(MARSHALL, Texas) – Cooper Blair is a recent Process Operations graduate from Texas State Technical College’s Marshall campus. Throughout his education, his primary motivation has been his three-year-old daughter, Emerson.
“She makes me proud every day,” Blair said. “I want to give her a good life.”
Before he enrolled at TSTC, Blair, of Beckville, struggled to find what field suited him. He worked in the oil field and earned a certification in HVAC through another college, but found neither occupation was the right fit. It was his mother that told him about TSTC and the Process Operations program.
“My older brother went here (TSTC) for a little while,” Blair said. “You’ll always have a job with this degree.”
With help from his family in caring for Emerson, Blair enrolled in Process Operations and found both the program and the people enjoyable. He said he was able to adapt to the field fairly quickly, even finding a few similarities to his time in the oil field.
“I didn’t really find anything too challenging; maybe some of the assignments, but they were pretty easy once you got to know what you were doing,” Blair said.
Blair also had high praise for his instructors at TSTC, saying they taught him a lot in the classroom and about the industry. Brandon Hearnsberger, a Process Operations instructor at the Marshall campus, said Blair’s potential did not go unnoticed.
“He was engaged and seemed to really want to know how to operate the skid and do it safely,” Hearnsberger said.
Blair received his associate degree from TSTC at Marshall’s Fall 2025 Commencement on Friday, Dec. 5. He immediately went to work for natural gas supplier Williams at the organization’s De Berry plant.
“I’m ready to get out there and put what I’ve learned in class to good use,” Blair said.
Blair said in five years, he hopes to have another child, be steady in his career, and purchase a house. For now, he is focused on his new career, his fiancé, and Emerson.
“Daddy loves you,” Blair said to his daughter.
According to onetonline.org, gas plant operators earn a median salary of $82,760 in Texas, with 220 job openings projected in the state each year between 2022 and 2032.
The Process Operations program is available exclusively at TSTC’s Marshall campus. The program offers an Associate of Applied Science degree and a certificate of completion in Materials Handling.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.