TSTC students benefit from learning about related programs

(SWEETWATER, Texas) – Students at Texas State Technical College’s Sweetwater campus benefited from watching and listening to instructors from various programs during recent lab sessions.

In one session, Automotive Technology students learned how to take a transmission apart by watching Diesel Equipment Technology instructor Shannon Weir. While that was happening, Welding Technology instructor Taylor Elston provided a welding safety lesson for diesel students.

“If there is anything we can do to help one of our fellow instructors, we are going to do it,” Weir said. “The automotive students needed a little help in different areas, and as instructors we want to see all of our students succeed.”

Automotive Technology instructor Gerod Strother said it was a good experience for his students to learn from someone like Weir.

“Our main goal in both programs is to teach the students how to do something and do it correctly,” he said.

During Weir’s session, automotive students learned about automatic and manual transmissions, power dividers and differentials found in diesel engines.

“I had a good grasp of the different things we talked about,” said Tanner Tankersley, an Automotive Technology student from Rotan. “Watching Shannon go through things, we learned a lot of different terms which will help us when we are at work.”

Tankersley admitted that when Weir started talking more about the manual transmissions, he was lost.

“I was in over my head but was able to go back to him, and we talked about it,” he said. “Shannon was able to explain things so we could understand it.”

Patrick Rodriguez, an Automotive Technology student from Snyder, agreed that the session was beneficial.

“It was a great learning experience for us because it was from someone with a different level of experience,” he said. “I did not know much about the areas we talked about, but once we got in there and worked on things, it helped me understand what we were doing in our labs.”

Rodriguez said he appreciates that the instructors from the other programs shared their expertise with him and the other students.

“I am glad they made some time for us,” he said. “It shows they care for us as students and what we need to know before we graduate.”

Strother said the daylong session was designed to help his students succeed in the future.

“The students in our program are not here for me. They are here to learn a trade,” he said. “We as instructors all want to see our students succeed because that makes TSTC a better place.”

Weir said he hopes that helping other programs continues on the Sweetwater campus.

“When I was a student here, we worked with other programs. I hope this tradition is here to stay,” he said.

Registration for the fall semester is underway. Scholarships are available. For more information, visit tstc.edu.