School Closed

Texas State Technical College- Marshall will be closed from December 22,2009 until January 4,2010. If you have any last minute business you need to complete, feel free to drop by the campus today. We are here and ready to help.

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you in 2010!

Salute to Women in Technology

The Sears Building in Marshall offered us a unique experience recently. They asked Texas State Technical College as well as East Texas Baptist University and Panola College to set up displays in several of their windows. Our window is a salute to women in technology. We have Juanita the welder, Lucy the lineman, and a safety lady displayed for all to see. We thought this would be a good way to advertise that TSTC is for women too. If you have a chance drive by and check it out. It is on the corner of N.Washington and Hwy 80.

Need extra cash?

If you are needing some extra cash for the holidays look no further than the campus bookstore. The bookstore is in the process of buying back books from students. At this time, they are accepting buybacks from 9am -3pm. Students must have their receipt or they will only be paid the wholesale price. For books that are not going to be used by our instructors next semester, the wholesale price is the amount that will be paid to the student. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the bookstore at (903)923-3396. Hurry, the book buyback ends Thursday!

Welcome Back

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Maybe it was just the break you needed before finals. Now is the time for everyone to settle in and make that last push towards the end of the year. Don't forget that the Student Learning Center is there for students who might need a little help.

Veteran's Appreciation Day

We hosted our first Veteran's Appreciation Day to recognize our veterans in the community as well as our students, staff, and faculty.

Our President, Randy Wooten, officiated the ceremony. We had a special guest speaker, Vernon B. Lewis, Retired Army Major General.

Booths were set up from the local veterans agencies to offer information regarding military benefits, such as:

VA Hospital (Shreveport, LA)-They were available for any questions regarding health care as well as offering counseling services to our veterans.

Texas Veterans Land Board- They were here to offer information on how veterans can use their military benefits for home mortgage and/or remodeling as well as many other benefits.

US Army Reserve Recruitment- They were here to offer information on how students can earn extra money while attending school by joining the Army Reserve.

Department of Veterans Affairs- They offered a wide range of information on Health care, home loans, life insurance, education, training, and more.

Family Readiness Group (FRG)- Dawn Cunningham, a TSTC student sponsored this group. She works with them to provide information to veterans.

Overall, we had an excellent turnout. The interest was so great, we are in the process of starting a Student Veterans Association. If you would like more information on this, you may contact Pam Evans or Dawn Cunningham.

Financial Aid

My boss just handed me an updated Federal Student Aid Grant Programs Fact Sheet. The name itself is intimidating! It made me think that with all this information there must be people out there that are really confused. If you are one of those people, please, feel free to contact our Financial Aid Office. They will be able to walk you through everything, from the application process to any problems you may encounter long after the money has arrived. Call us at (903)935-1010.

Industry Career Day

Our Fall semester Industry Career Day was on October 29th. Twenty five Industry Partners were scheduled to be present but 27 showed up! That is a fantastic showing! If you follow the news, you are aware that many companies are not hiring. This just proves, once again, that Texas State Technical College graduates go to work!
Industry Career Day is a bi-annual event we have at TSTC. We invite industries in our area who are hiring new employees, as well as inviting educational institutions in case our TSTC graduates want to continue there education once they finish with us.
Our Spring Industry Career Day is already scheduled for March 25, 2010.
See you there.

Breast Cancer Awareness

Student Activities recently hosted PINK OUT DAY in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Students, faculty, and staff bought pink HOPE shirts to show their support. We had a lunch, a speaker, and a campus wide picture in our HOPE t-shirts. Our speaker was Cathy Fontaine, a former student, a current TSTC employee, and a breast cancer survivor. This event and the HOPE t-shirt display the unity that TSTC Marshall has in our HOPE that a cure is discovered to destroy this disease.

Showcase: Tim Goodchild

When people think about Texas State Technical College, the first thought that comes to mind is usually Technology, most people wouldn't immediately think artists.

Don't get me wrong, that is a great thing. We have spent considerable time and energy promoting that idea. Yet, we have some very talented and artistic students here as well that may sometime get overlooked.

Tim Goodchild is one such student. This is his last semester in our Multimedia program. Basically, in our Multimedia program students learn about graphic design as well as audio and video editing and Tim has had ample opportunity to put his skills to work. In his time here at TSTC, he has designed logos for various clubs, designed book covers, flyers, and powerpoints, and in his spare time he has designed not one, but two album covers!

