THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE WACO VOL. 4, NO. 1 SPRING 2013
MAGA
ZINE
training workers to fill the state’s skills gap
by Sarah-Jane Menefee P. 5 we are the tornadoby Sarah-Jane Menefee P. 11 Q&a with BaYlor stadUiM
sUperintendent & tstC alUMby Mary Drennon P. 15
WE ARE THETORNADO BRINGING A LONG-TIME MASCOT TO LIFE
WHY EMPLOYERSHIRE TSTC GRADS& WHY THEY ARE WILLING TO PAY TOP SALARIES
TECH NOTESGRANTS + PARTNERSHIPS KUDOS + SCHOLARSHIPS ALUMNI Q&A WITH JEFF HORN
dr. elton e. stuckly, Jr., TSTC Waco President
PRESIDENTDr. Elton E. Stuckly, Jr.
MARKETING DIRECTORJan Osburn
EDITORSarah-Jane Menefee
ART DIRECTION, LAYOUT& DESIGN
Mark Burdine
CONTRIBUTING WRITERSMary Drennon
Sarah-Jane MenefeeJan Osburn
PHOTOGRAPHERSMark Burdine
Sarah-Jane MenefeeMaria Davalos, intern
PHONE • 254.867.3035E-MAIL • [email protected]
NUMBERS TO KNOWMain 254.799.3611Recruiting 254.867.2360Admissions 254.867.2362Alumni Relations 254.867.2038
TSTC Magazine is published two times a year by the Marketing & Communications office at Texas State Technical College Waco.
Texas State Technical College Waco is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Associate of Applied Science degrees and Certificates of Completion. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Texas State Technical College Waco.
© Copyright 2013 Texas State Technical College Waco. All rights reserved.
A PUBLICATION OF TSTC WACO VOL. 4, NO. 1 SPRING 2013
WRITE TO US:We welcome your letters. The editor reserves
the right to determine the suitability of letters for publication and to edit them for
accuracy and length. Letters should refer to material published in the magazine and include the writer’s full name, address and
telephone number. If alumni, please include degree and year of degree.
E-MAIL: [email protected]
WRITE:TSTC MAGAZINE3801 Campus Drive Waco, TX 76705 Attn: Marketing & Communications
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FROM THE PRESIDENT
Spring brings a variety of visitors to campus
Equal opportunity shall be afforded within the Texas State Technical College System to all employees and applicants for admission or employment regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age or disability. TSTC will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities.
MAGAZINE
Each spring two major events bring an assortment of visitors to campus. One event is College Preview & Open House, which attracts prospective students looking to find that perfect career field and this year’s event broke recent attendance records. And the other is Industry Career Day, which draws industry representatives in search of future employees and is the culmination of a student’s college experience. In the spring 2013 edition of the TSTC Magazine you can find out what brings industry reps back year after year, “Why employers hire TSTC grads” and what TSTC is doing to help in “Filling the skills gap.”
Also in this edition, learn what major Waco project TSTC Building Construction alumni Jeff Horn is heading up in a special Q&A, discover how a tornado represents college spirit, find out about a new wine-related degree on tap, get updated on the college’sre-affirmation, see photos from across campus, and much more!
As always, thank you for all you do for TSTC!
Campus Snapshot Pages 9-10
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CONTENTS & CALENDAR
3 tech notesCampus news and accolades
5 filling the skills gapTSTC’s struggle to provide the state’s workforce
8 why employers hire tstC gradsAnd what they are willing to offer for more
9 Campus snapshotA look at Laser Electro-Optics dye laser lab
11 we are the tornadoCrafting a modern mascot to represent the spirit and unstoppable force of the college
15 alumni Q&aBuilding Construction alumni Jeff Horn tackles theBaylor University Stadium project
t on the CoVerAs many as 500,000 jobs aren’t being filled because employers can’t find qualified workers. It’s called “the skills gap.”
