It was another day of stacking boxes for Natalie Albert—another day surrounded by cardboard and concrete, far from the living landscapes she once hoped to work in. With a forestry degree and dreams of working under open skies, she had taken a warehouse job just to pay the bills. She was ready to get her nails dirty, but that day, they never did.

Natalie had been working on a contract basis when the company suddenly canceled her contract. Frustration built as her future blurred into uncertainty.

“I was laid off, and then the company actually hired me back under the pretext that I was going to be full time,” Natalie said. “So I went back with them.”

She thought life was beginning to take root again. She already knew the lay of the land and felt she was finally finding her footing. But three months later, uncertainty swept through once more. The full-time position never materialized—and her job was cut again.

“It was like a double layoff,” she said.

The security Natalie believed she had carefully rebuilt vanished in an instant. She kept applying for jobs, but the phone never rang.

“I was putting out feelers for other jobs and not getting anything back,” she said. “So it was really a reevaluation of the path I wanted to take.”

This period pushed Natalie to once again consider a new direction, one far from forestry—a chance to gain confidence and take on something completely different.

Debating Whether to Drill

When Brandon Albert first toured Texas State Technical College as a high school student, the hum of machines caught his attention. He remembered watching them in motion, the smell of metal in the classroom hinting at a possible career in the trades.

At the time, he was interested in cybersecurity but planned to study engineering or computer science based on what he had learned in high school.

After graduation, Brandon searched for direction—something he could shape and make his own. To fill the time, he picked up odd jobs wherever he could, but he never felt connected to the work. Each day felt like a holding pattern, waiting for something fulfilling.

“I was doing part-time work for a moving company and then for a contractor,” Brandon said. “I didn’t like either of them.”

He wanted more than a paycheck but wasn’t sure where his skills or interests fit. Still, he couldn’t shake the memory of TSTC’s machines—their precision, the shavings flying as metal took shape. Around the same time, his mother, Natalie, was also considering a fresh start, a path that could finally put her ambition and creativity to work.

Momentum in Metalwork

Brandon had toured TSTC first, but it was Natalie who would take the initial leap into machine work. She had always been creative with her hands, and she decided to tour a program that would put those skills to use.

She walked into the facility, impressed by the drills cutting into metal and overwhelmed by being out of her element. The steady whir of the mill filled the shop—a sound both foreign and strangely inviting.

“I was like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot to learn,’” she said. “But the fact that they had everything available for you to get hands-on practice, I thought it was pretty neat.”

She enrolled and committed to learning a trade. Her son, meanwhile, was still weighing whether it was the right path for him.

A few months later, on the final day of enrollment, he decided to join the same program—but with his own intentions. Neither of them enrolled because of the other. They worked side by side, machines revving, each determined to complete the task at hand first.

“If she’s done something that I haven’t done, I’ll be like, ‘Teach me. You owe me. You’ve got to teach me this so I can catch up,’” Brandon joked.

Their interactions became playful jabs. Natalie credits Brandon for his trade knowledge but notes he likes to figure things out on his own, even when asking for help might be easier. Brandon, in turn, admires his mom’s precision.

As machines shaped metal and friendly competitions emerged, the real story was how they were learning together—and building a deeper connection in the process.

Molding Metal and Making Memories

Pride radiates from Natalie as her son completes another step in the precision machining program. While her original goal was to master a new skill, she found a new passion in watching Brandon thrive in the trades.

It was a far cry from the uncertainty of warehouse work. No more boxes or contracts—here, every cut and measurement mattered, and each success was tangible.

“I would be ecstatic, even if I’m behind, to see him get his degree or certificate,” Natalie said.

Inside TSTC’s precision machining lab, surrounded by the hum of mills and the smell of cutting oil, Natalie realized she was building more than parts. She was shaping a future she hadn’t expected.

Natalie and Brandon had always been close, but working on the same projects strengthened that bond. They discovered they shared a passion for molding metal, measuring each cut, and mastering the mill together.

From flying metal scraps to the precise whir of the mill, every project became a small victory. There was quiet satisfaction in watching a raw block of metal transform into something exact, purposeful, and theirs.

“I’m excited because I get to spend extra time with my child as they’re nearing adulthood,” Natalie said. “It’s an opportunity that I think anybody would treasure.”

Natalie plans to return to forestry, blending her love for nature with the precision machining skills she gained at TSTC—using them to craft things like park benches. Her son is just beginning his journey in precision machining. Brandon, who has a passion for climbing, hopes to combine it with his new skills.

“What I’m hoping for is machine shops that make climbing holds specific for climbing gyms,” he said.

What once began as another day of stacking boxes has transformed into days spent shaping metal, developing new skills, and sharing moments that neither Natalie nor Brandon will forget.