Isaias Pena stood out as a high school student when participating in welding competitions held at the Texas State Technical College campus in Harlingen. Pena represented La Joya High School and TSTC instructor Raul Saldivar recalls a student who was always a top three finisher in the SkillsUSA welding competitions. Pena’s attention to detail and the ability to visualize demonstrations and apply them to practical applications has always been evident,…
Plumbing and Pipefitting, a program new to Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus, recently welcomed its first cohort of students as the fall semester got underway. Among those students are Ricardo Cantu, David Martinez and Fernando Ochoa. Cantu, of Lyford, is pursuing a Plumbing and Pipefitting – Tradesman certificate of completion. He said his goal is to mirror the skill and expertise demonstrated by his instructors. “I want to learn…
Carlos Reyes opens an empty electrical box in one of the labs of the mechatronics technology program at Texas State Technical College. The box represents something of a starting point for students in the program. As the program progresses, students will be tasked with filling those empty boxes with the circuits, sensors and other components to make it a fully functional electrical unit. “We build them up from scratch,” said…
Thanks to a new partnership, high school students from South Texas Independent School District’s Science Academy in Mercedes can now participate in a dual credit program in Welding Technology with Texas State Technical College. “The dual credit program pairs well with our hands-on approach to the engineering program of study,” said Vanessa Rivera, the school district’s career and technical education director. “We encourage our students to learn and earn stackable credentials…
According to College Factual, Texas State Technical College has the Best Lineworker Associate Degree School in the United States for 2024. College Factual, according to its website, was created to help students research colleges and careers. It gathers data from public and private sources, including the U.S. Department of Education. “TSTC’s Abilene campus is home to the newest Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology program, offering students a top-tier education with…
Esmeralda Estrella’s students in a Texas State Technical College classroom are huddled around incubator equipment used to support newborns in neonatal intensive care units. The students on the Harlingen campus are enrolled in TSTC’s biomedical equipment technology program. Students jot down notes and confer in teams as if they were in real-world hospital settings. Maintenance and repair of this sort of equipment is critical to sustaining and saving lives. “The…
Representatives of Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 7 for two new facilities and renovation of one existing building. The new additions will provide space for two programs new to the campus: Diesel Equipment Technology, and Plumbing and Pipefitting Technology. The Automotive Technology and Diesel Equipment Technology programs will share nearly 50,000 square feet in one building. In addition, the Electrical Lineworker and Management…
Texas State Technical College’s Dental Hygiene program is training students to meet the need for workers in Texas. According to a recent American Dental Association report, the dental sector is facing a serious workforce shortage. Vacant positions in dental assisting and dental hygiene have reduced dental practice capacity by an estimated 10 percent nationally. Raquel Rico, TSTC’s Dental Hygiene program director in Harlingen, said the primary focus of the program’s education is about hands-on training.…
Highly skilled aircraft technicians are in short supply, and the aviation maintenance program at Texas State Technical College is training students in an effort to meet demand for them across Texas. Isaac Pena of Rio Grande City is a second-semester Aircraft Powerplant Technology student at TSTC. He said the technician shortage creates a promising outlook for upcoming aviation maintenance graduates. “It’s beneficial because there’s more demand, opportunities and potentially increased pay,” he said. “As I’m…
The Vocational Nursing certificate of completion program at Texas State Technical College will host an open house on March 31. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lucio Allied Health Technologies Building at the corner of North Loop 499 and Jasmine Street on the college’s Harlingen campus. The college encourages prospective students with an interest in beginning the Vocational Nursing program next fall to attend the event.…