BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Adela G. Garza, chair of Texas Southmost College’s board of trustees, says if she comes across a student who is not sure about enrolling, she takes him or her to see President Jesús Roberto Rodríguez.
Garza is TSC’s longest serving trustee. She gave an in-depth interview to the Rio Grande Guardian at a recent ceremony to celebrate JET grant funding from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) program provides grants to eligible entities to purchase and install equipment necessary for the development of career and technical education (CTE) courses or programs that lead to a license, certificate, or post-secondary degree in a high-demand occupation.
“I'm very, very proud of what we do here at the college and it's just not me. It is what everybody in this college does for kids. I see the president and talk to the kids. If I have a problem with the kid not really wanting to come, I bring him to the president's office,” Garza said.
“They never get to see the president in other colleges. But President Rodríguez is here all the time, and I'm so proud of what he does and what we can do.”
The grant TSC received from TWC, worth $84,000, will go towards the college’s welding program.
“With this grant, imagine all the people, all the students that will be impacted. I’m super excited,” Garza said. How many students are we affecting? We are probably making their dreams come true, getting them out of poverty, and getting them out of that despair.”
Garza said she is particularly pleased the grant is going towards welding.
“The welding department we have built is state of the art and with the Workforce Commission giving us this grant, it tells us the demand for welders is there and that we are doing a good job. And we know the students keep coming back to be trained and retrained or certified. We want to provide more.
Asked why this grant in particular is important, Garza said: “Have you seen the growth of the Port, LNG, SpaceX? Economic development is growing so much, and the need is there. And, obviously, the need and the interest from the community is there too. And it is not just the guys. The women are going into welding also and I am so proud.”
Garza said the opportunities on offer to students today, plus the counseling and support they get, is far cry from her days as a student. Before the check presentations were made, Garza spoke from podium about her days as a student.
“My husband went to medical school in Matamoros. He finished medical school, and he said, you're going to go back to school. I was married and had kids. So, he registered me, and I took English and math,” Garza recalled.
“TSC is such an amazing institution that they brought me in, they nurtured me, and then I liked it so much I didn't want to graduate. I must have gotten 100 hours by the time I graduated.”
Garza continued: “I am so glad that TSC was here for me, because I was a mother. I had kids. It was not easy to leave the kids in school or daycare and come take my classes. I came during the day, and let me tell you, I was 30 years old when I came back to school, and I sat in the front of the class because I was paying for my classes, right? I wanted to learn. And I look back, and there's all these kids I had just graduated from high school, and they were looking at me like I was 100 years old.”
Garza said the friendships she made at TSC all those years ago still exist. “We get together and reminisce about our TSC days,” she told the audience.
Garza pointed out that TSC will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year. It is the oldest college in South Texas.
“I'm inviting all of you to our festivities. We’re going to get all your emails, and we're going to send you invitations. Please come to the events, we'd love to have you. We’ve got a variety of events being planned for the whole year. One hundred years is quite an accomplishment, and we're very, very proud.”
Garza conclude her interview with the Guardian by saying: “I have served TSC for the last 17 years. I'm proud to be a Scorpion myself. So, this today is exciting, because we get to bring some money back for ou students.”
Stella Garcia is vice president of TSC and chief of staff. In her remarks from the podium, Garcia said: “If you've been to ITEC and seen the welding lab, it's a million of dollars-worth of investment that the board has made available. And in this particular case (with the JET grant) we’re adding to the welding lab. We're not adding additional trainers, but we're adding additional equipment to supplement the lab that is there.”
Garcia continued: “Fifty-seven students were trained on that equipment for structural welding to complete their certificate of completion, and they’ve all got the skills needed to enter into the workforce. And so, the good news for the college is this fall, those students can now, if they choose, come back and enroll in our credit welding program.
“So, we have started a welding certificate, structural welding, certificate one and two, and so we have students enrolling in our credit side now as well. So, we're excited about continuing to expand to meet industry needs.”
Garcia said STC could not provide this level of support for students without an incredible Board of Trustees, noting that the JET grant requires a match from the college, and TWC. “Thank you again for supporting us,” she said. “And thank you everyone for being here, all of our educational partners. We look forward for this equipment to continue to be in good use for a very long time.”
Editor's Note: Rio Grande Guardian reporter Daniela Capistran contributed to this story from Brownsville.
Editor's Note: Here is a video recording from the JET grant funding event:
