Texas Border Business
By Joey Gomez
McALLEN, Texas – For South Texas College Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) student Vanessa Ortiz, a childhood fascination with factories has developed into a promising career she hopes will inspire more young women to follow.
Born in Villahermosa, a city in southeast Mexico, Ortiz said she spent the first 16 years of her life watching her mother leave for work each day to one of the region’s large manufacturing facilities. Some of her earliest memories are of open-house days, when factories welcomed families inside to learn about the plants’ various operations.
Now, from a childhood spent admiring those factories in Mexico, Ortiz said she has come full circle.
“The machines, the colors of the floor, the cafeteria – everything inside the factory fascinated me,” Ortiz said. “I didn’t know why at the time, but I knew I wanted to be there someday. STC gave me the opportunity to reach this dream.”
Even as she completes her associate degree in Precision Manufacturing, she is currently employed as a machine operator for GE Aerospace handling aircraft engine components and advanced machinery for one of the world’s leading aerospace manufacturers.
While employed at GE, Ortiz said she loads parts, sets programs, checks gauges and equipment and monitors the machines that help keep the aerospace supply chain moving – but those early memories with her mother continue to stay with her.
Ortiz said she hopes she can serve as an example of the opportunities available through STC’s AMT program – especially for students willing to put in the work.
“Now that I am here, I often reflect back on my mom working in manufacturing for all of those years and how it felt when she finally earned supervisory roles. This has been the most incredible experience I have ever had,” Ortiz said. “I have the best coworkers, and I’m doing the job I have always dreamed of thanks to those who believed in me at STC.”
Success at STC didn’t come easy for Ortiz, however.
Her mother’s plan eventually closed in 2019, and Ortiz’s education was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She moved to Progreso, Texas at the age of 16 to live with relatives. Still learning to speak English, she restarted high school and later joined “Together for a Better Tomorrow,” a Texas A&M Health and Methodist Healthcare Ministries youth program focused on water quality research.
But through it all, a career in manufacturing remained her goal. When friends encouraged her to explore STC’s dual credit programs, Ortiz attended an information session and immediately recognized the equipment from the factories she admired as a child. That was enough to convince her to enroll, she said.
“I felt at home,” Ortiz said. “I knew this was where I belonged.”
Ortiz entered STC’s Precision Manufacturing track, but she struggled at first because she spoke only Spanish. The challenge pushed her to learn English quickly – largely through conversations while working parttime at Taco Bell while trying to manage her college courses. But by the following semester, Ortiz said she could communicate with instructors and excel academically.
Since then, she has earned her certificate in Precision Manufacturing Technology and is a recipient of multiple student awards including the GE Foundation Scholarship, which helps students earn industry credentials, their degrees and ultimately get hired in the industry.
Ortiz is also a recipient of the Gene Haas Scholarship and now looks ahead to graduating with her associate degree next month.
Reflecting on how far she has come, Ortiz said she has already achieved the dream she carried since childhood, but her goals are shifting. She hopes to move up with GE Aerospace and literally shoot for the stars in the business.
Her message to young women considering manufacturing is simple, “Be strong. Keep an open mind. Get your degrees. People may not accept you at first, but your skills will speak for you. Never doubt yourself.”
For more information on STC’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology program, visit www.southtexascollege.edu/academics/manufacturing/.
