(RED OAK, Texas) – Working with large diesel equipment is in Cesar Vazquez’s blood.
“I like the noise,” he said. “I have always been in the diesel world. It pays well. There is a shortage of mechanics, so there is job security.”
Vazquez is a candidate for graduation at Texas State Technical College’s Fall 2019 Commencement for the North Texas campus at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9, at the Waxahachie Civic Center. He is scheduled to receive a Diesel Equipment Technology – Heavy Truck certificate of completion.
Vazquez said his favorite hands-on activities in class dealt with engines and transmissions.
TSTC student Jared Bourgeois of Fort Worth met Vazquez in their Diesel Equipment Technology classes. He will graduate in December with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Diesel Equipment Technology.
“He has a lot of knowledge,” Bourgeois said. “He is definitely a leader. He knows what things to get done first.”
Vazquez was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and moved with his family to Texas when he was young. His family lived in Irving before settling in Red Oak.
“I grew up with it since I was 6 years old,” Vazquez said about diesel equipment. “My father had a construction business in Mexico. He’s a truck driver here now.”
Vazquez used self-motivation to start his own business at 16 doing maintenance work on vehicles. He did this while a student at Red Oak High School, where he graduated in 2018.
TSTC student Omar Juarez met Vazquez when they played middle school football in Red Oak. Juarez will graduate in December with a Diesel Equipment Technology – Heavy Truck certificate. Juarez said he admires Vazquez’s work ethic.
“He makes sure things are done correctly,” Juarez said. “He is always pushing other people to get better.”
Next spring, Vazquez will finish an Associate of Applied Science degree in Diesel Equipment Technology – Heavy Truck Specialization and hopes to have his commercial driver’s license by next summer. He also wants to look for a job in Ellis County that would enable him to get more engine experience.
“I want to be someone and be known for something,” Vazquez said. “I have been working hard since I was little.”
For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.
