TSTC hosts open house at Marshall campus

(MARSHALL, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Marshall campus hosted more than 200 area high school students on Friday for its first in-person open house held since 2019.

Students, guided by TSTC staff, learned about programs offered at the Marshall campus, including Cybersecurity, Diesel Equipment Technology and Welding Technology. Students also had the opportunity to apply to TSTC while at the event.

Barton Day, provost of TSTC’s Marshall campus, said the event was a way to showcase the skill sets needed to pursue technical jobs in East Texas.

“It’s great to see them back,” he said. “It’s great to see the faculty we have not seen in a while come back for this.”

Scott Sandvik, a process technology teacher at Hallsville High School, said he was introduced to the event by Randy Clark, an instructor in TSTC’s Process Operations Technology program in Marshall.

“The demand for the industry is really high,” Sandvik said. “There are high-paying jobs.”

Sandvik said he works with industry sponsors to educate the Hallsville Independent School District’s eighth-grade students about what process technology is. He said TSTCs open house was a way for his students, who range from sophomores to seniors, to connect what they learn in high school to a career that they can pursue at TSTC.

“It (TSTC) is a real place they have been to, and attending classes is something they can visualize,” Sandvik said.

Taylor Thorn, a family engagement specialist at the Marshall Independent School District’s Marshall Early Graduation School, said the school was sending students for the first time to the event.

“I hope they can learn about additional resources that TSTC has,” she said.

Marshall Ford and Maverick Chevrolet contributed $2,000 for scholarships through The TSTC Foundation that were used for scholarships given at the end of the event. The TSTC Foundation used $3,000 to bring the scholarship total given on Friday to $5,000. The four high school students who received scholarships had to have already applied to TSTC’s Marshall campus.

“Technical careers provide a way more cost-effective, real-world option,” said Matt Moore, co-owner of the dealerships. “TSTC assists students so much with job placement. They place them into jobs that are not entry-level.”

Other school districts represented at the event were Arp, Bullard, Harleton, Jefferson, Longview and Whitehouse.

For more information, go to tstc.edu.