(MARSHALL, Texas) – Evryn Smith, of Shreveport, Louisiana, needed a way to provide for his daughter after he finished serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. His father suggested he check out the Electrical Lineworker and Management program at Texas State Technical College’s Marshall campus.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know what a lineman is, but sign me up. If it’s a legitimate job, I’ll do it,” Smith said.
With help from TSTC’s Veteran Affairs team, Smith’s GI Bill paid for his tuition and granted him housing allowance to help with his daughter’s expenses.
Smith found that the maturity and discipline the military instilled in him was beneficial to his education.
“I think the maturity level helps out a lot in paying attention, getting the tasks done and separating the play time from the work time,” he said. “Paying attention to the details here is second nature to me. It’s not your everyday job — 19,900 volts will kill somebody if you don’t pay attention to detail. For me, it was an easy transition solely because it was what the military taught me.”
Smith also stressed the importance of a healthy work-life balance and the stress a person can face if they do not. For him, his job is to learn, and his life is his daughter.
“I come here, do something hard, and then I look at myself when I get out of here and I say, ‘You’re a good, hardworking man.’ The other side to that is I go home and my daughter is everything to me,” Smith said. “What more could you ask for?”
Jason Martin, an Electrical Lineworker and Management instructor at TSTC’s Marshall campus, took notice of Smith’s discipline.
“Evryn is a hard worker,” he said. “He always does his best at everything he tries to do.”
Smith plans to receive his certificate of completion from TSTC at this summer’s commencement in August. He said his goal is to not only provide for his aging parents and his daughter, but to contribute to society.
“The most rewarding part of being here at (TSTC) is that this job very necessarily contributes to society. You can’t do anything without electricity anymore,” Smith said. “TSTC is a land of opportunity.”
For more information on TSTC’s Veteran Affairs services, go to tstc.edu/veterans.
Registration for the fall semester at TSTC is underway. For more information about TSTC, go to tstc.edu.