I asked Tim why he decided on the Multimedia program and he said, " It is the most open field out there. You can design boxes for cereal companies, design billboards, design logos, take pictures for websites....there is just a lot of variety."

In addition, you can see more of Tim's designs and pictures in the Internet Cafe.

Seeing is Believing

I spend most of my time visiting area schools and speaking to the students about TSTC. I tell the students about our campuses in Harlingen, Waco,and Sweetwater, as well as Marshall. I explain our programs and give them other relevant information. Yet, in my opinion, seeing is believing.
I enjoy it when people stop by TSTC to get information. When they are brought to my office, I immediately ask them if they have time for a tour. I enjoy showing people our labs while I am telling them about our programs. A tour of our campus can really help a prospective student understand what we are doing here at TSTC.
If anyone is interested in touring our campus, feel free to contact the Admissions Office and set a date!

Diesel Equipment Technology

Arliss Elkins- Diesel Equipment Technology Instructor

I am proud to announce that we have our first piece of equipment from WPI/Komatsu on campus.It is a WB142 Loader/Backhoe. WPI is short for Waukesha-Pearce Industries. The Komatsu equipment line has been in North America since 1970. They manufacture and market a full line of construction equipment. The line includes excavators, wheel loaders, dozers, off-highway trucks, motor graders, skid steers, tractor loaders, and backhoe loaders. They range in size from mini-equipment to some of the worlds largest equipment.The piece on our campus is on loan to Texas State Technical College, because of that we will get new equipment rotated in and out. WPI is committed to helping the Diesel Equipment Technology Department grow. Please, feel free to come by and look at the new equipment that our students are going to be tearing down and , more importantly, rebuilding.

Student Ambassadors

Today, Aaron Norman is going to blog about our Student Ambassadors. He is uniquely qualified since he is President of the organization this semester.

Student Ambassadors is an elite organization on our campus. Members are required to maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5. Our duties are to assist faculty and staff at New Student Orientations, we assist recruiters in aquiring new students, and generally help assimilate new students into their TSTC surroundings. Currently, we have fifteen members.

As a member of Student Ambassadors, we have many opportunities to get involved that other students might not. For example, my most memorable experience was assisting with Tech Trek 09. Tech Trek is a summer camp that TSTC has for high school students. In addition to several experiments and activities on campus, we take the visiting students on several field trips. On one trip,we took the students to Shreveport, Louisiana. They got the opportunity to go to Sci-Port and visit Barksdale Airforce Base. I really enjoyed Barksdale! We were able to board some planes and sit in the cockpits. We were "debriefed" by an Air Force Officer that spoke about the technological breakthroughs the military is establishing, and we were able to see future police dogs train.

Overall, I describe being a Student Ambassador as a serious responsibility with loads of fun sprinkled throughout. If you are interested in becoming a Student Ambassador, you need to make sure you are in good academic standing with the school and then contact Debra McIntosh at (903)923-3205.

Being Successful - Is There An App For That?

OK, there are a lot of smart people in this world; even a lot of motivated people and a few clever ones here and there. This week I had the opportunity to interview someone who has all three of these characteristics, TSTC student Robb McMahan.

A little history about Robb: He first moved to Marshall, Texas from Tennessee because he was doing website production for Kenny Wayne Shepherd, blues/rock guitarist from Shreveport, Louisiana. He started working for the Marshall News Messenger as their Website Producer and continued to share his knowledge of the music business by mentoring local musicians and songwriters in east Texas. On a whim one day, he decided to stop at Texas State Technical College and was escorted right to my office. He told me he wanted to take a couple of programming classes (C++ & Java) but really wasn’t after college credit. I signed him up through Continuing Education and off he went. About a year later, he showed back up and said he had really enjoyed those classes and wanted to get the entire A.A.S. degree in Software Engineering. He’s been going to school ever since and will graduate Fall 2009.

Well, Robb enjoys programming so much that earlier this year he sent himself to two programming workshops. One was in San Francisco and taught how to create applications for the iphone. The other was in Salt Lake City and focused on the 3D gaming platform Unity. Shortly after attending these workshops, Robb released his first iphone application, a game entitled Spacewalk 3D. Apple approved the game and began selling it in the iphone store. Since that time, Robb has created 5 more iphone applications, one of which is a mirror, or reflective device, that can change colors or be used as a flashlight. Instead of selling this application, Robb offers it for free in the iphone store. Why would he do something like that? “I make more money off of that application than any of the ones I sell. People pay me to place an ad on the application. Right now, the mirror app has been in the top 100 downloads in the itunes store and is about to be in the top 50.” The profit he’s making from the advertising well makes up for not charging people to download. And downloading the mirror app is exactly what 8,000 people world-wide are doing each day, not counting the 20,000 ad views that he’s getting on those banner ads people pay him for!

