(HARLINGEN, Texas) – U.S. Army veteran Henry Tran, an Aircraft Airframe Technology student at Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus, recently began an internship with aircraft maintenance company STX Aero at the Mid-Valley Airport in Weslaco.
Tran, who is pursuing an Associate of Applied Science degree in the Aircraft Airframe program, said the internship gives him practical experience that strengthens what he is learning at TSTC.
“As an apprentice intern, I’m doing a 100-hour inspection of the engine and the airframe part of the aircraft, and it’s supervised,” he said.
TSTC aviation maintenance alumnus Efrain Lopez is owner and lead mechanic at STX Aero.
“Henry’s strong attention to detail and ability to follow directions add great value to our work,” he said.
Originally from Arizona and now living in Harlingen, Tran said he became interested in aviation when he was a drone operator in the Army.
“My job was to do thorough preflight checks, manage mission control tasks, maintain communication using radios on proper frequencies, and other duties,” he said.
After completing his Associate of Applied Science degree in Aircraft Powerplant Technology last year, Tran became a Federal Aviation Administration-certificated powerplant mechanic. He is on track to graduate with his Aircraft Airframe degree in August.
Leo Guajardo is TSTC’s aviation maintenance program team lead in Harlingen.
“Henry approaches his education and work with a patient, timely and calculated pace,” he said. “It will lead him to great success.”
Tran said the transition to civilian life can be hard for some veterans because they no longer have a structured lifestyle when they leave the military.
“The aviation maintenance program gave me that structure,” Tran said.
According to onetonline.org, aircraft mechanics and service technicians in Texas earn an average of $80,320 a year. The website projected that there would be a 14% increase in the number of such jobs in the state from 2022 to 2032.
TSTC offers Associate of Applied Science degrees and certificates of completion in both Aircraft Airframe Technology and Aircraft Powerplant Technology at its Abilene, Harlingen and Waco campuses.
Registration for TSTC’s fall semester is underway. For more information, go to tstc.edu.