Category Archives: Technology

TSTC to Offer Evening Drafting and Design Course

For the first time, TSTC’s Architectural Design and Engineering Graphics Technology will expand its offerings with evening classes beginning Spring 2020. Department Chair Samuel Pizano says the change comes at a time when students are seeking flexibility. Evening and online courses are growing in popularity. In fact, the program has already seen its first registrants for evening classes. “We’ve recently seen a lot more interest in our program from students…

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VTX1 Shows Its Heart

VTX1 employees raise the frame for a Habitat home. (photo VTX1)

Leandro Pedraza of VTX1 took the concept of paying it forward and then made it count in Raymondville. Pedraza, an accounting manager with VTX1, heard the Family Crisis Center in Raymondville had suffered a devastating burglary. The result was the theft of all of the facility’s computers along with other damages. Pedraza wanted to see what could be done to help and asked his supervisors for permission to proceed. At…

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Considerations When Choosing Business Hardware

business hardware

Your small business’s hardware includes your desktop and laptop computers, servers, printers, portable storage devices, video cards and telephone systems. Basically, any type of physical tech product falls into this category. Since these items can take up a significant portion of your IT budget, it’s important to consider new purchases carefully. Each item will have its own specific set of features and options. But there are some considerations that apply…

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Grants Fund Numerous Partnerships, Apprenticeships

The Texas Workforce Commission presents more than $300,000 in grant funding to the Lower Rio Grande Valley Workforce Development Board. The funds support projects in the board's partnership with STC, Edinburg EDC and Pharr EDC. (photo STC)

With more than $300,000 in funding, South Texas College is partnering with local workforce agencies and municipalities to bring numerous education and training opportunities to the Rio Grande Valley. The Lower Rio Grande Valley Workforce Development Board now has more than $300,000 in grant funding from the Texas Workforce Commission. The board is in now in a partnership with STC, Edinburg Economic Development and Pharr Economic Development. Earlier this month,…

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Grant Provides Cybersecurity Career Pathways

STC is the recipient of a $700,000 grant from the Perkins Reserve Fund. The funds will help convert one the college’s classrooms into a state-of-the-art cybersecurity lab. (photo STC)

Viruses that corrupt software. Ransomware that holds data hostage. Foreign adversaries that hack into private and public accounts. Our reliance on computers has spawned many new fields in digital technology. And the challenge of protecting those computers and the data they transmit thus falls on experts in cybersecurity.  “Because these issues are in the news, everyone is aware that the security of our computer networks and data is vital,” says…

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STC Training Adult Drone Pilots

STC Drone Camp

South Texas College will begin offering drone piloting fundamentals for adult students, enabling them to have the understanding and skills to fly drones safely and legally. STC’s Institute for Advanced Manufacturing introduces drone pilot training for adults ages 18 and older in weeklong courses throughout the month of July. This camp utilizes the current techniques and principles to pilot a recreational or industrial drone in a safe manner. This follows…

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Connecting Rural Areas to the World

Jeff Shooshtari introduced wireless internet services to the Rio Grande Valley when he established Twin Communications. (Courtesy)

Jeff Shooshtari started with one antenna atop the Chase Bank tower in downtown McAllen. It was 1997 and the beginning of Twin Communications of McAllen/Edinburg. It was then the era of dial-up to the Internet. Moving large volumes of data online was the province of large companies. What is commonplace today was a rarity 20 years ago when Shooshtari, an engineer by training, began with microwave technology to launch wireless…

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UTRGV Hosts STEM Symposium For Latinas

NSF INCLUDES Symposium for ADVANCING Latinas in STEM Academic Careers

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will host the NSF INCLUDES Symposium for ADVANCING Latinas in STEM Academic Careers on May 16-17 at The Pearl South Padre Resort. The event will address best practices and lessons to enhance successful STEM careers, This is the first part of a two-part series on Latinas in STEM academic careers. The series addresses how work-life issues, policies/practices, mentoring and climate affect their pathways/pipelines, recruitment, retention and…

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McAllen Inventor Makes Hanging Up EZ

Juan Guerrero of EZ Stud Finder

Juan Guerrero has the mind of an engineer … analyzing, probing, figuring out a problem in using a well-honed process. “I do enjoy having projects that interest me,” said Guerrero, a retired electrical engineer with more than 20 years in the maquiladora industry for companies like Zenith and TRW. One idea that Guerrero latched on to came about when spending time with construction workers and carpenters who were building his…

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TWC Awards STC more than $1.3 million

Ruth Hughs, chair of Texas Workforce Commission, signs three grants totaling more than $1.3 million to South Texas College. (photo STC)

On Jan. 11, South Texas College had a “million-dollar morning” with three Texas Workforce Commission grants totaling more than $1.3 million. The award includes a $249,096 Job and Education for Texas grant, as well as $655,153 to STC’s Healthcare and Social Assistance Consortium. The consortium will create and upgrade 1,167 jobs. Additionally, a $409,890 grant goes to the college’s Manufacturing Consortium to create and upgrade 205 jobs. Guest speakers in…

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