17 people & placesPhotos from TSTC events
IN THIS ISSUE:
MAY 1 Deadline to apply for financial aid for fall
6 First class day of summer term
27 Student & employee holiday
28 Registration begins for returning students
19 Registration begins for new students
22-23 Student & employee holiday
JUN 3 Registration begins for new students
14 Last day to apply for graduation
JUL 4 Student & employee holiday
19 Last day to drop with a “W“ AUG 16 End of semester Last day to apply for fall
Summer commencement 6:30 p.m. Waco Convention Center
SEP 2 Student & staff holiday
OCT 11 Last day to apply for graduation
NOV 8 Last day to drop with a “W“
28-29 Student & staff holiday
For more events, go towaco.tstc.edu/calendar
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Scan this QR code with your u smartphone to view the calendar.
starting this fall, tstC golf Course & landscape Management will be partnering with the Viticulture and enology science and technology alliance (Vesta) to offer new certificates and associate degrees in viticulture, the cultivation of grapevines,and enology, the study of wine making.
The VESTA program is supported by the National Science Foundation and offers introductory and advanced courses via distance education. TSTC will provide practical hands-on training at local vineyards and wineries and a limited number of face-to-face classes.
In addition, GLM faculty, along with VESTA State Coordinator Evan McKibben, are planting a vineyard this spring on the TSTC campus to serve as a living lab for students in the program.
“There are no other programs like this in the state of Texas,” McKibben said. “VESTA is a unique opportunity to learn about the wine making business from the ground up through hands-on training at local wineries and in the classroom. TSTC is the perfect partner to bring these degrees to all of Texas.”
For more information on the VESTA offerings at TSTC, contact Terry Ehrhardt at [email protected].
Wine-related degrees to be offered through VESTA grant
Military Times EDGE magazine recently published the “Best for Vets: Career and Technical Colleges 2013,” and TSTC was among the top 15 on the national list. Ranked No. one in Texas and 11th in the nation overall.
More than 650 universities, community colleges and career and technical colleges nationwide responded to the magazine’s survey, which covered several categories.
Kathy Chastain, director of Veterans Services atTSTC (and also a veteran), completed the survey with information regarding on-campus benefits and assistance for student veterans. The magazine
scored the answers based on what student veterans value most in a college. TSTC was noted for including an on-campus Veterans Office and academic support such as special withdrawal and re-enrollment for deploying service members. The list also highlighted TSTC’s high graduation rate for student veterans.
“We are proud of our veterans,” said TSTC President Dr. Elton E. Stuckly Jr. “We strive to provide our veteran students with the services they need in a higher education environment.” Chastain added that she believes the ample assistance TSTC has available for veterans attracts more military students to the college.
“People do research. Every potential student is looking for a school that can provide them with the best benefits, especially veterans,” Chastain said. “TSTC offers those benefits. We do a lot for them academically, but most of all, we care about them.”
For more information on Veterans Services at TSTC contact Kathy Chastain at [email protected] or call 254.867.4817.
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CAMPUS NEWS & BRIEFS
tech notes
Military Times magazine ranks TSTC number one in Texas, 11th nationally
three students from tstC’s golf Course & landscape Management have summer internships at prestigious golf courses. Pictured from left are Sean Kleinfeld and Blake Lupton who will be interning at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina and Brandon Nors who will be at Tournament Players Course (TPC) in San Antonio, which will hold a PGA tour event this spring.
glM students land prestigious internships
student kudos
Become a fan at:facebook.com/tstcwaco
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CAMPUS NEWS & BRIEFS
NSF Partnership provides funding for a variety of new programs
TSTC celebrates five years on FacebookOn Feb. 25, TSTC marked its fifth year on Facebook with a campus- wide celebration. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in the five years we’ve been on Facebook,” said Sarah-Jane Menefee, TSTC coordinator of publications & social media. “Our social media presence has grown from nothing to a thriving online community.”
