texas state technical college

In this episode we read a letter sent to us by Kerry C., one of our followers, about an experience he had while in college in Harlingen, Texas at Texas State Technical College.

Follow us on Facebook. Thank you for watching!

HARLINGEN, Texas - Mike Reeser, chancellor and CEO of Texas State Technical College, spoke at a recent groundbreaking ceremony at TSTC-Harlingen.

The ceremony celebrated construction of two new facilities and renovation of one existing building at the Harlingen campus, including space for two programs new to the campus: Diesel Equipment Technology and Plumbing and Pipefitting Technology.


The Automotive Technology and Diesel Equipment Technology programs will share nearly 50,000 square feet in one of the two new buildings, while the Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology program will get a new 12,000-square-foot building of its own. A renovated 87,000-square-foot facility will house the Biomedical Equipment Technology, the Plumbing and Pipefitting Technology and the Wind Energy Technology programs.

Here is a podcast from the groundbreaking ceremony.


Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service to read the full story.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

MCALLEN, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott believes Texas higher education institutions need to be much more focused on preparing their students for the work place.

Abbott said it is “inexcusable” that some students go to college for up to six or seven years and still do not find employment.

Abbott made clear his views about higher education at a business summit co-hosted by the Texas Association of Business and the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. The event was held at the McAllen Convention Center.

“We have a lot of people that have gone to college for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven years, whatever it is and they do not have a job. That is inexcusable. There needs to be a goal for education to provide. And that is a pathway to a job,” Abbott said.

“When you graduate from high school you need to be prepared to be working toward a job, whether it be going immediately to a job or going to an education institution that will prepare you for a job that is right for you. It doesn’t mean that everyone is going to be an engineer or a chemist, a scientist or a doctor or a lawyer or whatever. It could be that you are keenly interested in the arts. There are a lot of jobs in the arts.”

Abbott added: “It is inexcusable that we have, in the United States, so many people that are seeking to have their tuition cost eliminated because they went to school and they don’t have a job and they need the government to pay for their tuition costs. We need education to be focused on making sure people get a job.”

In his remarks, Abbott gave a shoutout to Texas State Technical College. All the money TSTC gets from the State of Texas is dependent on its students finding work. 

The attached podcast features Gov. Abbott’s remarks on the purpose of higher eduction and an interview with Cledia R. Hernandez, a former provost of TSTC-Harlingen who now serves as TSTC System’s associate vice chancellor. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

HARLINGEN, Texas - Michael Reeser says the next Tesla factory training center could be built in Harlingen. 

The chancellor and CEO of Texas State Technical College spoke about the possibilities of the Rio Grande Valley being attractive to Tesla at a recent breakfast event held at TSTC in Harlingen.

“Tesla is growing like weed in Texas. They are selling more and more units all the time. And we are beginning to rival California and Florida in terms of Tesla automobiles,” Reeser explained.

“So, Tesla, about two years ago came to Texas and started looking around because they needed a higher ed partner to set up their factory training centers for their technicians. And what they needed was a host with a robust automotive offering who could see the longterm vision of electric vehicles in our industry.”

Reeser said that after interviewing countless colleges across the state, Tesla picked TSTC to be their education partner in the state of Texas. 

“So, their very first factory training center was in Waco. They picked it because it is centrally located. The second one is in Houston. It is under construction right now and it will be finished in January,” Tesla said.

“And, I predict and we have talked to them about it, your next one needs to be in Harlingen, where we already have a robust automotive program. So, the point is, Tesla looked at everyone and they picked us up.”

The tie-up with Tesla is just one of the partnerships TSTC has developed. Reeser also mentioned the FAME program run by the National Association of Manufacturing and NIMS, otherwise known as the National Institute for Metalworking Skills. And he mentioned a productive tie-up with Texas A&M University.

Editor's Note: To read the full story, go to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service website. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.