(RED OAK, Texas) – Former stay-at-home mother Shawna Long is now the only female Welding instructor at Texas State Technical College’s North Texas campus.
“Once my kids started school, I started looking into going back to college,” she said. “I stepped through the doors of TSTC and was just welcomed here. It just kind of took off from there.”
Long, a Bedford native, said she originally enrolled in TSTC’s Welding program for the artistic aspects, and to stay busy while her kids were in school. However, her time as a student became something far more meaningful.
“I never really thought it would be a career, but when I started going here, the passion was there for it and I loved doing it,” Long said.
Long transferred to TSTC’s Waco campus and received her associate degree in 2023. Two years later, she returned to the North Texas campus to teach. She recently celebrated her first anniversary as an instructor.
“With welding, you have to challenge yourself every day to get better,” Long said. “I feel like if you’re able to teach what you do, then you become a better welder.”
Joseph Francia, a program team lead at TSTC, said Long’s intellectual curiosity and dedication to her craft helps her stand out as an instructor.
“Rather than settling for good enough, Shawna is constantly perfecting her teaching techniques and seeking out new skills, ensuring her instruction remains both modern and highly effective,” he said. “Because she is always refining her skills, she raises the standard for the entire team.”
Long said she loves when her students have the same hunger and drive to weld that she had. She continues to better their lives and to better herself as well by working toward becoming a certified welding inspector.
“TSTC is a really great place to work,” she said. “It’s not like any other job I’ve ever worked in before. People genuinely care about helping people and I’m thankful and excited to be a part of that.”
Welding is available at all 11 TSTC campuses across the state. The program offers an Associate of Applied Science degree and several certificates of completion, depending on location. The associate degree will be available at the North Texas campus this fall.
Registration for the summer and fall semesters at TSTC is underway. For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.