The TSTC Facebook page,www.facebook.com/tstcwaco, has nearly 4,000 fans and serves as a place for news, event information and conversations about life at TSTC and the future of technical education in Texas.
SACS reaffirmation continuesIt’s highly regarded among colleges and universities in Texas, essential for federal financial aid, adds degree value and allows for the transferring of courses—accreditationby the Southern Association of Colleges & SchoolsCommission on Colleges, or SACS.
The process of evaluating anddocumenting begin years beforethe official site review inNovember 2012. The collegehas met many milestonesalong the way, from theoff-site peer review in Mayof last year, to the QualityEnhancement Plan inSeptember and on-sitecommittee chair visit inOctober, to the recommen-dation response earlierthis month.
All the hard work showedwhen visiting officialsannounced that all 27 core andfederal requirements were met,and of the 75 comprehensivestandards of practice, only five wereidentified for further review or improve-ment, putting TSTC Waco firmly on thepath to reaffirmation. Texas State TechnicalCollege Waco administration, faculty and staffwill hear the final review by the Commission onColleges in June.
The National Science Foundation (NSF), the only federal agency whose mission is to support all fields of fundamental science and engineering, offers grants to institutions and companies to work in the cutting edge of scientific fields.
The NSF has recently granted funding for a variety of TSTC projects in the energy field including nuclear power and alternative fuels. These new and exciting projects have made a significant difference in the lives of students at TSTC and in their pursuits after college.
The NSF provided TSTC with nearly $300,000 in grants to help launch a new advanced certificate program in Nuclear Welding Construction. But that’s not all the NSF does to support TSTC. In 2012, another grant was awarded to help develop curriculum for a new advanced technical certificate in Alternative Fuel Vehicles.
This grant will provide students with substantive training in all major alternative-fuel areas and would be a benchmark program for the region.
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COVER STORY — SKILLS GAP
TSTC’s struggle toprovide the state
with more technically
skilled workers.
Filling the Skills
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COVER STORY — SKILLS GAP
Twenty million Americans are out of work or underemployed every month since January 2009, according to CBS News. Yet despite this staggering number, there are more than three million job openings in the U.S. Just in manufacturing alone, there are as many as 500,000 jobs that aren’t being filled because employers say they can’t find qualified workers. It’s called “the skills gap” and TSTC is addressing it head-on with the help of industry partners who are hungry for qualified workers. TSTC’s Coordinator of Career Services, Edgar Padilla, sees the skills gap as a golden opportunity for TSTC’s students to step into great paying, steady jobs rightout of college.
“We are in a unique position to address the skills gap because of our mandate to provide a technically skilled workforce,” Padilla said. “We have programs intentionally built to produce quality graduates in today’s high demand fields — everything from manufacturing and energy to automation, robotics and electrical power.”
And TSTC’s model is working. Padilla helps hundreds of students each year to get jobs with great starting salaries and promising futures. But, there still aren’t enough for the companies TSTC partners with. “Companies are desperate for qualified workers,” he said.“ There aren’t enough skilled people to hire and a whole generation of workers is retiring after working in technical trades for 30-plus years. A big part of >>
“We are in a unique position to address the skills gap because of our mandate to provide a technically skilled workforce.”
by Sarah-Jane Menefee
COVER STORY — SKILLS GAP
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this gap has a lot to do with the predominant focus on traditional four-year post-secondary education in our nation, and many of these degrees simply don’t address the skills companies want.”
According to Padilla and many TSTC’s industry partners, a four-year degree is no longer as valuable as hands-on training, specific skills and industry certifications. One area that has really evolved in recent years is information technology or IT.
Andrew Higginbotham a Master Pro Support Engineer at Dell Global Services is involved in the hiring process at the Austin-based international company. He said the type of degree is less important than proving you know the latest software advances.
