(RED OAK, Texas) – Despite already having a bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Industrial Management, U.S. Navy veteran and father Kristofeur Eldridge enrolled in Texas State Technical College’s Industrial Maintenance program at the North Texas campus.
“I’m a lifetime learner, so I just wanted to come to school and utilize my benefits to come learn something new,” he said.
Eldridge, of Dallas, described himself as a visual and mobile learner who does not want to do the same thing every day. He said he was happy to find a learning environment that suited this at TSTC along with like-minded peers.
“I think the group of guys that we have here are eager to learn; they’re always asking questions,” Eldridge said. “The instructors are good at not only giving you textbook knowledge, but they also give you a picture of what you’re going to see out in the field, what questions to ask, and they give you tidbits that helped them along the way.”
Jarriet Durham, an Industrial Maintenance instructor at TSTC, said Eldridge’s past experience truly shines in the classroom and it is part of the reason he stands out as a student.
“Kristofeur is a leader,” Durham said. “He’s not afraid to be on the front line. That’s a big help in class. Even if he doesn’t know how to do something, he’s not afraid to get in there and figure it out.”
Eldridge recently found an internship with electric utility company Oncor Electric Delivery in their waste management division in Lancaster. He plans to receive an associate degree from TSTC in fall 2026.
“If I hadn’t been here, I don’t think that Oncor would have been on my radar to look for a job,” Eldridge said. “I feel TSTC was a good place to further my knowledge in the field and it’s also a good mediary between the places that you want to work for.”
According to onetonline.org, industrial machinery mechanics earn a median salary of $61,590 in Texas, where the number of these jobs was projected to grow 27% between 2022 and 2032.
Industrial Maintenance is available at TSTC’s Abilene, Fort Bend County, Marshall, New Braunfels, North Texas, Waco and Williamson County campuses.
Registration continues for the spring semester at TSTC. For more information, go to tstc.edu.