TSTC hosts open house at North Texas campus

(RED OAK, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s North Texas campus hosted more than 250 area high school students on Friday for the first in-person open house held since 2019.

Students, guided by their teachers and parents, learned about programs offered at the North Texas campus, including Diesel Equipment Technology, Electrical Power and Controls and Welding Technology.

“It’s a great way to meet the students and meet the parents and know what they want to do,” said Joaquin Rodriguez, an instructor in TSTC’s Welding Technology program. “We are here to show off our new equipment.”

Marcus Balch, provost of TSTC’s North Texas campus, said industry partners matching up to technical programs helped reinforce to visitors what kind of jobs students can get upon graduation.

Village Tech Schools in Duncanville sent more than 60 juniors to the event.

Andy Ingram, a post-secondary advisor at Village Tech Schools, said he wants to see every student have a plan of what to do after high school. He said students should think beyond attending a four-year university.

Alissa Russell, a mathematics teacher at Life School Oak Cliff, said more than 40 students attended the event. The trip marked the first educational field trip the school has had this academic year.

“We are hoping they (the students) learn about an alternative to traditional colleges,” Russell said. “We want them to see another direction to go.”

Visitors also represented schools in Ennis, Mansfield, Midlothian, and other cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Registration continues for the summer and fall semesters. For more information, go to tstc.edu.