“There’s more to it than getting a degree,” Higginbotham said. “If you can show an employer that you have hands-on experience with a certain trade or program, then you will be a better candidate. Industry-specific certifications are a great option. In IT, we want someone who’s knowledgeable and certified in several areas such as Microsoft or Cisco.”
As a Dell representative, Higginbotham serves on TSTC’s advisory committee for Computer Networking & Systems Administration and makes recommendations on what curriculum the program should teach so he has qualified candidates to hire. He said the job market is fluid in the fast-paced world of IT and
his company often needs 10 or more trained people at time due to internal growth.Many times he turns to TSTC for these jobs because its graduates have the experience with systems similar to what Dell uses.
“I really like TSTC’s hands-on approach,” Higginbotham said. “Students have a chance to work on equipment that they’ll use in the industry. For instance, TSTC’s High Performance Computing technology students set up a data center and monitor it, and there are guys who work with me at Dell who do the exact same thing. That’s very valuable when you interview for a job.”
The same job requirements of work and hands-on experience keep the unemployment rate high as young graduates, often from four-year programs, hit the job market and come up dry. TSTC steps in to help fill that gap as well.
Jerome Mendias, department chair of TSTC’s Building Construction Technology, sees a fair amount of four-year graduates coming to TSTC to pick up a year of hands-on experience to make them more hirable. “The biggest thing we hear from four-year graduates is they go into the job market and what they hear back is, ‘We like what we see on your resume, we like where you went to college, but what’s lacking is your work experience,’” Mendias said.
“With TSTC, that gap is eliminated because you have people getting work experience and a college education.”
Mendias worries that the focus on four-year degrees is not only promising students a future job they may not be qualified for, but also forsakes the less talked about careers that keep the country’s infrastructure moving and offer a steady income.
“We’re in a day and age where it’s not so much about telling our youth to go to college, but telling them where to go to get great jobs,” he said. “It’s not always going to be the most glamorous job, but someone has to keep the electricity on and upkeep the plumbing for running water. And these jobs provide a very good living for people who are technically trained.” As more and more companies turn to TSTC to address the gap in their skilled workforce, Padilla’s job of placing qualified students also is growing. Every day he fields requests and job postings from company after company and sees TSTC students getting offer letters for great salaries even before they graduate.
“Our biggest concern at the moment is we don’t have enough students or graduates to meet the demand,” he said. “The jobs are there for the taking.”
... providing the state with more technically skilled workers.
COVER STORY — SKILLS GAP
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Today, there is a critical shortage of “skilled workers” in the US. Current shortage (conservative
estimate) is over 500,000 workers and is projected to balloon
to over 875,000 by the end of the decade. A “skilled worker”
is defined by an occupation that requires formal and/or specialized post-secondary
training but does not typically require a bachelor’s degree.
Examples include:CAD DrafterCNC MachinistInstrumentation TechPowerplant TechnicianLaser-optics TechnicianMedical Imaging TechnicianStructural WelderElectrical Power TechElectronics TechnicianIndustrial MechanicChemical Lab Tech
Recent study by the Manpower Group showed that 83 percent of US manufacturers are reporting a
moderate to serious shortage of skilled workers. Overall, 49 percent
of US employers are reporting difficulty in hiring employees with
specialized skills sets. Since August 1, 2012, there have been 39,389
jobs posted or unfilled that specifically require an Associate’s degree or
post-secondary certificate.
Resurgent industries in Texas include:
Energy Production & Delivery
High-technology Manufacturing including Automation & Robotics
Industrial Maintenance Applications
Heavy Industrial Manufacturing
Drafting & Design Applications
“About 1.5 million or 53.6 percent of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years.” USA Today 04.22.12
83 percent of US manufacturers are reporting a moderate to serious shortage of skilled workers.
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Current shortage is over 500,000 workers and is
projectedto balloon to over 875,000
by 2020.
