(WACO, Texas) – Students were not the only ones interested in meeting employer representatives at Texas State Technical College’s three-day Industry Job Fair held this week in Waco. Several alumni working for those companies were eager to come back to campus to talk to potential future employees.
The event had more than 1,300 TSTC students and alumni and about 150 companies in attendance.
Ricardo Garza, a field service technician at Irving-based PHe Data Center Services, began working before he graduated earlier this year from the Instrumentation program. He is currently working on a project in Ohio, but travels back to Waco periodically to see relatives and friends.
“It felt great having that security,” he said. “I still have buddies who are looking for jobs.”
Garza said it felt odd being on the “other” side of the table talking to students and alumni. His advice for soon-to-be graduates is to stick with their program and utilize all of the tools they need to succeed.
Reed Littleton works in facilities maintenance at Blue Bell Creameries in Brenham. Littleton has worked at the company since he was in high school, then part-time when he was at TSTC before going to work full-time. He graduated from the Waco campus with a certificate of completion in the Diesel Equipment program.
Littleton said it was his first time attending the job fair with his company. He said he looked forward to connecting with as many students as possible. He said there is a big need for mechanically-included workers.
“There are various types of machines and unlimited learning opportunities,” Littleton said. “It is something different every day.”
Stephen Supak, an electrical design work team lead at the John Wood Group PLC (public limited company) in Houston, graduated in the early 2000s with associate degrees in Electrical Power and Controls and Instrumentation before being hired by the company.
Supak said he and his coworker were greeting students, answering their questions, and collecting resumes. He said an important quality for employees coming into the company is the ability to get along with others.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.