TSTC Robotics and Industrial Controls Technology graduates ready to get to work

(WACO, Texas) - Texas State Technical College's Robotics and Industrial Controls Technology program had four graduates receiving associate degrees at the Fall 2024 Commencement held Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the BASE at Extraco Events Center in Waco.

"This group is unique because they are all over 21," said Corey Mayo, an instructor in TSTC's Robotics and Industrial Controls Technology program. "They are super mature for their age. I am super happy they all have jobs."

Erin Shaeffer, of Axtell, did an internship during the fall semester at Fallas Automation in Waco. The internship led to her being hired as a controls technician, which she will begin on Dec. 16.

"It's very nice," she said about having her new job. "It's very helpful. It's reassuring."

Shaeffer said she chose her program of study because she had robotics experience in high school. She said she enjoyed the variety of skills she learned in TSTC's program, including motor controls and wiring.

"I kind of don't want to graduate because I have enjoyed what I have been learning," she said.

Shaeffer's supervisor at Fallas Automation, Travis Ellis, was one of the industry representatives seated on the graduation stage. Ellis, a 2005 TSTC alumnus, is a controls director at Fallas Automation.

"She (Shaeffer) gives a lot of my full-time employees a run for their money," Ellis said. "She goes above and beyond to prove herself."

Three Robotics and Industrial Controls Technology graduates will go to work at Flex, a multinational contract manufacturer of medical devices, in Austin. All of them will be automation technicians.

Joseph Ebersole, of Austin, graduated with TSTC Board of Regents honors. He will begin work on Dec. 16. He said he chose to work at Flex because of the pay and the fact that employees he talked to had great things to say about the company.

Ebersole said he has been working with robotics since he was in high school.

"You are making cool things happen," he said.

Jesse Miles-Brown, of Belton, said he will miss attending TSTC's industry job fairs. He said he looks forward to showing what he has learned when he begins work at Flex later this month.

"It's a total weight off my shoulders," Miles-Brown said about having a job before graduating. "It feels amazing."

Colton Russell, of Teague, said he was glad to wrap up the last two years of learning. He said he had quality instructors and enjoyed being around his classmates.

"It's a new start to life," he said.

Russell will start his new job at Flex in January.

"I am always 'flexing,'" he said.

Flex has hired several other TSTC graduates in the past.

"Not only do we find that the technicians coming from TSTC have a solid base of technical knowledge, but somehow almost all of them have the soft skills that we need," said Michael Johnson, Flex's equipment automation supervisor. "Those are skills such as ownership, tenacity, time management, teamwork and problem-solving."

TSTC had more than 500 students receive certificates of completion or associate degrees at the Waco graduation ceremony.

Spring registration continues at TSTC. For more information, go to tstc.edu.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.