TSTC instructor shares how he hopes to inspire others

(ROSENBERG, Texas) – Deogratias Nizigiyimana understands the value of hard work.

The lead instructor for the Precision Machining Technology program at Texas State Technical College’s Fort Bend County campus, Nizigiyimana says his love of doing a good job came when his high school teacher quoted Martin Luther King Jr.

“Any job is invaluable,” Nizigiyimana said. “If you are given a job, make sure you do it right. That message touched my heart. From that I see it’s not about the job you do, it’s about who you are.”

He hopes to inspire that ideal in his students. He finds that the United States comes with a lot of advantages in education and wants to build his students’ desire to learn and work hard.

Nizigiyimana believes that diversity in the workplace also helps everyone learn and grow.

“It’s good to know different cultures and see how they live,” Nizigiyimana said. “A proverb in my home country of Burundi was ‘If you never leave your house, you’ll think you have everything.’ Learning about others allows us to become better together.”

Nizigiyimana began his teaching career after the plant where he worked as a machinist closed in 2014. He was looking to retake a class from Lone Star College, but at the request of a professor there, he ended up applying for a teaching position. In 2016, he applied for a position as an instructor at TSTC and has been there ever since.

“There are many companies looking for my students to apply,” Nizigiyimana said. “I tell my students to put failing the interview out of their mind. If they work hard, there will always be a company out there looking for their talents.”

According to onetonline.org, computer numerical control tool programmers earn an average annual salary of $61,740 in Texas. The website projected that there would be a 47% increase in the number of such jobs in the state from 2020 to 2030.

TSTC offers Precision Machining Technology at its East Williamson County, Fort Bend County, Harlingen, Marshall, North Texas and Waco campuses. An Associate of Applied Science degree and two certificates of completion are available.

The program is part of TSTC’s Money-Back Guarantee, which refunds a participating graduate’s tuition if he or she has not found a job in their field within six months following graduation. For more information, visit tstc.edu/mbg.