STC helps experienced electrician combine experience and studies to advance career

Entering South Texas College more than a decade out of high school, Armando Peña said he can look back on a career as a young electrician that took him across the country before setting foot on a college campus.  

Often sitting shotgun with his father, who introduced him to the profession shortly after high school in Pharr, Peña said his early days were all about “running pipe and pulling wire”. 

Starting with commercial buildings as an electrical installer then moving on to solar panels, and finally to the oil fields, Peña said he and his father would navigate dusty backroads as they followed the pipeline from North Dakota to Texas wiring booster pumps.

Then in 2020 tragedy struck. His career track changed when his father tragically passed away in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I would go up north as an electrician and I enjoyed travelling, even though it was difficult leaving my loved ones behind, but after 2020 when my father passed, I decided that I didn’t want to leave anymore. I always thought there was something more for me,” Peña said. “I really started looking for a better job and I ended up at Coca-Cola in 2022 where I began working with the engineers there…I thought it was very difficult, but I still fell in love with the job.”

Peña began his job at Coca Cola Southwest Beverages facility in McAllen as a mechanic, performing machinery maintenance on the factory line working on conveyers, labelers, packers and palletizers. He also began working with company engineers, who inspired him to take the next step in his career.

This is where STC came into the picture, Peña said.

“I saw that STC had a Mechatronics program along with courses covering DC/AC circuits, Programmable Logic Controllers, robotics and pneumatics. This covered everything being done at Coca-Cola. It’s safe to say I just dove into the courses at STC,” he said. “STC helps me so much in my current line of work, especially the pneumatics, which I didn’t understand at first. But taking the pneumatics class at STC made me understand the work a lot better. The circuits course I took helped me when I had to troubleshoot the machines.”

Recently completing his Mechatronics Technology Specialist certificate, Peña said he will begin working for his Associate of Applied Science in Electrician Technology.

Peña said Coca Cola will be paying for his Electrician Technology courses when he begins in the fall.

The goal, he said, is to grow his skills and eventually move on to large scale work like electrical systems integrations, which refers to the creation of schematics, diagrams and blueprints that combines one electrical system into a single cohesive system.

“Taking classes at STC helped me understand things like circuits for example, and combined with the knowledge I received at work and everything my father taught me since he brought me into the electrical field, I know now that want to be involved in the electrical field for life. I found a passion for it,” Peña said. “I just feel very lucky that I have had great mentors along the way, from my father to those who I work with at Coca-Cola. To students entering this line of work, just remember to have the passion to jump in headfirst because once you do you will see that companies are willing to help with your education, but you have to be ready to commit. Never stop learning.”

To learn more about STC’s Mechatronics visit   www.southtexascollege.edu/academics/manufacturing/   or for the Electrician Technology program visit  www.southtexascollege.edu/academics/electrician/.

Registration for summer and fall 2023 is underway. Go to www.southtexascollege.edu/register/index.html.