{"id":3670,"date":"2018-12-10T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T08:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3670"},"modified":"2018-12-07T16:51:35","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T16:51:35","slug":"tstc-online-classes-help-local-man-pursue-a-career-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/?p=3670","title":{"rendered":"TSTC online classes help local man pursue a career change"},"content":{"rendered":"

(HARLINGEN) – At a crossroads in his life, Robert Ahrens decided to enroll at Texas State Technical College, opting for an online program so he could continue supporting his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a family it\u2019s not all about me,\u201d said the 37-year-old. \u201cI still need to make a decent paycheck, so online classes have been the most convenient for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The La Feria native is enrolled in Business Management Technology, one of four programs with degrees that are offered entirely online.<\/p>\n

The other TSTC programs with online degree tracks are Digital Media Design, Architectural Design & Engineering Graphics and Health Information Technology. These are among the many other hybrid programs available, which offer lectures and labs both on campus and online.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these programs there really is no excuse for not going to school anymore,\u201d said Ahrens. \u201cWhat matters is the discipline and hard work you\u2019re willing to put in. It\u2019s so flexible anyone can do it.\u201d\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n

A retired police officer of nearly a decade, and now a full-time truck driver with Spirit Truck Lines in Pharr, Ahrens said he has exceeded his own expectations.<\/p>\n

Ahrens, who expects to earn his associate degree in Summer 2020, boasts a 3.9 grade-point average, is on the dean\u2019s list and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society in 2016 for his high marks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to lie, it\u2019s been a challenge,\u201d said Ahrens. \u201cI\u2019m traveling out in the middle of nowhere and finding internet isn\u2019t always easy, but I manage. It\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahrens is also a recipient of the Lozano Long Promise Opportunity Scholarship, Shell National Merit Scholarship and Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (T-STEM) grant.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because I\u2019m in school doesn\u2019t mean the bills stop and I found myself in a bind,\u201d he said. \u201cBut TSTC has helped me fund my education. It has been a tremendous help and motivation to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The full-time worker and full-time student said he\u2019s only home 34 hours a week, the rest of his time is spent transporting goods across the country, finding hotspots or truck stops with internet. He also said even his laptop has seen better days, but he\u2019s not letting anything stop him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the technology of today makes it easy to navigate TSTC\u2019s online programs, communicating with instructors and keeping in contact with my family,\u201d he said. \u201cI know someday all this \u00a0sacrifice will be worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

TSTC Campus Lead for Business Management Technology Edna Claus said Ahrens has done exceptionally well despite the fact he is on the road most of the time and cannot depend on constant or reliable access to his courses.<\/p>\n

\u201cRobert has done well. His persistence is one that can be modeled by all of our students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ahrens is registered and ready to begin his Spring 2019 semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cTSTC has made me a well-rounded student and I know whether I stay at Spirit or end up somewhere else I will find success,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For more information about online programs at TSTC, visit tstc.edu\/tstconline.<\/p>\n

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

(HARLINGEN) – At a crossroads in his life, Robert Ahrens decided to enroll at Texas State Technical College, opting for an online program so he could continue supporting his family. \u201cWith a family it\u2019s not all about me,\u201d said the 37-year-old. \u201cI still need to make a decent paycheck, so online classes have been the […]<\/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-3670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harlingen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3670","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=3670"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3672,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3670\/revisions\/3672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.tstc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}