(WACO, Texas) – Jacob Mannen’s work ethic is simple: show up, work hard and do not make excuses when something goes wrong.
Mannen’s view of work started in his hometown of Fletcher, Oklahoma. Growing up, he and his brother, Caleb, would ride all-terrain vehicles and mowers on their grandparents’ 80-acre property. Mannen credits his brother for sparking his interest in mechanics, starting with them rehabilitating a 1979 Ford Ranchero.
Mannen was active in FFA when he attended Fletcher High School.
“In high school, I thought to myself that I wanted to do something shorter than four or six years, and never found anything that I loved in high school enough to commit to it,” he said.
Mannen said he worked as an intern at the accounting firm his mother works at, but had second thoughts about that potential career path.
It was not until a trip in early 2025 to the Western Equipment Ag Tech Invitational in Plainview, Texas, that he figured out working with heavy equipment was for him. He placed high enough to receive a scholarship to study at Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus or at a community college in Kansas. He chose TSTC because it was closer to his hometown, and he also felt welcomed by the staff he talked to before enrolling.
Mannen is in his third semester in TSTC’s Diesel Equipment program. He is working to earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Diesel Equipment – John Deere Technology.
“I like the classes a lot,” he said. “I definitely feel I have learned a fair amount while I have been here.”
Two of Mannen’s classmates, Dax Black of Lubbock and Cooper Smith of Iowa Park, met him during a summer program orientation. Black and Smith could easily detect Mannen’s mindset.
“He (Mannen) is not afraid of failure,” Black said.
Smith said Mannen is not afraid to ask questions, wanting to know the “why” of heavy-equipment work.
Black and Smith said Mannen is willing to help other students make the connections to the hands-on skills they are learning and how it relates to work at the dealerships.
Mannen recently received a $5,000 scholarship from the Independent Equipment Dealers Association. He was one of three diesel equipment students nationwide to get the scholarship.
He said receiving the scholarship was a blessing and that he did not want to place the financial burden of paying for college on his parents.
“I was so relieved because it was a big portion of my tuition that has been covered, and they (the organization) said you can use it on tuition, books, supplies, tools, housing,” Mannen said.
To enroll in TSTC’s John Deere program, students need to be sponsored by a heavy-equipment dealership. Mannen has been interning at Western Equipment in Hobart, Oklahoma, since last summer. He began observing the technicians in action, then slowly was assigned tasks for hay balers, tractors and other heavy-equipment needing attention.
Mannen is scheduled to participate in TSTC’s Summer 2026 Commencement in August and will complete a program-required co-operative during the fall semester. He will continue working at Western Equipment.
“There will always be a need for heavy equipment,” Mannen said. “My mother told me eventually, accounting won’t be as big of a need because artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially take some of it over. With a hands-on trade, you will never be worried about losing your job to AI.”
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.