TSTC graduates start careers with renewable energy company, get reacquainted with safety training

(HARLINGEN, Texas) - Texas State Technical CollegeWind Energy Technology graduates Adrian Gallegos and Chase Woolery were elated when they were offered full-time wind turbine technician jobs at Deriva Energy in Rio Grande City last month. Deriva Energy is one of the nation's leading independent power producers, owning and operating over six gigawatts of electric generation nationwide with 14 plants in Texas.

Recently Gallegos and Woolery joined four other Deriva Energy employees in a self-rescue training session at TSTC's Harlingen campus. Carlos Garza, a training instructor for Tech Safety Lines, conducted the training for the new Deriva Energy technicians to ensure that they understand its safety protocols.

"Height was the focal point of the training because wind technicians perform their jobs 300 feet in the air," Garza said.

Gallegos earned a Wind Energy Technologycertificate of completion from TSTC in 2023.

"It is important to be comfortable executing the safety procedures because we may have to do a self-rescue or help a teammate in a worst-case scenario," the Harlingen resident said. "Doing the freefall with the hoist equipment took me back to when I was a student."

Woolery, a native of Jamaica who now lives in Harlingen, received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Wind Energy Technology from TSTC in 2022. He said the safety training was a good refresher.

"Mr. Garza is a great trainer who made sure we grasped what he reviewed," Woolery said. "His teachings are precise, and I enjoyed that."

Garza said Gallegos and Woolery showed a good prior understanding of the applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations.

"That's a result of the education they received at TSTC," Garza said.

TSTC's Wind Energy Technology program offers an Associate of Applied Science degree and a certificate of completion at the Harlingen and Sweetwater campuses.

Registration for TSTC's fall semester is underway. For more information, visit tstc.edu.

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