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.