(MARSHALL, Texas) – Arianna Flores, a mother of two and a Diesel Equipment student at Texas State Technical College’s Marshall campus, recently received an internship with truck manufacturer Kenworth of Louisiana at the company’s Shreveport dealership.
“Once I graduate, I’ll be full time there,” she said.
Flores said she has been interested in studying diesel mechanics since junior high but did not feel encouraged to pursue it at the time.
“I tried, but the teacher wasn’t really a fan of girls being in it,” she said. “Luckily since being here (at TSTC), I’ve felt welcomed.”
Flores said that although balancing her family responsibilities and her education can be challenging, her instructors encourage her and she collaborates with her classmates to support their collective success.
“It’s really like one big family,” Flores said.
Robert Sutton, a Diesel Equipment instructor at TSTC’s Marshall campus, recommended Flores to the Kenworth representatives when they were seeking interns.
“The reason I recommended Arianna for the apprenticeship is due to her ability to pay attention to detail, complete tasks and assignments in a timely manner, ability to strive to do the job at hand correctly the first time, and her punctuality,” Sutton said.
Flores said her internship will consist of working on semitrailer trucks.
“I’m looking forward to starting with Kenworth,” she said.
Flores plans to receive her TSTC certificate of completion in December.
In addition to Marshall, Diesel Equipment is available at TSTC’s Abilene, Fort Bend County, Harlingen, North Texas, Sweetwater and Waco campuses. The program offers several Associate of Applied Science degrees and certificates of completion, depending on location.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.