'Like having a second family'

Attending South Texas College was never a question for Karsten Dutremaine. The second year Welding student says STC has long been a tradition and has made a lasting impact on the family.

Beginning with his father, who set the tone for the family by pursuing a degree in the arts, Dutremaine said it also encouraged his older sister to pursue an art degree from STC and his brother to pursue a degree in Cybersecurity.

When Dutremaine began to pursue his own degree in Welding in the fall of 2020, he said he was encouraged by the hands-on environment created by the college.

“My father came to college here as well as my older brother and both my older sisters. STC truly runs in the family,” Dutremaine said. “For us, STC will always be highly recommended for being affordable and close to home, and my entire family has pushed me to get my degree here.”

Dutremaine is currently working for his Associate of Applied Science Degree in Welding, which he hopes to complete by fall 2023. He then plans to continue at STC by entering the Advanced Manufacturing Technology program by spring.

“I truly enjoy the shop environment and STC really is like having a second family,” he said. “I have found that success for me has come down to having the right people to encourage you, and really hammering things out when a problem arises. I had a lot of help participating with Student Activities as well as the college’s Student Government Association.”  

STC’s Welding Technology Program prepares students for the workplace by teaching them the four processes used in the industry including Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Gas Metal Arc Welding, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding and Flux Cored Arc Welding.

Students in the Welding program also learn valuable skills in Lay-out and Fabrication as well as blueprint reading, safety and metallurgy. Graduates from the program are also eligible to take a welding performance qualification test in accordance with American Welding Society (AWS) standards as used in industry.

Dutremaine currently serves as historian for the Student Government Association at South Texas College’s Technology campus, helping him exemplify leadership, he says, has helped him develop skills in group settings and has helped him to convey his own ideas in the work place.

“There is a real sense of community here, and you can see it in the way we work together,” Dutremaine said. “I find the leadership training I have received through SGA to be beneficial in the way it has helped me be able to talk to different groups of people, understand how these groups work and communicate with them when they might not have similar ideas to mine. We’re encouraged to work with all ideas.”