(BROWNWOOD, Texas) – Daniel Aguirre, a lifelong resident of Brownwood, is ready to pass his knowledge of welding on to the next generation.
Aguirre will begin his first year as Texas State Technical College’s Welding Technology instructor in Brownwood this fall. This will be his first time teaching welding, and he said he is excited to be part of the TSTC family.
“I have not taught before, so this will be a new experience. The faculty and staff in Brownwood have been so willing to help me,” Aguirre said. “I will learn so much from them because they have been teaching a long time. They have given me so many pointers since I have been here.”
Aguirre has set one goal for himself as an educator.
“I need to balance out my welding experience with what I am going to have to teach from the textbook. There is so much you can learn by doing,” he said. “I will have to incorporate that into my teaching style.”
In Brownwood, Aguirre said students will have a good facility to work in when lab sessions begin.
“We have good equipment in the shop. The students will be able to learn a lot in the lab,” he said.
One thing Aguirre wants students to know is that safety comes first.
“Safety is the top priority. I want them to learn how to be safe in the shop and to work safely on a job,” he said.
According to Aguirre, students will learn what companies expect from welders.
“I want the students to be in the mindset of knowing what it is like to work in the real world,” he said. “If they know what is expected of them, they will be able to succeed.”
That is where Aguirre’s experience will come into play during the year. As a teenager, Aguirre helped his father repair rail cars and later worked for a railroad company repairing cars.
“We would weld the rail cars that were damaged. We would work on them and get them going again,” he said.
After his career in the railroad, Aguirre worked for an oil field company in which he welded equipment. He did that until the welding instruction position opened at TSTC.
“At first, I did not know if I was a good fit, but (former instructor Robert Whitley) talked me into applying,” he said. “We have been buddies for years, and I was eager to try teaching out. There is nothing more gratifying than teaching young welders the tricks of our trade.”
Registration for the fall semester is underway. For more information, go to https://tstc.edu/admissions.