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'Skills GAP' Facts
Wendy Hoenig, Chief Marketing Officer, Molecular Rebar Design“The carbon nanotube technology we invented will make nanotubes very useful for multiple applications. We’ve grown and we’re looking for good people to help us scale this technology up. TSTC can help us fill our workforce because a lot of what is taught here fits our needs right now.”
Why Employers Hire TSTC Grads
Jay Edwards, Workforce Development, Eastman Chemical Company“The students who come from programs at TSTC, match up with our workforce
needs very close which means we have to do less training to prepare them for the workforce. We need to be prepared to fill positions as they come open and TSTC is
the ideal place to find our future skilled workforce.”
John Vizner, Facility Manager, Caterpillar“We’re a growing manufacturing facility and we’re adding new product lines and about 60 more jobs this year in welding and machining. When we ramped up our third shift, we hired TSTC welding graduates almost exclusively. They definitely filled a big gap for us.”
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Fifth-semester Laser Electro-Optic student Alisa Galpin works on tuning a dye laser in lab. Dye lasers are most commonly used in the research field because of the wide range of colors they can produce.
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CAMPUS NEWS — FEATURE
WEARETHETORNADO
BRINGING A LONG-TIMEMASCOT TO LIFE!
The powerful TSTC Tornado mascot is a picture of the
united force of its students and employees and
their impact on Texas.Since the days of Texas
State Technical Institute,the Tornado name hasbeen represented by a successful flight teamand basketball team.
Now, it has taken on a lifeof its own in the form
of Turbo, TSTC’s newmascot character.
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CAMPUS NEWS — FEATURE
TORNADO
[continued on page 18]
CCreated from the original 2008 design of digital Media design graduate kaci groves,
the tornado mascot incorporates the schools colors, logo and some Texan hallmarks, including a cowboy hat, boot and gloves. Groves said school spirit and Texas pride were an inspiration for her design.
“When I transferred to TSTC they didn’t really have a mascot,” Groves said. “At my previous college, school spirit was a huge deal, so I was excited to submit a design for the mascot. Since Waco is the ‘Heart of Texas,’ I felt it needed a Texas feel to the logo.” Groves’ design gave the tornado more personality than previous designs and line drawings of the TSTC tornado. With a new character and face for the mascot, the design started cropping up on T-shirts and merchandise in the bookstore and in promoting safety and other college initiatives. It took TSTC alumni and Marketing Specialist Autumn Outlaw’s vision to have a costume created so the design could really come to life.
“I’d seen other college and company mascots while working for the recruiting department at TSTC, and there was just something about the way they connected with people, especially the younger audience,” Outlaw said. “We’d been the Tornado for a long time and we had a great mascot design, why not have a character who could represent us too?” It took several years and persistence, but Outlaw finally put the design out for bids from mascot companies and chose a Canadian firm, Maydwell Mascots Inc.
Internationally known for its work with corporate and school mascots, including big names such as Hasbro and Geico, Maydwell took on the challenge of creating a 3-D mascot costume for TSTC.
Principal owner of Maydwell, Joyce Banda, said that out of the hundreds of mascots her company has produced, Turbo was the first tornado. “This one was a challenge because we wanted the tornado to go into a funnel down one of his legs,” she said. “It was definitely one of the more complicated mascots that we’ve made. We’ve never done anything like this, and we really we’re happy with how it turned out.”
So is Outlaw, who spent countless hours talking on the phone and emailing back and forth with the Maydwell production coordinator to get every detail exactly right, down to the exact Pantone colors for the fabrics and the shape of the all-important cowboy hat. While the costume was being created, Outlaw got students involved in picking a good name for him through a Facebook contest. Several students entered name suggestions and hundreds voted between the top five choices. In the end, Turbo, a name suggested by alumni Mackenzie Meyer, rose to the top.
