What factored into you choosing Precision Machining Technology to study at TSTC?

I chose the Precision Machining Technology program because my uncle is a machinist in Mississippi who has been running his own business for more than 20 years. When I was taking welding classes, I talked multiple times to Tim Hemesath, an instructor in TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology program. I knew just by his positive attitude and how much he cared for his students that he could make the classes fun and I would still graduate with another trade under my belt.

What did you enjoy about the Precision Machining Technology program?

I have enjoyed all the people I have met throughout the program and the machines I have had the opportunity to use. I have really enjoyed how patient and dedicated my instructors were to make sure we all had the right information and tools for class. I cannot thank Mr. Hemesath enough for what he has done. He has been a huge help from day one. From when I started in the program never having touched a machine to where I am today, including the job I have now, I truly could not have done it without him. Anyone who is unsure about Precision Machining Technology or really does not know much about it should definitely check it out and research it.

What advice would you give to high school students interested in pursuing the machining field?

High school students looking into machining should listen, take notes and ask the instructor for help. Machining seems scary at first because it is a lot to take in, but with time, you will feel confident and do it with ease. You will scrap parts and mess up because everyone does. I messed up a lot my first semester, but it’s all a learning lesson and will make you a better machinist in the end. Don’t be afraid to take that leap.

What motivates you in life?

The thing that motivates me the most are the goals I have for myself and my family. I could not be where I am without their help.

Machinists in Texas make a yearly median salary of more than $46,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, which adds that Texas will need more than 29,000 machinists by 2028.

TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology program is part of the Money-Back Guarantee. Students in their first semester are eligible to sign up for free with campus Career Services representatives. Over the course of their training at TSTC, students attend workshops to learn about resume writing, interview techniques and other employment skills. Students who are not hired in their field within six months after graduation may be eligible to get a tuition refund for their time at TSTC.

For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

Lissa Adams, provost of TSTC’s East Williamson County campus, was excited for the first in-person TSTC commencement ceremony to be held in two years. Friday marked the first time that the campus’ ceremony has not taken place at TSTC’s location at the East Williamson County Higher Education Center in Hutto.

“This is really a big milestone for us,” Adams said. “Not only have we outgrown our space, but the excitement and energy are palatable.”

Scott Kerwood, fire chief for Hutto Fire Rescue, was the guest speaker and asked the graduates if their “tassel was worth the hassle.” He also asked the graduates to think about why they chose to attend TSTC and their program of study.

“The opportunities that await you are endless,” Kerwood said. 

Several graduates already have jobs, while others are making plans for the future. 

Caroline King, of Round Rock, earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in Culinary Arts last spring but chose to walk across the stage on Friday.

“It’s a milestone in my life to graduate,” she said.

King is a sous-chef-in-training at Marriott Austin North.

“It’s a lot of hard work and long hours, but it is totally rewarding,” she said. “I say food makes the world go around. It brings everybody together.”

Peter Wilson, of Georgetown, received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Industrial Systems – Mechanical Specialization. His internship at ICU Medical in Austin has turned into a full-time maintenance position that he will begin Monday.

“In the maintenance world, you will never be without a job,” Wilson said. “It comes in handy at home too.”

Stephen Cooper, of Giddings, received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Industrial Systems – Mechanical Specialization.

Cooper said TSTC has been a good place for him to learn in-depth and take part in hands-on training. He said he would miss his Industrial Systems instructors and their quality teaching.

TSTC has also helped him find his career path.

“I am just excited about options, as far as jobs go,” Cooper said.

For more information, log on to tstc.edu.

“Many companies are experiencing turnovers due to natural attrition or retirement and are having trouble finding technicians to fill those spots,” said Edward Chaney, Texas State Technical College’s statewide chair of the Industrial Systems department.

During the month of October, Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area in Cedar Park received listings for more than 50 openings for industrial machinery mechanics, machinists and millwrights in its nine-county region. Some of the companies seeking workers included Amentum, GMT Corp. and Greenbush Logistics. These jobs call for workers to have knowledge in aerial lifts, gauges, lathes, manufacturing and mathematics.

Jeff Rodriguez, an industrial account executive at Tradesmen International in Austin, said he has never seen such high demand for electricians, mechanics and welders.

“There is a lot of work, and a lot of our clients are reaching out to us with positions that we are filling,” he said. “I think what is going on in the industry now is there is more work than people ready to work.”

Rodriguez said some companies are dealing with the realities of the economy: as job site materials increase in cost, workers need to be assessed at a value that enables them to still make a good living. He recommends that people going into technical fields get as much training as possible and go to work quickly.

“Now is the time for you to have the job you want,” Rodriguez said.

Anthony Fiumara, shop foreman at M&H Machining in Georgetown, said the business has a sign out front seeking job applicants.