So what I wanted to know was whether or not Robb felt that his education at TSTC had helped him in these new ventures. I was not disappointed. “What I learned here was definitely the foundation to everything else I’ve learned. I learned the foundations of programming, the languages and the concepts. Plus, I absolutely love the faculty here. I can’t say enough about the program or Phyllis Hollingshead. Her dedication to her students is unmatched,” says McMahan. He marvels at how Ms. Hollingshead is able to get very difficult concepts across in a variety of ways.

He also credits Greg McDaniel, his Algebra and Trigonometry instructor, with helping to develop one of his apps, Mood Almanac. The purpose of this piece of software is to calculate a person’s bio-rhythms and predict what kind of mood they’re going to be in on a certain day. Robb was having trouble getting the calculation to work so he went to his instructor. McDaniel gave him a trigonometry function that worked like a charm!

Robb’s other apps include Twitpickr, used to see updates to friends’ Twitpic accounts, Photo Finder & Background Buddy, that use Flickr as their search engines. Now you understand why I said he was not only smart but motivated and clever!

It’s all three of those characteristics that have gotten him to his next big adventure, moving to California and going to work for TCS, a third-party contractor for Apple. He will actually be working at Apple headquarters near San Jose, California. Robb said since it was getting close to graduation, he went to monster.com and updated his resume to include his iphone app development. Calls from prospective employers started the very next morning and are still coming in at an average of 2 a day. He is excited and ready for his big move, even though the company has been very hush-hush about what he’s actually going to be doing. His title is Senior Software Developer but all he knows is he’ll be working on something “really big” that Apple plans to release in 2010.

As far as advice for others thinking of going into software development, Robb says, “The profession is a really good one to be in. Technology is always advancing. Just think about it, just two years ago, we didn’t have iphones. You do need to be detailed and patient to write code.” He also says that this career is definitely for someone who likes working at and with computers. They might find some of the programming concepts difficult at first but will probably catch on. “I could probably go look back at the first program I wrote and laugh. I never dreamed when I started taking classes that it would lead to this,” he chuckled.

Enrollment

We are extremely happy with our increased enrollment this fall. Following is an article that appeared in the Marshall News Messenger on September 19, 2009:

Texas State Technical College-Marshall has set a new student enrollment record.

School officials say a total of 973 students have registered at the college this fall semester. TSTC Dean of Enrollment Management Suzanne Carter said 946 students were enrolled on campus last year.

Of the students who registered for classes beginning Aug. 31, 252 were new students, 464 were returning students and 257 were dual-credit students.

Ms. Carter said the institution has seen a 20 percent increase in new degree and certificate students and a 24 percent increase in returning students.

"Our labs, classrooms and parking lots are full and we have seen a significant increase in students living on campus," said Ms. Carter.

Although enrollment numbers increased by 27 students from last fall, the change falls short of the enrollment numbers Ms. Carter had predicted in the summer.

Ms. Carter said previously she felt student enrollment could possibly exceed 1,000.

Ms. Carter said there were a number of contributing factors to the rise in enrollment, including the current job market and unemployment rate, an increase in the amount of funds from the Pell Grant and "expanded recruitment territories with increased emphasis on career and technology students in high schools and dual credit" programs.

Expounding on the impact of the Pell Grant, Ms. Carter said the increase has allowed students to be less dependent on student loans as they are able to use more of the money to pay for student costs such tuition, fees, books, school supplies and campus housing.

Ms. Carter said, in addition, the college has seen a rise in the number of unemployed workers enrolled at the school, meaning more students have been eligible to receive educational benefits from the Workforce Investment Act and Trade Adjustment Assistance programs — two federally funded programs for displaced workers. The funds are administered through local workforce enters.

Ms. Carter said laid-off workers from such companies as General Motors in Shreveport, La., U.S. Steel in Lone Star and Dana Corporation in Longview currently are enrolled at TSTC.

When I Grow Up, I Wanna Be A....

