(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Career Services department hosted staff from Vistra Corp. for Vistra Day on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at the Waco campus.
Company staff gave morning and afternoon presentations to students from various programs, including Electrical Power and Controls, Instrumentation Technology, and Robotics and Industrial Controls Technology.
Some of the company’s employment areas include environmental, health and safety, power generation, technology services, and strategy and sustainability.
“We want people to join our company and progress and grow,” said Lauren Driskill, Vistra’s diversity, equity and inclusion project manager.
Jamar McKinney, a graduate of TSTC’s Instrumentation Technology program at the Waco campus, is an electrical planner at the company’s Oak Grove Power Plant in Franklin. He was one of the Vistra staff members that met students between presentations. He said his goal was to give students his perspective on how to transition from college to the work environment.
McKinney said TSTC graduates who go to work for the company need to have good communication and listening skills, along with motivation, versatility and time management skills.
“I want students to know TSTC is a great college that gives them the foundation they need to catapult their careers in the way they want to go,” he said.
McKinney said what keeps him at Vistra is the stability and the work environment. He was able to earn a bachelor’s degree with the company’s support.
Reece Cummings, a fourth-semester TSTC Precision Machining Technology student from Waco, attended the event to learn about the company. Earlier this semester, he attended TSTC’s Industry Job Fair for alumni and students.
“I am trying to figure out what I can get out of being a machinist,” Cummings said. “I want to work on the largest machines with the most access and make the hardest parts. I am very hands-on.”
Vistra is an integrated retail electricity and power generation company headquartered in Irving. The company operates in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
Registration for TSTC’s spring semester is underway. For more information, go to tstc.edu.
