(MARSHALL, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Building Construction program made its Marshall campus debut on Sept. 22, welcoming 32 new students. All of them are working toward certificates of completion.
Among the students are Elijah Murray, Anniver Tengeg and Robert Williams.
Murray, of Longview, left odd jobs behind for the TSTC program and has future plans to build a lasting career and his own house. He said being a part of the program’s debut in Marshall feels great.
“I like trying new things and setting an example for the next people to come,” Murray said. “I’m super excited to learn how to do all these things and then take them and use them for myself one day.”
Tengeg was one of the first recipients of the Martin Specialty Coatings scholarship, which is offered exclusively to Building Construction students in Marshall through The TSTC Foundation. He has been working as a janitor for three years and said he is grateful for the opportunity to learn a new skill at TSTC.
“I want to know how to build my own house because I want to be a missionary going around helping people,” Tengeg said. “I can help build homes for people.”
After retiring from the U.S. Navy, Williams returned to his hometown of Marshall, where he realized that his new house needed repairs. Working alongside some friends on that and other projects led him to enroll in TSTC’s Building Construction program to pursue the field further.
“I’ve been learning all aspects of it, but didn’t quite have enough information to be totally comfortable with everything,” Williams said. “So I feel like this school would be a good opportunity for me to get those missing pieces and fill in the gaps.”
According to onetonline.org, first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers earn a median salary of $73,420 in Texas, where the number of these jobs was projected to grow 13% between 2022 and 2032.
For more information about TSTC, go to tstc.edu.