Make Sure your Student knows: TSTC offers a World of Opportunities!
By Brandon Chappell
In recent days, I have been trying to find out what the perception of Texas State Technical College is from the students in the community, and I have been totally surprised at what I’ve heard. One student told me that he was under the impression that TSTC was strictly a place you go to when you want to work on cars. Another student told me that she wasn’t aware that females could even attend TSTC. Neither of these statements is true. TSTC offers a wide variety of associate degrees and certificates for both men and women and is considered by many as one of Waco’s best kept secrets.
TSTC, formerly known as TSTI has been a part of educating and preparing students for the workforce in Waco for over 50 years. With an array of programs such as Gaming, Programming, Welding, Laser Optics, Building Construction, Culinary Arts, Web Design and many others TSTC, offers hands on education and experience locally at a very affordable price. All of the instructors at TSTC have experience working in their particular fields, so the knowledge and wisdom they offer the students is invaluable.
A lecture-style class is not for everyone and at TSTC, we appreciate and value a hands-on teaching environment. Aside from the instructors themselves, there are many services TSTC offers that help our students successfully graduate and find a job in their field. There are scholarships and grants that students can apply for to help pay for tuition and books. The students have access to Success Coaches, who are the academic advisors available 5 days a week to help students navigate any obstacles that comes between them and graduation.
Another service TSTC offers to students is the Project Link Program. Project Link is a program administered by Prosper Waco at TSTC and MCC that allows the students who are members of the program at La Vega High School and University High School to have their own personal Success Coach. My name is Brandon Chappell and I am the Project Link Liaison at TSTC. I help prospective Project Link students who are interested in enrolling in TSTC in the future with information about testing, admissions and other requirements dealing with pursuing a degree or completing a certificate program. If the Project Link students have any problems or concerns dealing with being successful at TSTC, I am their “go-to guy.” I offer a one-on-one mentoring environment, and access to the same support services that the other Success Coaches have, but I am given the opportunity to concentrate on a much smaller number of students and build on a level of familiarity with the students from the high school level.
Come check out the TSTC Waco campus. Take a tour of some of the different departments and find out what program works for you. TSTC isn’t just for recent high school graduates; many of our students have been in the working world for several years before enrolling at TSTC. Most of our programs take 5 semesters or less to complete. If you’re not interested in earning a college degree, TSTC also offers certificate programs that can teach you the basic skills in many different trades so that you can broaden your horizons or make yourself more marketable in the workforce.
At TSTC our goal is to prepare our students for gainful employment, and we have an amazing placement rate. Ultimately the goal is to get our students out into the real world with the necessary job training and skills that it takes to work in many different industries.
The job market has been getting increasingly more competitive and TSTC can help even the playing for field or place you at the front of the hiring race. To find out more information about TSTC, visit www.tstc.edu or head over to the campus between 8-5 and one of our recruiters will be happy to give you a tour or answer any questions you may have.
Brandon Chappell was raised in Houston, TX, but his roots are here in Waco. Most of his family were born here in Waco and graduated from local high schools. He attended Prairie View A&M University as a first generation college student. He graduated from PVAMU in 2012 with a Bachelor’s in Communication, and became the first male in his family to be awarded a college degree. He has been employed with Texas State Technical College since 2012 in several different positions and enjoys using his experiences to assist the students with being successful during their time in college.
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