Today's guest blogger is Ann Scoggin, Admissions Advisor/Recruiter. We hope her post makes you stop and think, "Do I really know what all is required to go into my "dream" occupation?"

Traveling is a major part of my job. I travel to many cities and many schools and speak to many students. One of the first questions I ask is if they have any plans after they graduate. Basically, what do you want to be when you grow up? I encourage each and every student I meet to chase their dreams; yet, I also think it is important to fully understand those dreams and the amount of work required to accomplish those dreams. In this blog, I would like to highlight some of the answers and explore some of the professions in depth.

One occupation that I hear, rather consistently, is Marine Biology. It sounds interesting but what is it? Usually, when I ask the student what they plan to do in that field, I get a shrug and some mumbling about dolphins. So, I looked it up. Loosely, it is defined as the field of knowledge relating to marine organisms. Digging a little deeper, I found this definition: A marine biologist is someone who works in some way studying, observing, protecting, or managing marine organisms, be they plant or animal.

It turns out marine biologist can hold a variety of jobs and very few of them have anything to do with dolphins (they are actually marine mammalogists). Marine biologists can be a:
-Teacher in a university or high school
-Researcher
-Laboratory Technician
-Resource manager for public agencies (the EPA for example)
-Technician or field worker in consulting company
-Biologist working for environmental advocacy organization
-Biologist working in aquarium or zoo

For instance, The National Aquarium in Baltimore is currently looking for an Aquarist. The individual will be required to provide assigned specimens with day-to-day care. They must maintain exhibits and equipment. They are expected to participate in the acquisition, disposition, and acclimation of specimens. They will participate in the design and construction of exhibits and reserve tanks. Plus, they will be responsible for directing approximately two hundred volunteer divers who help maintain and feed animals. That sounds like a really interesting job. Let’s take a look at the requirements.

The individual selected for this job must have a bachelor’s degree in Biology, Oceanology, or a related field. The person must be SCUBA certified and have at least one year of experience. They must have knowledge of aquatic biology, basic chemistry, and the ability to apply them. In addition, they must be proficient in aquatic diseases, husbandry techniques, life-support technology, and basic aquarium maintenance.

In my research, I found an article by an instructor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. He stated that any individuals interested in this field need to take classes, starting in high school, that deal with biology, chemistry, physics, math, engineering, hydrodynamics, climate studies, computer skills, and writing. He also stated that the field is very competitive and that most employed marine biologist have master degrees and Ph.D’s.

I understand why people are so fascinated with Marine Biology. If that interests you and you are regimented enough to tackle the curriculum, I applaud you. On the other hand, if you would just like to work at an aquarium and get to see dolphins and other marine organisms on a daily basis, perhaps, Industrial Maintenance would be a nice fit for you. TSTC in Marshall offers this degree in both the form of a one year Certificate of Completion and a two year Associate of Applied Science Degree. You would know how to work on all the pumps, compressors, and valves that make up the habitats that the aquatic creatures call home. Granted, Shamu might not be jumping out of the water to grab his lunch out of your hand, but, you could be there, daily, for the show!

If you have no idea what career you should go into, contact TSTC for a free career assessment. You can take an interest inventory, skills assessment and values assessment and then we’ll sit down with you to evaluate the results. There’s a right fit for everybody and we want to help find the right fit for you!

Let's Talk About Moodle!

TSTC has recently transitioned to using Moodle for our online course delivery. To talk about Moodle, today's guest blogger is Bryan Maertins, Coordinator of Educational Technology:

As many of you know, over the past three years TSTC has used the Blackboard Vista learning management system for our hybrid and online courses. However, as of 1 September 2009, we now use the open-source product, Moodle, as the main source for online content. “Open-source” simply means that the programming code is available to anyone who wants to use and modify it, which means that the ideas of many can be used to make the product better. Moodle, currently, is in more than one-hundred-sixty-eight countries world-wide, utilizes various languages and is gaining ground in popularity and usability for many colleges and universities around the globe. I guess, the most compelling question asked by users, perhaps, is “What does ‘Moodle’ stand for?,” or “What’s a noodle, I mean a Moodle?” Well, I’m glad you asked… Moodle stands for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, which represents the creator Martin Dougimas’ belief that if you put people together who interact with their environment, great things happen and the student begins to construct his/her own learning through various experiences and interaction (see Martin Dougimas' philosophy).

