![\"Aruturo](\"http:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/TSTC-BioMed-Alum-AEP-ArturoVeloz-72dpi.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nVeloz learned English within the first year of arriving in the U.S., after a language barrier incident made him the center of ridicule in his class.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was bullied often. It really messed with my confidence,\u201d he said. \u201cI always felt like because I was from Mexico I didn\u2019t deserve to have the same opportunities as the other students. I held myself back a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Veloz, college seemed a far-fetched idea. He expected to return to Mexico after high school to follow his father\u2019s footsteps in healthcare, but when his father suddenly passed, plans changed for Veloz.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to get a VISA to study and to work, and my mother, who joined me with my sisters, helped me start the college process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Veloz started his college career at a local community college pursuing healthcare. He eventually graduated as a certified nursing assistant and worked for a short time at a nursing home.<\/p>\n
He wanted to honor his father, who was a forensic and criminology doctor in Mexico, but said he knew deep down the medical field was not for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not into science or medicine, I wasn\u2019t happy,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted to repair things and work with electricity. I just didn\u2019t know what path to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a visit to an instructor from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley that shaped his future.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me all about TSTC and the programs it offers and how he believed it was a right fit for me, and he was right,\u201d said Veloz.<\/p>\n
It was Summer 2013 when Veloz earned his associate degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology from TSTC and immediately gained employment with General Electric in Houston as a biomedical technician.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s clich\u00e9, but TSTC changed my life. My instructors and classmates immediately became my second family. And the best part was the hands-on training,\u201d said Veloz. \u201cI was ready to hit the ground running when I graduated. We practiced our skills so much in class that I was fully confident in myself and what I had to offer a company.\u201d<\/p>\n
After spending one year at General Electric, Veloz moved back to the RGV to witness the birth of his daughter, marry his long-time girlfriend and work as a biomedical technician, this time for Doctors Hospital at Renaissance for another three years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Veloz is a Meter Electrician with American Electric Power and he said it was the best move he could have made.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love AEP. It\u2019s a great place to work, I have great pay and benefits and they\u2019re very family- oriented,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope to continue to grow with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Genaro Marquez, AEP meter electrician supervisor and TSTC alumnus, had nothing but positive praise for Veloz.<\/p>\n
\u201cArturo\u2019s set of skills were impressive and having hired other TSTC graduates before and being one myself, I knew the kind of training he had and how prepared he was for this job,\u201d said Marquez. \u201cPlus, he\u2019s outgoing, never afraid of a challenge or learning new things and works great with others. He\u2019s a great asset to our team and I see him going far.\u201d<\/p>\n
And what makes Veloz\u2019s success even sweeter, is that his 10-year path to citizenship finally paid off. He officially became a U.S. citizen last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been quite a journey, but it\u2019s not over yet,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope to someday get a bachelor\u2019s degree and become an electrical engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biomedical Equipment Technology is offered at TSTC\u2019s Harlingen and Waco campuses.<\/p>\n
For more information on Biomedical Equipment Technology, visit tstc.edu\/programs\/BiomedicalEquipmetTechnology.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(HARLINGEN) – Arturo Veloz came to the United States when he was 7-years-old, with only hopes and dreams, but thanks to Texas State Technical College, he is now celebrating his recent citizenship to the country he loves so much and living the American Dream. Born in Rio Bravo, Mexico, the 26-year-old started second grade in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3523","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=3523"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3526,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3523\/revisions\/3526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}