(HARLINGEN, Texas) – Seeing her father arrive home from his plumbing business made an impression on Sylvia Quintanilla.
“It was inspiring to see how hard my dad worked to provide for our family,” she said. “I remember seeing his company vans parked behind the building. It showed me how much his business had grown.”
Driven by the goal of taking over her father’s business, Quintanilla enrolled in the Plumbing and Pipefitting program at Texas State Technical College’s Harlingen campus.
Clemente Quintanilla, owner of AM-PM Plumbing in Harlingen, said he is proud his daughter chose to study the trade.
“I could tell she enjoyed joining me on trips to different job sites for my business,” he said. “I take pride in passing on my knowledge to her, and she shares what she’s learned at TSTC.”
Sylvia Quintanilla, who is studying for an associate degree, said the college offered the best path to achieve her career goals.
“I did my research and found out that by enrolling in the program, it should take me four years to earn my master plumber’s license,” she said.
Sylvia Quintanilla said working on assignments in the lab helped her realize the complexity involved in the plumbing trade.
“I learned that you have to take the water level into account, understand how much pressure is needed for water heaters and know what can go wrong if a small mistake is made,” she said.
For the Harlingen native, seeing concepts from lectures come to life in the lab has been the best part of the learning experience.
“I’m comfortable handling a torch in the lab, and I’ve learned how to measure and center items correctly,” she said.
Alan Raith, a Plumbing and Pipefitting program instructor, said Sylvia Quintanilla’s growing confidence demonstrates the potential she has to develop into a highly skilled professional.
“Sylvia loves trying new things to build her knowledge,” he said. “I look forward to seeing how her skills will continue to grow.”
According to onetonline.net, the need for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters was forecast to increase 13% between 2022 and 2032 in Texas, where the median annual salary for these jobs is $58,560.
For more information about TSTC, go to tstc.edu.