(SWEETWATER, Texas) – Juan Trujillo thought about becoming a doctor. But after touring Texas State Technical College’s Sweetwater campus, he changed his mind.
Trujillo said the Diesel Equipment Technology program caught his attention.
After deciding not to focus on medicine as a career, he turned to his first love: vehicles. He will graduate in the fall with an Associate of Applied Science degree, but he has future plans in mind.
“I want to go back to college and get my business degree. I want to open my own business,” he said. “I know I will have a job. How do they get the windmills out here? Diesel. How does Walmart get things to the stores? Diesel. Diesel moves the world.”
Trujillo, a graduate of Grape Creek High School in San Angelo, said he was impressed with the automotive industry because his father drives trucks across the country.
“I have always loved vehicles. I love to work on my own vehicles,” he said of his 2000 Chevrolet Corvette and 2020 Yamaha YZF-R3 motorcycle.
His passion for vehicles also grew by watching a certain movie franchise.
“I grew up watching the ‘Fast & Furious’ movies and have loved cars. I wanted to start working on them,” he said. “My dad would always let me help him work on the trucks. He would let me change things or tighten stuff. I learned to enjoy it.”
The one difference Trujillo sees during his lab sessions and working on his Corvette is easy to describe.
“These trucks are a lot different from gas engines. Plus, the equipment is heavier,” he said.
Trujillo said the best part of the TSTC program is working in the labs.
“We can read in the textbook all day, but getting in there and working on the trucks is the best thing. I like to put the things I learned from the books to use,” he said. “The labs are like having a job. The instructors are always there, willing to help you.”
Registration for the fall semester is underway. For more information, go to tstc.edu.