“To have the buy in of the students, we knew we had to have the students involved as much as possible. Ultimately, it’s their mascot,” Outlaw said. “We had a lot creative entries and a lot of students talking about >>
by Sarah-Jane Menefee
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CAMPUS NEWS & BRIEFS
Student Kudos: Flight Team to compete at nationals The Aircraft Pilot Training flight team competed in a Regional National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) Competition last fall, and earned the right to compete at the national competition in May 2013. TSTC will send a 10-person team and an airplane to Ohio State University to compete in various flight and ground events during the week-long competition.
Student Kudos: TSTC dominates SkillsUSA competition TSTC students competed against several colleges in the SkillsUSAState Competition in San Antonio in March 2013 and brought home84 total medals, including 38 gold medals. Winning gold qualifies thestudents as being the best in Texas in their field and many will go on tothe national SkillsUSA Competion held in Kansas City, Mo. in June 2013.
SkillsUSA Texas Director Stacy Scott emphasized the importance of thecompetition to students especially as it relates to Texas’ growing and changing industries. “Many of the students who attended the contest were connectedto industry and were offered jobs on the spot when they completed theircontests,” Scott said. “Our SkillsUSA students are champions and championsare wanted to help these industries grow and evolve.” To see a full listof TSTC’s SkillsUSA winners, go to www.waco.tstc.edu/skillsusa.
Employee Kudos: Chancellor’s Award for Excellence recipientsThe Chancellor’s Award for Excellence is an annual award that recognizes faculty and staff whose outstanding contributions and achievements benefit TSTC students and the community. Along with recognition from the Chancellor, recipients are presented with a NISOD Excellence Award at the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development conference held in May in Austin.
Top Row (L-R) Dr. Elton E. Stuckly Jr., TSTC Waco President; Mike Reeser, TSTC Chancellor; Dr. Larry Grulick, Associate Vice Chancellor. Bottom Row (L-R) Chancellor’s Award for Excellence recipients: Marta V. Getman, Social and Behavioral Sciences; Jackie Adler, Financial Aid; Iris L. Cunningham, Student Accounting; Whitney Carter, Retention Programs and Karen Sonnenberg, HOD Associate Director of Payroll.
Industry Career Day success TSTC Waco’s 2013 Industry Career Day was one of the most successful in the college’s history. Representatives from more than 80 companies, including industry notables such as Halliburton, Eastman Chemical and Caterpillar, had the opportunity to meet with 720 TSTC Waco students who attended the event. Students who attended were prepared with polished resume in hand and dressed for success. For more information on hiring TSTC graduates, contact TSTC’s Career Services Coordinator Edgar Padilla at 254.867.3023 or go to www.waco.tstc.edu/careerservices.
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Student Kudos: Rapoport Foundation Scholarship winnersSeveral TSTC students received scholarships from the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation this semester. The foundation’s primary focus is to support programs that benefit Waco and McLennan County especially in the area of education. Students chosen for this year’s scholarships were honored at a luncheon by TSTC President Dr. Elton E. Stuckly Jr. and the foundation’s Executive Director Tom Stanton.
“We are thankful for you and we want to support you anyway we can,” Stanton said at the luncheon. The students, many of whom could not have completed their course work at TSTC without the emergency funds of the scholarship expressed their gratitude to Stanton andthe foundation.
“Thank you for this scholarship,” student Stacy McNeil said. “It’s helping me achieve my dreams of finishing college. I graduate in a month, and you helped make that possible.”
Dr. Stuckly spoke to the students about the scholarship’s founder Bernard Rapoport and his commitment to helping TSTC students succeed. “Bernard Rapoport is a man marked by his generosity,” Stuckly said. “I know he’s smiling down on us today. He was really committed to student success and to TSTC’s success.”
Rapoport Foundation recipients for the Spring 2013 semester are Charly Shockley, Brian Watson, Kristine Rohde, Josh Patterson, Edgar Piña, Daryl Shirah, Tami Nutall Jefferson, Benjamin Greer, D’Leesa Keys, Jacob Hopper, Timothy Alligood and Stacy McNeil.