So, now that you know a little bit about this new transition, check it out. Your online courses can now be found at: https://mycourses.tstc.edu/ or by clicking Marshall Moodle on the Marshall DL tab from the MyTSTC portal.

Happy Moodling!

Student Receives Presidential Coin

According to Wikipedia, a challenge coin (aka military coin) is a small coin or medallion bearing an organization’s insignia or emblem and is carried by the organization’s members. They are given to prove membership when challenged and to enhance morale. The tradition of military coins is said to have started with the United States Air Service (now the United States Air Force)during World War I and then spread to all other branches of the military. Some argue that they began earlier and some say later. Whatever the true origin, military coins have become quite significant to the modern U.S. military.

With this background in mind, it is no surprise that our President, Randy Wooten, also known as Retired Air Force Colonel Wooten, has minted his own Presidential coin. President Wooten does not bestow this award to just anyone, and it's especially rare for a student to receive one. Today, Alyssa Langford became the 3rd TSTC Marshall student to receive this honorable token from the President. She was given her coin in front of Wooten's Presidential Council for her graphic design contributions to the college. Some of these designs include computer wallpaper, various student activities and most recently, the new banners that hang from our campus lightpoles.

Alyssa just started her fourth semester here as a full time Multimedia Publishing student. She actually began taking classes with us as a dual credit student and was able to finish most of her academic requirements while still in high school. Her contributions to our campus are definitely worthy of recognition and we know she'll be successful in whatever she decides to do after obtaining her degree. And as a side note, this author is especially proud of her because she is my daughter! Congratulations Alyssa!

The End of Another Semester

Last night was our Summer Graduation Recognition Ceremony; a time that's all about acknowledging those students who finish their studies in the summer and who may or may not choose to come back in December to officially "walk" across the stage. Last night was really what it's all about - seeing our students "finish", or at least reach one educational goal they've set for themselves. Many of our graduates couldn't make it to the ceremony because they're already working! How awesome is that! One of our graduates even had his employer there to congratulate him. They had nothing but positive comments about his skills and his character. They've even scheduled time next week to stop production at the plant and give him a graduation party. This was very meaningful to me personally because I vividly remember when this young man came to College Preview Day to find out more about our school. Now to see him, two short years later, in a job he enjoys and is exceptional at doing (words from his employer), makes me proud to work in higher education and especially at TSTC! We are changing lives one student at a time!

Career & Placement Center Opens!

Today was a grand day for Vanessa Davis, Placement Director at TSTC Marshall! Her long awaited Career & Placement Center officially opened this afternoon with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by the TSTC Chancellor, Board of Regents, College Presidents, city/county dignitaries and our campus community. Ms. Davis, with a smile on her face, proclaimed, "This has been a long time coming!"

So what exactly is the Career & Placement Center?
The Center will be a resource for our students as they prepare to go out into the workplace and start their new careers. They'll learn skills like resume preparation, interviewing and career searching. Ms. Davis will also offer career counseling and will also serve as the bridge that connects our students to industry. Some of her future plans include starting a Placement discussion group for students looking for jobs. She's also working on an e-newsletter for industry to keep them up-to-date on what's happening at TSTC.

And why is this an important resource?
We know our students are NOT going to school JUST for the fun of it. The end goal is for them to get a job and be successful. Getting a good job, especially in today's economic uncertainy, requires more than just the technical skills they learn in the classroom. It requires knowing how to sell themselves - through their resume, e-portfolio, interview, etc. And it takes knowing where and how to search for a job. With these skills, along with their technical education, our students will be ready to make a good impression on potential employers when it comes time.
Job placement will also be paramount to the success of the new TSTC paradigm - shifting from being funding by the State based on contact hours to being funded based on success (student placement) and the value that TSTC adds to the Texas economy. So when we say, "your success is our success", we mean it literally! This new paradigm was recently approved for study by the Texas Legislature. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board will research the feasibility of a funding model based on returned value to be used in calculating formula funding for TSTC.

Another Service of the Career & Placement Center:
If you go to http://www.marshall.tstc.edu/ and click on "Employers Click Here" you'll see our online CSO (Career Service Office) that allows employers from across the State who are scouting technicians to post job openings and allows students throughout the TSTC System to view them. Students can upload their resumes for the employers to view and apply for jobs.