“We are having an extremely challenging time, but everybody is,” he said. “I have friends at other shops who have said everybody is looking to hire machinists right now.”

Fiumara credits this to a shortage of skilled workers, along with some applicants not following through on the application process.

“(There) has never been a better time to be a machinist because of all the opportunities coming into our area,” he said. “It’s a great time to be getting in the field.”

Bob Farley, director of economic development for the city of Hutto, said the city has attracted its share of advanced manufacturing ventures in recent years. He said it takes a continuous education and communication process aimed at young professionals and students to show the viable career paths they can take locally.

“Those types of jobs that come along generally pay well, support families that want to buy houses and raise kids, and drive other opportunities in the service sector,” he said. “Right now, I am pleased by what we are seeing. All I can say is, as long as the Austin market remains as desirable as it has become, you will see extremely high-quality prospects on the northeast side of the market.”

At its East Williamson County campus, TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Industrial Systems – Mechanical Specialization and a certificate of completion in Industrial Systems Mechanic, and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Precision Machining Technology and a certificate of completion in Machining.

Both programs are part of TSTC’s Money-Back Guarantee program. Students in their first semester are eligible to sign up for free with campus Career Services representatives. Students are able to take part in workshops learning about resume writing, interview techniques and other employment skills.

Students who are not hired in their field within six months after graduation may be eligible to get a tuition refund for their time at TSTC.

For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

Aguilera is a certificate of completion candidate for December graduation in the Culinary Arts program at Texas State Technical College in East Williamson County.

He has enjoyed learning how to cook different recipes while at TSTC.

“I was never really into baking, but when they (the instructors) taught me the steps, it got me a bit more interested in it,” Aguilera said. “It was complicated at first because there are different methods, but it was really fun to bake.”

Nelson Adams, associate provost at TSTC in East Williamson County, has enjoyed watching Aguilera’s progress.

“During his time at TSTC, he has showcased his artistic and creative genius in plate designs,” Adams said. “His confidence in the kitchen is equally matched by his confidence in himself.”

Aguilera balances classes with working part time as a prep cook at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa outside Austin. After graduation, he will become a full-time employee there.

“So far, they (the hotel kitchen staff) have taught me what it means to work in a tightly spaced environment,” Aguilera said.

Aguilera, a graduate of Cedar Creek High School, became interested in cooking when he was in high school. One of his favorite dishes to cook is picadillo, a Mexican beef and potato stew, based on a recipe from his mother.

His goal after graduation is to open a food truck, but first he wants to get more experience at the hotel before venturing out to do other things in the culinary field.

Aguilera said his advice for high school students interested in pursuing culinary arts is not to be afraid to ask questions.

TSTC’s Fall 2021 Commencement will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10, at Kalahari Resorts and Conventions at 3001 Kalahari Blvd. in Round Rock.

For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

“It’s really huge for our program,” said Lance Antilley, lead instructor in TSTC’s Industrial Systems program at the East Williamson County campus. “ICU Medical pays very well, and we have had a lot of guys that have come through the program that work there. It is really big for recruiting as well.”

Four TSTC students are currently doing apprenticeships this semester at the company. Antilley said the apprenticeships are a great way for the students to earn money while going to classes.

For Dalton Milligan, ICU Medical’s maintenance manager, it comes down to attracting the right workers to the company.

“It is very difficult with the competition in the area,” he said.

Milligan said the partnership enables selected TSTC Industrial Systems students in their fourth semester to work at the company as apprentices to learn about the company’s operations, along with preventive maintenance and troubleshooting.

“I think for my organization, we can demonstrate the things we do here,” he said. “In manufacturing, you think of wrench turning, but here we have a lot of automation, robotics, programmable logic controllers, and a lot of cool things to design and develop certain components as well.”

Milligan said if the students exhibit good potential, the apprenticeship could lead to full-time employment upon graduation and a quicker period to get acclimated to the company’s work.

TSTC in East Williamson County offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Industrial Systems – Mechanical Specialization and a certificate of completion in Industrial Systems Mechanic. The program teaches day classes.

Antilley said this is the first semester that every student in the program is working toward an associate degree.

For more information, go to tstc.edu.

Students can take classes to work toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in Robotics Technology or a certificate of completion in Structural Welding. Some students have already been taking classes to earn a Culinary Assistant certificate.  

“The fact that Hutto students can get a head start to a great future at a local and fine institution such as TSTC in their own hometown is so unique and such a fabulous juncture,” said Megan Hanson, TSTC’s dual enrollment representative for the East Williamson County and Waco campuses.

This year, more than 30 Hutto students will take college-level Culinary Arts classes, while 13 students will take Robotics Technology classes and 10 will take Structural Welding classes, according to school district information.

Travis Clark, the school district’s career and technical education coordinator, said offering Robotics Technology for dual enrollment students for the first time is a continuation of its successful robotics program that starts in elementary school.