Upcoming summer camps focused on technologyInstead of spending the summer lounging by the pool, rising 9th through 12th grade students have the opportunity to explore possible Science, Technical, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields by engaging in hands-on activities during a weeklong summer camp. All camps are led by experienced educators and give students an exciting learning experience on a college campus. Camps include APEX: Mission 120K and Student Racing Challenge Camp which are specifically for female students and Robotics Challenge Camp and WaterBotics Underwater Robotics Camp which are open to all rising 9th through 12th graders. All camps are free of charge.
For more information on camp dates go to www.waco.tstc.edu/outreach, or contact Sheryl Kattner-Allen at 254.867.3875 [email protected].
Edgar PiñaAuto Collision &
Management Technology
student profiles
As a gold medalist in Automotive Refinishing at the state SkillsUSA competition, Edgar Piña will advance to nationals in June. He graduated with his Associate degree in Auto Collision & Management Technology in April and plans to open his own refinishing shop once he gets some work experience.
A former president of the TSTC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, a two-year honor society, Austin Alderman recently represented TSTC at the society’s international convention in San Jose, Calif.He graduated with his Associate degree in Air Traffic Control Technology in April and plans to attend the FAA Academy in Oklahoma.
austin aldermanAir Traffic Control
Technology
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ALUMNI
JJeff Horn, 48, is a 1985 graduate of Texas State Technical College’s Building Construction Technology. He attended Kline High School in the Houston area, graduated and came straight to TSTC. After graduating from college, Horn took a job with Austin Commercial out of Dallas, rising within the company ranks to his current position of senior superintendent, he currently oversees the building of the new Baylor University football stadium here in Waco, which tentatively is expected to be completed by season opener 2014. In a Q & A session, Horn provides TSTC Waco with a glimpse of how he climbed the career ladder to get where he is today.
I THINK THE BIGGEST
THING IS STAY
FOCUSED AND TRUE
TO WHO YOU ARE.
DON’T COMPRISE YOUR
ETHICS OR ABILITY.
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by Mary Drennon
Q how did you end up attending tstC? A My Dad was in construction, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps, but didn’t want to attend school for five years. I found out about TSTC from a former board (regents) member, Jay Trible. He turned me on to TSTC, and that’s how I found out about the school.
Q what was your experience at tstC like? A It was a good experience. I liked it because it was cool, but going to school from eight to five was a lot of work. (There wasn’t a lot of extracurricular activities at the time.) I learned more of the construction side of the business, which was helpful. The good thing about it was getting out in two years.
Q did you go to work after graduation or did you attend another college? A After taking a week off when I graduated in 1985, I went to work for Austin Commercial and have been there ever since — 28 years. My dad worked there for a couple of years too. I started out as a field engineer, responsible for layout surveying, laying the building out, and making sure it’s plumb and level. It was a 56-story building in downtown Dallas, now called the Chase Tower today. I think (because of my college experience) I was prepared adequately to do what I needed to do. I gained the rest of my experience on the job. Also, I worked during the summer while at school in the same field working in engineering at a job down in Houston. It gave me an advantage over other job seekers.
Q what do you do today? Can you explain a littleabout the job and how you moved up? A As a senior superintendent, I am responsible for field coordination and scheduling and coordination of sub contractors, as well as all the fieldwork. At 38, I became a senior superintendent. My college degree has been better than I expected. School wasn’t my thing in high school. I was a C and D student in high school and an A and B student in college because I was interested. In my career with Austin Commercial, I have worked on
more than 30 projects and buildings in various cities such as Houston, Dallas and Plano and now, Waco. I have worked in most of the major cities in Texas. Some of my biggest projects to date include the Methodist West Houston Hospital, the TCU football stadium, and now, the Baylor football stadium. The 45,000 seat Baylor football stadium is under construction on the corner of I-35 and Lake Brazos.It will have a 30-foot wide pedestrian bridge to connect the football stadium to campus. Overall, it’sa 93-acre site.
