(MARSHALL, Texas) – D’Angelo Thomas of Longview made the commitment and stuck with it.
Thomas chose to attend Texas State Technical College’s Marshall campus because he wanted to do something different in his life. He previously worked in the oil and gas field and was a commercial truck driver before enrolling.
He chose the Industrial Systems program because of its diversity of subjects. Students in the four-semester associate degree program learn about basic electrical theory, blueprint sketching, commercial wiring, compressors, pumps and other topics.
“I had some understanding about industrial systems coming from the oil field,” he said. “But in coming to TSTC and being in classes, it opened my eyes to more of how everything goes.”
Thomas is a candidate for graduation this spring with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Industrial Systems – Electrical Specialization.
Thomas said he enjoyed learning about hydraulics and pneumatics and is grateful to TSTC’s staff for fitting in classes around his work schedule.
Edward Chaney, an instructor in TSTC’s Industrial Systems program, said Thomas has been a wonderful student to teach.
“He has shared some of his past with me and he has been down some bad roads,” Chaney said. “He has turned all that around to do his best to be a good father and husband. He is very respectful and a joy to spend time with in or out of the classroom. He is always respectful.”
Thomas has worked for nine months at Advanced Technology Services Inc., which has a contract with TrinityRail in Longview. He uses equipment manuals and searches online to learn in-depth information on how the company’s machines operate.
Thomas said he and his co-workers are the ones who are called on to troubleshoot problems and get equipment back up and running.
“Every piece of equipment is challenging, I would say,” he said.
Thomas grew up in Longview and he was active in sports at Longview High School. At that time of his life, college was not on his mind.
“As I got older, I started thinking more about things like that,” he said.
Motivation is easy for Thomas to find.
“It is my family, but I have just been the kind of person that always wants to do something,” he said.
For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.
