(SWEETWATER, Texas) – Trey Halfmann is proud to be among a select group of Texas State Technical College students.
Halfmann is one of the latest Metallica Scholar Initiative (MSI) scholarship recipients at the Sweetwater campus.
“It’s good to just know that the college and Metallica want to help me with my education,” the Automotive Technology student said. “I appreciate the contributions to the school that the band is doing. It is amazing that they are helping so many students.”
Launched in 2019 by All Within My Hands, in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges, MSI began its scholarship program with 10 colleges and primarily manufacturing programs. MSI offers diverse workforce opportunities for students interested in gaining the skills and training necessary to find meaningful and well-paying careers. Now in its sixth year, MSI has a presence in 60 colleges across all 50 states and in the territory of Guam.
Halfmann, of Wall, said working on vehicles is something that he had always thought would be his career.
“I always had a drive to work on and fix cars,” he said.
Attending TSTC has affirmed his career decision, especially with the performance-based education module used in the Automotive Technology program.
“I love the hands-on approach of learning, especially when we are ready to test for mastery levels,” he said. “It also helped me when I was out for an extended period due to stock show commitments. I did not have certain due dates for assignments. That relieved me of a lot of stress.”
John Adams, an Automotive Technology instructor, noticed Halfmann’s quick adaptation to the program’s learning style.
“Trey is always one of the first students in the lab,” Adams said. “If he needs more time in the lab, he will always make sure to ask and will be working hard to get his modules completed. He is truly dedicated to this program.”
After completing his associate degree, Halfmann said he hopes to return to the Wall area and work in a shop for a few years.
“Eventually I want to open my own shop,” he said
The need for qualified automotive service technicians and mechanics is expected to grow in Texas over the next several years. According to onetonline.org, Texas employs more than 55,000 of these technicians around the state, and that number was forecast to top 61,000 by 2030. The website stated that the average annual salary for a technician in the state is $46,800.
TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Automotive Technology and an Automotive Technician certificate of completion at the Harlingen, Sweetwater and Waco campuses. Several other certificates, including Automotive Maintenance and Light Repair, Chrysler Specialization and Tesla START Technician, are also available depending on campus location.
Registration for TSTC’s summer and fall semesters is underway. For more information, go to tstc.edu.