“Hutto ISD is always looking for ways to move all Hutto ISD CTE programs toward more industry relevance,” he said. “We take our goal of producing graduates who are ready for college and career seriously.”

Clark said Structural Welding’s offering came by way of a student interest survey.

“Anything that Hutto ISD can do to get a student closer to their career is a positive,” he said. “The ability for the students to graduate from Hutto High School and then enroll on the other side of the highway to complete their program is significant. Then with TSTC’s career services, the return on investment really becomes evident for the student.”

TSTC in East Williamson County is also working with Harlandale High School and Dillard McCollum High School, both in San Antonio, on Automotive Technology certificate classes for dual enrollment students.

Registration continues for the fall semester, with scholarships available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

Students in the Advanced Pastry Shop class were tasked with making almond cake petit fours, opera petit fours, and pate a choux, an egg-based bread for cream puffs, swans and eclairs. Bohannon graded the tasty treats on presentation, including coatings, color and height.

But this was not a problem for Christopher Gonzalez, of Round Rock, a Culinary Specialist certificate candidate for graduation in the Culinary Arts program this summer at TSTC. He was not overwhelmed with the assignment, just like he said he was not on the first day he started classes on campus.

“He is always motivated and excited to be in class,” Bohannon said.

Gonzalez said he has enjoyed getting to know people and learning new recipes at TSTC. He said he enjoyed learning to make pate a choux and vanilla ice cream in his classes.

“Both instructors (Nelson Adams and Bohannon) are the best I have ever met before,” Gonzalez said.

Adams, who is also associate provost of TSTC’s East Williamson County campus, said Gonzalez is a positive influence who makes a big impact in whatever he does.

“He radiates positivity in the kitchen,” Adams said.

Gonzalez’s work ethic has also been put toward the Special Olympics, in which he has taken part for 12 years. He has participated in basketball, bowling, powerlifting, swimming and track events, and this fall he will add flag football.

Gonzalez became interested in culinary arts when hearing about it through the Round Rock Independent School District’s Community Works program, which enables students ages 18 to 21 to gain employment, take part in community recreation activities and use public transportation. Gonzalez is a graduate of Stony Point High School in Round Rock, but he took part in the program after graduation at Cedar Ridge High School in Round Rock.

Art Kalifa has worked with Gonzalez in the Community Works program.

“He never sits down,” Kalifa said. “If he’s not in school, he’s working. If he’s not at work, we go to the gym.”

Gonzalez has a job as a line cook at Kalahari Resorts Texas in Round Rock. He also works with other kitchen staff during the facility’s special events.

Gonzalez wants to pursue an associate degree in TSTC’s Culinary Arts program. His goal is to be a sous-chef and work at the Walt Disney Co. in Florida.

“I know he has a bright future ahead of him,” Kalifa said.

TSTC will have its virtual graduation celebration at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19, on the East Williamson County Higher Education Center Facebook page.

Registration continues for the fall semester, with scholarships available. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

Jacob Algaze, Preston Hackney and Grant Stinson are taking nine weeks of classes in the TSTC Welding Technology program in Hutto. The students are part of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s Bachelor’s+ Program.

Brandon Cernosek, an instructor in TSTC’s Welding Technology program, said the students are great at following directions and have caught on to welding easily.

“They are very driven and very keen to learn,” he said.

Algaze, a Texas A&M Aerospace Engineering major from Round Rock scheduled to graduate in 2023, said his curiosity about welding began last summer when he did an internship at San Antonio-based Chromalloy, where he worked in the engineering shop. He said he enjoyed watching workers perform tungsten inert gas welding. 

Algaze said he is learning by way of the welding classes how important communication is between engineers, machinists and welders. He said this should give him an advantage in the workplace.

“I feel like there will be a second space race in our lifetime,” Algaze said about himself and his classmates. “Being a part of that will be insane.”

Hackney, a Texas A&M Materials Science and Engineering major from Austin scheduled to graduate in 2023, said taking the welding classes is a way for him to gain good technical experience. His career goal involves working with metals.

“It’s a lot better than sitting behind a desk,” he said.

Stinson, a Texas A&M Mechanical Engineering major from Dripping Springs scheduled to graduate in 2022, said taking the welding classes at TSTC enables him to see another side to engineering. He said a technical background will enable him to see better what projects are feasible to complete.

“I want to go into the auto industry and do the design aspect there,” Stinson said.

The Bachelor’s+ Program fulfills the students’ ENGR(x) zero-credit-hour requirement for graduation from Texas A&M. To meet the requirement, the engineering students must participate in an approved engineering-centric activity that meets the criteria of a high-impact learning experience, followed by meaningful self-reflection.

For more information on the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s Bachelor’s+ Program, go to tees.tamu.edu.

For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.

