TSTC hosts Operation Reclass event in Killeen

(KILLEEN, Texas) – Texas State Technical College’s Waco campus hosted the Operation Reclass recruitment event on Saturday, July 15, at the Killeen Special Events Center.

Faculty members representing more than 10 of TSTC’s technical programs had information tables that attendees visited to learn more information. Some of the programs highlighted were Automotive Technology, Biomedical Equipment Technology, Drafting and Design and Electrical Power and Control.

Kenneth Buford, TSTC’s statewide Veteran Recruitment director, said the event was a great way to make it easier for military personnel, their families, and others in the Killeen area to learn about TSTC. He said not everyone can travel to a TSTC campus on a weekday.

“We need to be invested in the communities we want to serve,” Buford said.

Joseph Strange, an instructor in TSTC’s Mopar Career Automotive Technology (CAP) program, which is in the Automotive Technology program, said it was a pleasure to go on the road to talk about the profession.

“This is good outreach because we can reach the veterans that are transitioning into a career,” Strange said.

One of the visitors that Strange talked to was Hunter Tando, a New Yorker stationed at Fort Cavazos. Tando worked in trades before enlisting in the U.S. Army, with some of his past jobs being in hardscaping and masonry.

“Trades are awesome,” he said. “That is why I wanted to come here (to learn about TSTC.)”

Joshua Caal, a 2022 graduate of Copperas Cove High School, spent the last year attending a private college on a soccer scholarship in Kansas.

“I thought I wanted to do physical therapy, but it was not for me,” he said.

Caal said he wanted to learn more about the Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technology programs.

Caal’s father, Carlos, searched online and thought TSTC would be a great option for his son. He said the goal was to have his son enrolled by the start of the fall semester.

“Every single program here is amazing,” Carlos Caal said. “There is a lot that caught my attention.”

Registration continues for the fall semester at TSTC. For more information, go to tstc.edu.