(NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas) – The first cohort of Texas State Technical College students scheduled to attend classes at the FAME Technical Center in New Braunfels signed letters of intent at a ceremony held Monday, Aug. 21.
The technical center is a partnership between TSTC and the Texas Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (TX FAME) Lone Star Chapter. The technical center is housed at the Central Texas Technology Center located next to the New Braunfels National Airport.
“I think that technical education is certainly important in the region,” said Mike Anderson, TSTC’s vice president of operations at the FAME Technical Center. “I think it’s important for TSTC to have a place in the region.”
The 14-member group will start the fall semester working toward Associate of Applied Science degrees in Industrial Systems – Advanced Manufacturing Technology. Each student is sponsored by an area company. Students will take classes two days a week and work at their sponsoring company three days a week. The job-training program is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor.
“Without TSTC, this program would not be as successful as it is going to be,” said Jason Dinscore, area manager of quality assurance at CMC Steel Texas in Seguin and president of the Texas FAME Lone Star Chapter.
The cohort is made up of students from Canyon Lake, Cibolo, Gonzales, La Vernia, New Braunfels, and other area cities.
Jayce Cardenas and Klein Vickers, who up until late spring were classmates at Seguin High School, will now attend TSTC together. Both are sponsored by CMC Steel Texas.
Cardenas said the thought of graduating from college debt-free with work experience and a career convinced him that TSTC was the place to be. He said he looks forward to learning about robotics.
Vickers said he knew that a four-year university was not for him.
“I look forward to being able to work with the company that I’ll be with while attending school,” he said.
Alamo Group of Seguin is one of the industry partners at the FAME Technical Center.
“It’s investing in the future of this area,” said Tony Rivera, the company’s human resources manager. “We are looking to build the next generation of advanced manufacturing and skilled workers.”
The students had an orientation before Monday’s ceremony. They will spend the rest of the week learning about safety and doing an off-site teamwork exercise.
The fall semester begins Monday, Aug. 28.
A second cohort is scheduled to begin in fall 2024.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.
