(HARLINGEN, Texas) – Texas State Technical College hosted state Rep. Janie Lopez, R-San Benito, for a tour of the Harlingen campus on Friday, March 10.
Being a TSTC alumna herself, Lopez said she was excited to return to TSTC.
“I was a first-generation college student who studied bookkeeping at the time,” she said. “It feels great to be back and visit the programs.”
Amanda Posada, provost of TSTC’s Harlingen campus, and Cledia Hernandez, associate vice chancellor for External Relations and Workforce Development, told Lopez about technical programs that are available to students.
The tour began at the Biomedical Equipment Technology program, where Lopez saw how students are training with state-of-the-art equipment that is preparing them for the Texas workforce.
The tour continued in the Wind Energy Technology program, where Lopez learned how students are developing hands-on training techniques for jobs in the wind turbine field.
Lopez also visited the Automotive Technology and Commercial Driver’s License Training programs. She accepted a challenge to drive a tractor-trailer used by the CDL program with the assistance of TSTC Workforce Training Professional Driving Academy instructor Andrew Gonzalez.
Lopez said what TSTC is doing will have a tremendous impact on the Texas workforce.
“TSTC is up to date with the technologies that the industry is requiring right now,” she said. “The hands-on training that TSTC provides will help students to be successful in their future careers.”
Hernandez said it was a pleasure to have Lopez visit the campus.
“TSTC is the state of Texas’s technical training provider,” she said. “Being able to share what TSTC is doing is a means of accountability. It’s an opportunity to share with our elected officials that we are working fervently to fulfill the mission of developing the technical workforce of the state.”
Lopez represents District 37, which includes part of Cameron and all of Willacy counties.
For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.
