(WACO, Texas) – More than 460 students received certificates of completion or associate degrees at Texas State Technical College’s Spring 2025 Commencement for the Waco campus held at the BASE at Extraco Events Center on Thursday, May 8.
More than 40 of the graduates were from the Electrical Power and Controls program, with many already having jobs.
“They are one of the most determined groups I have worked with in a long time,” said Tony Lloyd, an instructor in TSTC’s Electrical Power and Controls program.
Wyatt Ingram, of Little River-Academy, earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electrical Power and Controls.
“Most of my family is electrical,” he said.
Ingram said he enjoyed the program’s instructors, who he described as willing to assist when lessons got tough. And he said he made new friends among his classmates.
“We made our own study group,” Ingram said. “If anyone had questions, we had a group chat so any one of us could help.”
Ingram will begin work in early June at Oncor Electric Delivery’s Temple office as an associate designer.
Jonas Watkins, of Corsicana, received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electrical Power and Controls. He said he enjoyed getting his hands on programmable logic controllers in classes.
Watkins began work as an electrician less than two months ago at Riot Platforms, a bitcoin mining company, at its facility in Corsicana.
“It’s working with the miners and troubleshooting and maintenance,” he said. “It’s not your typical electrician job.”
For Dustan Bowers, who grew up in Clifton, the program is a family affair. His two brothers and two cousins are program graduates, and his father, Michael Bowers, is TSTC’s operations senior project manager, as well as a program graduate and former instructor. Dustan Bowers received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electrical Power and Controls, and his father handed him his diploma on stage.
Dustan Bowers said his easiest class was Motor Control, while the Electrical Systems Design class was the most challenging because of the computer work involved.
“I enjoyed the hands-on things the classes taught and what it would be like working in the field,” he said.
The younger Bowers will begin work later this month at Oncor Electric Delivery’s Waco office as an intern and said he hopes eventually to move up to be a substation electrician.
The Provost’s Outstanding Achievement Award was given to Bailey Soukup, of Waco, who received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Automotive Technology.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.
