Texas State Technical College is starting a new school year with the opening of an 84,000-square-foot Transportation Technologies Center on the western end of the Harlingen campus.

The new building opens up to big spaces on the major halves of the facility. The west side of the facility will be the work and training space for students in the diesel technology field that specializes in repair and maintenance of large commercial trucks, rigs and buses. A walk to the other side of the building leads to an even bigger space. The automotive technology program will house 32 bays and 16 lifts. This is where students will learn the intricacies of repair and care for increasingly complex vehicles that are reliant on computer technology.

Miguel Zoleta, the program team lead for TSTC’s Automotive Technology program, looked over the expanse of space where students will soon be studying and working and marveled at the upgrade in facilities.

“It’s super exciting,” Zoleta said while overlooking the Automotive Technology space as workmen finished up the final touches of the building project in mid-August. “We’re going from small spaces where we were cramped to a much bigger facility. It’s going to help a lot in getting students trained and ready to take high-paying jobs in growing industries.”

Beyond the big spaces where students will do the hands-on work there are computer labs and simulators as part of the curriculum that leads to one year-certification programs and associate degrees requiring two years of study. The dramatic expansion of automotive and diesel technological programs into the bigger spaces is based on feedback and hiring patterns being seen from the private sector.

“We look at trends and where the workforce is heading,” said Cindy Mata-Vasquez, the senior manager for campus enrollment at TSTC. “These are growing and very popular programs. We’re one of the few schools south of San Antonio that has facilities like what we have here to go with the quality of instruction and training we offer.”

Challenging Students

Ground was broken in late 2023 for the new Technologies Center and at that time, the chancellor and the chief executive officer of the TSTC system spoke of the historic ties between the institution and the Rio Grande Valley.

“Of all the 11 communities we serve, I can’t point to one in which the collaboration between community leaders and TSTC is stronger than it is in Harlingen,” Mike Reeser, the TSTC Chancellor, said.

What is now TSTC began in Harlingen in 1967 as Texas State Technical Institute and was among the first campuses in a statewide system. A name change occurred in 1991 when the system became known as Texas State Technical College. Over that time, the campus in Harlingen has forged close ties with private sector companies that frequently visit the college in recruiting graduates.

Zoleta mentioned Peterbilt, French Ellison, Magic Valley Electric Cooperative and Americal Electric Power as companies that have often hired TSTC graduates. On the automotive side, large dealerships in the Valley and elsewhere are eager to hire technicians that can do repair and maintenance work on vehicles that are increasingly complex in utilizing computers and technology.

The 2025 fall semester in the new building will include about 100 students in the automotive technology program and up to 40 students are expected in the diesel technology program. The size of the new center will allow academic advisers like Mata-Vasquez and her staff to have office space to work more closely with students while they learn from their technical field instructors. 

Zoleta, the program team lead, says students are challenged to learn the intricacies of the complex field they are aspiring to enter. While in the private sector, Zoleta said he observed new employees entering the automotive field who were not sufficiently prepared in starting their new careers.

“I saw incoming generations of students who lacked the knowledge they needed,” he said. “I feel like we can fill in the gaps of what they need to learn. With this new center, I believe we can bring in a whole new crowd of students and technicians and get them properly trained and ready to work.”

‘We’re Growing’

It’s not only automotive and diesel technology programs that are getting improved facilities at TSTC. 

Across the street from the new Technologies Center is a new but smaller facility that will house the Electrical Lineworker Technology program. Down the street is a renovated building that is the home of programs for plumbing and pipefitting technology.

“We’re growing and being innovative,” Mata-Vasquez said. “These new facilities give us extra exposure when we recruit students in showing them what we have to offer.”