(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College is hosting a group of engineering students from Texas A&M University in College Station who are taking classes this summer in Waco.
The students are taking nine weeks of courses focusing on AC and DC circuits and basic programmable logic controllers. The classes are being taught by TSTC’s Robotics Technology faculty. The students are part of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s Bachelor’s+ Program.
“It’s good having them on campus,” said Brandon McMahan, TSTC’s statewide chair of the Robotics Technology program. “It’s a unique experience to teach students from outside of TSTC.”
Milo Feuille, of El Paso, is an Industrial Distribution student scheduled to graduate in 2023 from Texas A&M. Feuille learned about the Bachelor’s+ Program by way of a sign he saw on campus during the spring semester. He said he was glad to learn about the program because he found it challenging to find a summer internship.
Feuille said the summer classes he is taking fit well with the logistics and technical sales lessons he is learning in his major. He has also been paying more attention to how automation is evolving in workplaces.
“I was thinking, in all likelihood if I go the sales route or start my own business, I would deal with automation and need to know how it works,” he said. “Automation is going to make everything more efficient.”
Feuille said it has been refreshing to get his hands on equipment after taking all online classes due to the pandemic.
George Monsivais, of Irving, is majoring in Electronic Systems Engineering Technology and is scheduled to graduate in 2023 from Texas A&M. He learned about the Bachelor’s+ Program from an advisor.
Monsivais said he is eager to expand on his knowledge of AC and DC circuits and build a foundation for using programmable logic controllers in the future.
“It’s been a really good way to spend the summer,” he said.
The Bachelor’s+ Program fulfills the students’ ENGR(x) zero-credit-hour requirement for graduation. 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.