“When the economy is down, the first place that comes back is the machining world,” said Tim Hemesath, an instructor in the Precision Machining Technology program at Texas State Technical College’s East Williamson County campus. “Everything is touched by a CNC (computer numerical control) machine.”

Companies that have hired TSTC program graduates in the past include Athena Manufacturing, One Source Manufacturing, National Oilwell Varco, Cypress Industries and Wolfram Manufacturing, according to TSTC’s Career Services office.

“We have employers coming in looking for people right now,” said Ross Beard, an instructor in TSTC’s Precision Machining Technology program in East Williamson County. “Some students might have a job before they graduate.”

Every TSTC program has a statewide advisory board that gives recommendations on what students need to learn, with the curriculum being adjusted as required. This helps students be more competitive when interviewing for jobs.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website, CNC tool programmers are making a yearly median salary of more than $57,000 in Texas. Jobs are concentrated in the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio areas.

Hemesath said graduates are making up to $27 per hour in the Austin area.

“There are companies moving in that are willing to pay more than in any other part of the state,” he said. “When they are looking for a qualified machinist, they come to us.”

TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Precision Machining Technology and a certificate of completion in Machining. The program offers day classes only.

Registration continues for the fall semester, and scholarships are available. For more information, go to tstc.edu. 

Kristin Burke, Samara Flener and Charli Wright bring decades of professional experience to teach their students to be the best welders they can be.

“Three of the five welding instructors at the East Williamson County campus are women, and they are setting a great example for our students and future generations,” said Lissa Adams, provost of TSTC’s East Williamson County campus. “The more women that choose technical careers, the more encouraged other women and young girls will be to explore these options. Welding is currently one of the top in-demand jobs in our region, making it an attractive and viable career choice.”

Burke, of Georgetown, has been an instructor in TSTC’s Welding Technology program for three years. She was inspired to pursue teaching by the instructors she had at Austin Community College.

“I figured it would be pretty awesome to be able to not only share my passion for welding with my students, but also be able to train the next generation of workers,” she said. “I get to weld all day, and impart knowledge on my students and see that light bulb come on for them.”

Burke became interested in the craft by way of her sister-in-law, Angela Cockrum, who once taught at TSTC’s Waco campus.

“They were offering a free welding program through the Fluor Corp.,” Burke said. “I signed up because I was interested, and as soon as I struck an arc for the first time, I knew welding was what I was meant to do.”

Burke said she looked to Cockrum as a role model because she always looked for the next step to better herself and her career.

“Every move I have made in the welding industry in the last 14 years is a step up from the previous one,” Burke said. “The sky’s the limit, and I strive to make every move better than the last to continue to grow as a person and in my career.”

Before teaching at TSTC, Burke worked in the industry for 14 years, doing power plant work, heavy equipment repair, high-end fabrication, structural welding and metallurgical testing.

“I’m a certified welding inspector, so I have done inspection on structural components for commercial buildings and in a production shop setting,” she said.

Burke said her advice for women curious about welding is for them to know they will have to work harder than everyone else to prove themselves.

“Don’t let that discourage you, though, because you definitely belong here,” she said. “If this is your passion, stick with it because being part of a select few that get to do what they love on a daily basis is amazing.”

Flener, of Austin, has taught for eight years in TSTC’s Welding Technology program.

“I had considered the possibility of teaching at some point and was fortunate enough to be offered an opportunity to come teach at TSTC by a former work colleague that was a TSTC instructor,” she said. “I had the opportunity to pass on my welding skills and experience to the next generation of welders, just as it was passed on to me, by my former teachers.”

Flener first began welding while working at a salmon cannery in summer 1990 in Alaska.

“I immediately fell in love with welding and returned to Austin to attend Austin Community College,” she said.

Flener counts Warren Donworth, her former instructor at ACC, as a role model.

“I learned from him what it means to pursue excellence, be of service to others, and that 90 percent of success is having a positive outlook,” she said.

Flener went on to work for 15 years as a pipe and structural welder and also did fabrication. She also worked for 10 years as an American Welding Society certified inspector, and she still holds the certification.

“I love welding, and I am fortunate that I had the opportunity to pursue welding as a career and am grateful to the women who paved the way for me and the other women in the industry,” Flener said. “I am also grateful to the men who acknowledged my ability and work ethic and who also helped me gain the skills I needed to excel in the trade.”

Wright, who has taught for two years at TSTC after spending four decades in the welding industry, credited Burke and Flener in making the move to the lab 

“Their knowledge of this trade, passion for teaching and willingness and patience with me as a new instructor definitely helped me immensely in transitioning into a teaching role,” Wright said. 

During the month of March, TSTC wants to honor women in history and right on our campuses who work to make strides in STEM fields every day.

“My hope is that more women will begin to see themselves in skilled trades and technical careers and will boldly enhance the opportunity that they provide, including increased earning potential, job choice and career stability,” Adams said. 

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.