Q how did your education help you gain the skills you needed to fill your position? do you see any skills gaps in today’s marketplace that are causing positions to go unfilled? A I do see a skills gap in the marketplace today. My education helped me focus on the skills and hands-on training I needed, and not so much the technical book side of things. I think that helped. Back when I started, a dad or uncle would teach the trade. That doesn’t happen today. The gap here is they learn on the job, and sometimes not the right habits. Having the education from a college like TSTC can give you advantage in the marketplace and on the actual job. By doing the hands-on training, and getting out of school early, I was ahead of my friends who went to four-year schools. I was 20 when I started at Austin Commercial. Q what would you recommend current tstC students do that will help them with their future careers and help them gain the skills necessary to compete in the workforce? A I think the biggest thing is stay focused and true to who you are. Don’t comprise your ethics or ability. You have to gain confidence in yourself, obviously, and don’t quit learning. Never quit learning or pass up an opportunity to learn if you get a chance on the job. As long as you’re passionate about something and work hard, you’ll succeed.
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Architect’s rendering of the new Baylor Stadium currently under construction. Rendering courtesy Baylor University.
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PEOPLE & PLACES
People & Places (L-R from top left): A SXSWedu College & Career Fair attendee learns all about flight simulation I QEP Pep Rally boosters promote TSTC’s math initiative, “We all add up” I Warp XX BEST Robotics competitors get their robot ready for the next round I Aircraft Pilot Training student Greg Einck is just one of many pilots to be awarded their Commercial Pilot License this spring I Chancellor Reeser entertains awardees with his idea for a ‘secret handshake’ at the Chancellor’s Awards Breakfast I All smiles at Fall Graduation 2012 I Checking out the ‘zip line’ at Dia Techsana I Turbo & students ‘shake’ it up for a music video I High Performance Computing student Jacob Harbich sits at the controls of HPC’s new VisWall
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CAMPUS NEWS — FEATURE
the mascot because of the naming contest. It was a great way to get the word out about Turbo before he even arrived on campus.” For Turbo’s big entrance to TSTC, Outlaw coordinated an unveiling at TSTC’s Quality Enhancement Plan pep rally held in November in the middle of campus. Just like at the start of a football game, Turbo ripped through a paper sign to the applause and surprise of everyone to begin the rally. He pumped up the crowd, posed for photos and danced with students — a real life mascot.“Turbo went over great at the
rally,” Outlaw said. “The first time he walked down the hall he was attacked by high school students! It was amazing to see the students getting so excited. They didn’t know who he was just yet, but they still wanted their picture with him and wanted to shake his hand. That was the greatest moment to me.”
Since the rally, Turbo has represented TSTC at several events, was featured in the college’s Harlem Shake video and attended graduation to congratulate graduates. Outlaw said more mascot-
related activities come in every day. Turbo is bringing great recognition to the college, she added.
Though Turbo personifies the Tornado mascot for TSTC, Outlaw said it’s only a metaphor for the whole student body. “We are all the Tornado, and we’re a force to be reckoned with.” Outlaw said. “TSTC’s momentum gets stronger every day because of our amazing employees and students.”
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Photos Left: Turbo takes shape at Maydwell Mascots, Inc.Background Photo: Turbo makes his debut at the QEP Pep Rally
George Colletti, T-TEN/AYES Area ManagerToyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
TSTC Makes it Possible.
“Toyota Motor Sales, USA is the official distributor of Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles in North America.
Technicians are very important to our industry and to our business. They are the backbone of the service department. TSTC is one of the best T-TEN programs in the country.
The truth is TSTC has a top quality automotive program that Toyota is proud to partner with. They make the dealerships profitable.
TSTC makes it possible for our dealerships to havegreat students and great technicians.”
George Colletti, Technician Training & Education Network
At TSTC, we provide ourpartners with the technically trainedworkforce they need to succeed.Your success is our business.
www.waco.tstc.edu
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