{"id":3558,"date":"2018-11-05T16:01:49","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T16:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3558"},"modified":"2018-11-05T16:01:49","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T16:01:49","slug":"tstc-hvac-alum-exceeds-own-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3558","title":{"rendered":"TSTC HVAC alum exceeds own expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Laramie Christ always knew college was in his future, but out of high school he could not find one that was the right fit. That is, until he found Texas State Technical College in Fort Bend County.<\/p>\n

The Needville native was part of TSTC\u2019s first Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) graduating class in the early 2000\u2019s, when the college was still housed inside Wharton County Junior College (WCJC).<\/p>\n

TSTC in Fort Bend County now stands on its own along Southwest Freeway in Rosenberg and includes two buildings: the Industrial Technology Center and Brazos Center that house 10 technical programs. The campus is expected to grow to hold at least eight buildings in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted a career, but a four-year university was not for me,\u201d said Christ. \u201cI knew I could not sit still long enough to learn anything by book. I learn by doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christ was a student studying his academics at WCJC when he learned that TSTC was coming to town.<\/p>\n

\u201cI immediately loved TSTC\u2019s hands-on approach, so I enrolled,\u201d he said.\"Laramie<\/a><\/p>\n

After doing his research, the 37-year-old realized that HVAC was a sustainable and steady business, which meant job security for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone needs HVAC services, especially in Texas,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cIt was the perfect program for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon earning his certificate and associate degree in HVAC Technology from TSTC he gained immediate employment with a local residential HVAC company.<\/p>\n

After three years and gaining experience, he applied with Johnson Controls in Houston and 14 years later he is still there and climbing the ladder.<\/p>\n

\u201cTSTC gave me the foundation I needed to build a successful career,\u201d said Christ. \u201cI knew I could find success, and TSTC allowed me to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christ began at Johnson Controls as an apprentice\/tradesman. Then he got promoted to a journeyman\/technician and now he is a technical team lead and oversees 15 employees.<\/p>\n

Through his work at Johnson Controls he services large chillers and air handling equipment for 90 percent of Houston hospitals, the University of Houston, Shell, Exxon and TSTC in Fort Bend County.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite funny how I came to service TSTC,\u201d he said. \u201cI arrived at the campus to talk about an instructor position and left with a service contract. It\u2019s pretty ironic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christ, once a year, also teaches a two-hour HVAC chillers course at TSTC. It\u2019s an in-depth lesson that includes a hands-on session.<\/p>\n

He said he loves speaking with students, answering their questions and seeing in their eyes how much they love what they\u2019re learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love TSTC and this is my way of giving back and helping students grow,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have the desire to achieve success and we need them in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christ said he is proud to give back to the college that allowed him to gain a career with great pay and benefits that allows him to support his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been able to do very well for my family thanks to TSTC,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have helped me exceed my own expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

HVAC Technology is offered at TSTC\u2019s Fort Bend County, Harlingen, North Texas, Waco and Williamson County campuses.<\/p>\n

For more information on HVAC Technology, visit tstc.edu\/programs\/HVACTechnology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – Laramie Christ always knew college was in his future, but out of high school he could not find one that was the right fit. That is, until he found Texas State Technical College in Fort Bend County. The Needville native was part of TSTC\u2019s first Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) graduating class […]<\/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-3558","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\/3558","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=3558"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3560,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3558\/revisions\/3560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}