Where is the Center located?
The Career & Placement Center is located right inside the Visitor's Entry of the South Building in Room 248. For more information regarding placement or the services offered at the Career & Placement Center, contact Vanessa Davis at 903.923.3375 or e-mail her at vanessa.davis@marshall.tstc.edu.

Photos:
And finally, here are some photos from today's ribbon cutting ceremony taken by Multimedia student Alyssa Langford.

Summer Graduation Recognition

The Marshall campus of TSTC currently holds two graduation ceremonies per year - one in the Fall and one in the Spring. But that doesn't mean we don't take time to recognize the accomplishments of our Summer graduates. Not only do we invite them to take part in the Fall ceremony following their last semester, we also host a Graduate Recognition Ceremony for them. We invite all our Summer graduates, their family and friends plus our campus community to attend this celebratory event. This year's ceremony will be on Tuesday, August 18th at 6:00 p.m. in Room 515 of the South Building. After the ceremony, a reception will follow. The address is 2650 East End Blvd., South, Marshall, TX 75672 should you be interested in attending. (Photos will be posted afterward!)

We're so proud of our graduates! In the Admissions/Recruiting area, it's especially rewarding to meet the students when they walk through our doors for the first time and then a couple years later watch them walk across the stage towards their new careers. When a TSTC graduate becomes successful, the entire TSTC family shares in that success!

Fall Enrollment!

Although we have at least 2 more New Student Orientation sessions to go, the outlook for Fall Enrollment is great! Here's an article from the Longview News Journal on August 10th talking about the possible record breaking enrollment we're about to have:

Texas State Technical College may top 1,000 students

CHARLES IYOHOMarshall News Messenger

An unpredictable economy, the lure of landing a highly-specialized position and the introduction of in-demand programs are a few reasons TSTC Enrollment Dean Suzanne Carter expects student enrollment to top 1,000 this fall. About 946 students were enrolled at the school last fall. "Assuming high numbers for the dual-credit students, we'll certainly exceed 1,000," said Ms. Carter. "I'd hate to predict, but I'd like to think we might be close to 1,200 if we include our dual-credits, but that's yet to be determined."

School officials are predicting a significant enrollment increase based on pre-registration and new student orientation numbers. Ms. Carter said she expects the number of new students to be double that of last year. The number of returning students currently enrolled at TSTC has also increased by a large percentage.

Ms. Carter believes the trend may be attributed to a number of factors, such as local residents that have been laid off from work looking for a fresh start in a well-paying industry.

School officials say the recruitment efforts of staff members and opportunities for students to receive both unemployment education benefits from the federal government and benefits from Texas Workforce Commission have also caused enrollment numbers to swell. "It's typical when you have a downturn in the economy and unemployment rates are high that college enrollment is going to be high also," said Ms. Carter. "It's a direct correlation between the two." The introduction of new programs at TSTC has also played a factor. Programs such as the electrical lineman, biomedical technology, software engineering, welding and diesel programs have been in such high demand that TSTC officials have not been able to accommodate all students who apply.

Ms. Carter says the school received about 40 applications for the electrical lineman program alone and won't take any more students until next summer. The program is limited to 15 students due to its structure, which includes internships and practical training opportunities on the school's utility training yard. "I'm afraid we can't serve all of our students \— it's a wonderful problem to have," said Ms. Carter. "We'll be looking at trying to help them in some other degree programs that they may not have considered but that would be highly skilled and have good benefits."

Ms. Carter says the boost in enrollment numbers is a sign that more residents are seeing the advantages of what a two-year technical institution has to offer as opposed to going the traditional route. "I think it's gratifying to see that the good work that we've been doing now, to carry the message of the value of technical education, is being realized out in the workforce," said Ms. Carter. "I think that we will see enrollment growth that comes not only as a part of a downturn in the economy but because of our ability to showcase the value of technical education. I think you're going to see more people be aware that's where the jobs are."

Welcome to our Blog!

If you're reading this, you're taking part in a history-making moment! You're reading the very first blog post for the Marshall, Texas location of Texas State Technical College! This blog is managed by the Enrollment Management department of the college but the topics will be wide and varied! If you'd like to suggest a topic, feel free to leave us a comment. If you want more information about our school, visit www.marshall.tstc.edu and explore away! You can even request information from us and we'll send it to you. You can also find us at www.facebook.com/tstcmarshall, www.myspace.com/tstcmarshall and www.twitter.com/tstcmarshall.

Thanks for reading and for telling your friends about us too!