_gmt":"2018-06-01T01:32:48","slug":"tstc-in-waco-auto-collision-students-receive-recognitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3010","title":{"rendered":"TSTC in Waco Auto Collision Students Receive Recognitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

(WACO) \u2013 Four students in the Auto Collision and Management Technology program at Texas State Technical College have been nationally honored for their academic work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three students — Hector Corujo of Killeen, Anderson Merchant of College Station and Justin Romero of Waco — are military veterans who received 3M Hire Our Heroes tool grants valued at $4,500 each. Romero also received a $2,000 scholarship from the 3M Hire Our Heroes program. A fourth student, Jannifer Stimmel of Marlin, received a PPG Foundation automotive refinishing scholarship. <\/span><\/p>\n

All of the students will receive the Sears Votech tool grant, which includes an industry-size tool box. <\/span><\/p>\n

The recognitions are sponsored by the 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division and the Collision Repair Education Foundation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Corujo, 34, is working toward an advanced technical certificate in Auto Collision Refinishing after having graduated in December with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Auto Collision and Management Technology – Refinishing Specialization.<\/span><\/p>\n

After having received a scholarship and tools last year, Corujo said he did not think he had a chance of being recognized this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes the financial burden off me to buy tools,\u201d Corujo said. \u201cLast year I was able to buy a paint suit, safety glasses and other items.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Corujo moved as a teenager from Puerto Rico to Florida, where he graduated from high school. The Killeen resident spent 14 years in the U.S. Army and worked as a light-wheel-vehicle mechanic. His Army stint included three tours of duty in Iraq.<\/span><\/p>\n

Merchant, 26, is studying for an Associate of Applied Science degree in Auto Collision and Management Technology – Refinishing Specialization. He said he has enjoyed working with the instructors and using his hands in the program\u2019s labs.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said the tool grant will help him progress in his interest to do classic car restoration after graduation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is going to be a huge help,\u201d Merchant said. \u201cWhen I came here, I was essentially living off the GI Bill. I did not have many tools.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Merchant said his goal is to use what he has learned to do a complete restoration of a 1952 Chevy dually. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight now it\u2019s in the rust stage,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve always had an affinity for 1960 and earlier cars.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Merchant graduated in 2010 from Huntsville High School. Two years later, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was an optics technician.<\/span><\/p>\n

Romero, 25, is working on an advanced technical certificate in Advanced Collision Refinishing and already has an Associate of Applied Science degree in Auto Collision and Management Technology – Refinishing Specialization. <\/span><\/p>\n

He said he was appreciative of the scholarship and the tools he will receive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt will help out in the future,\u201d Romero said. \u201cTools are hard to build up, mainly because they are so expensive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Romero grew up in Erie, Colorado and was a petroleum supply specialist in the U.S. Army Reserve for two years. <\/span><\/p>\n

Stimmel, 33, received a $5,000 scholarship she said will help continue her education. After graduation, she wants to go into restoration and paint her 1973 Volkswagen bus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy previous degrees ate up my funding to where I was not sure I would be here in the fall,\u201d she said. \u201cI love it here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stimmel worked in health care \u00a0for 12 years before deciding to shift to the auto collision field. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe human body is not far from a vehicle,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are machines like we work on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stimmel graduated in 2003 from Marlin High School and is an alumna of Texas Woman\u2019s University.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Growing up, I always spent time out in the shop with my father,\u201d she said. \u201cI decided I didn\u2019t want to be cooped up in an office.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The four students are scheduled to graduate in December.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

(WACO) \u2013 Four students in the Auto Collision and Management Technology program at Texas State Technical College have been nationally honored for their academic work. Three students — Hector Corujo of Killeen, Anderson Merchant of College Station and Justin Romero of Waco — are military veterans who received 3M Hire Our Heroes tool grants valued […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-waco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3010","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=3010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3014,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3010\/revisions\/3014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}