18
May
2020
|
13:30 PM
America/Chicago

Right on time

Student of the Week: Miguel Santos

Miguel Santos has worked in the automotive industry for decades, but recently he decided he wanted to follow his intuition to switch gears. 

“I was in the automotive industry for almost 30 years and I came to a point in my life where I guess I was in a comfort zone,” Santos said. I had to make a change to drive my dream and what I want to do in life.”

Santos entered the Architectural & Engineering Design Technology (AEDT) program with a concentration in visual technology. 

The purpose of this program is to prepare the students for employment in architectural, visual, and civil engineering technology industries.

The student will be required to have an understanding of but not limited to, the following areas: principles of drafting, architectural drafting, civil drafting, layout and design, application of the latest drawing software programs, current knowledge of building standards and codes, and construction materials and specifications.

With two children at home, he knew he needed to find an institution that would fit his busy life. 

“Yeah it was challenging, but you know getting through it and now that I’ve gone this far it feels great. I have a little further to go,” He said. “I need to lookup more courses I can take. I’m thinking about getting my associates in civil engineering too.”

His inspiration came from a unique place, the late South African revolutionary Nelson Mandela and one of his child’s assignments.“I decided to pursue this when my daughter was doing a project for school, for history,” “It was a quote from Mandela that it’s ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’’ He said. “At that point, I was back and forth about getting going or not. At that point I saw from him I was like ‘You know what, I’m going to do it. If I can accomplish it, I see it’s not impossible.” 

Santos said South Texas College fit his needs and he was able to start seamlessly. 

 

“It’s more convenient and enrollment is a lot cheaper than being enrolled at UT or UH or Rice,” He said. “I looked around and this just works better with my budget.”
STC Student of the Week Miguel Santos

“I’m married, I have two kids and I didn’t want to move around,” Santos said. “You know there are other colleges like A&M, etc. I was at a point in my work that I couldn’t just get up and go cause I had to actually quit working.”

He also was a fan of the affordability in earning his degree.

“It’s more convenient and enrollment is a lot cheaper than being enrolled at UT or UH or Rice,” He said. “I looked around and this just works better with my budget.”

Adult learners are a big part of the STC student body, with the college offering evening and online classes many more Valley residents are able to keep their careers going or even start new ones.

His message to other students who might be in similar shoes, as a parent or adult learner, was to chase those ambitions.

“Do not be afraid, be strong, stand solid on your feet and just look forward to never look back and see, follow your dreams,” He said. “If you follow your dreams it’s going to take hard work, but you will get there and that will influence people around you and you’ll end up inspiration for them.”