Texas Border Business
By Joey Gomez
McALLEN, Texas – South Texas College Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) Lecturer Juan Jasso says he has forged a journey that began on rural ranches in Zapata County and now leads him to inspire students in the classroom.
At one point, working for the federal government, Jasso, 30, said he spent long hours under the Texas sun inspecting livestock as part of the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication program until he made a life-changing decision in search of better opportunities.
There was little to no upward mobility as he traveled across South Texas ranches in his former job, he said, so he made a choice that brought him to the Rio Grande Valley in 2020 and helped him fulfill a career in HVAC, while staying true to his-blue collar roots, he said.
“A lot of it comes from how I was raised,” Jasso said. “When you work on ranches, your work is your name – your reputation follows you. I’ve always believed that if you do a good job and hold yourself accountable, your work will speak for you. Being a blue-collar worker has taught me that you have to perform, you have to earn it every day.”
With an interest in HVACR, Jasso soon began working in his uncle’s commercial kitchen repair company, servicing businesses across the Rio Grande Valley from La Joya to Brownsville.
That experience sparked a passion for HVACR work and inspired him to seek a formal education in the trade. He enrolled in STC’s HVACR program while balancing a family, as well as full-time work and evening classes.
“I had already gone to college once before, but I wanted more,” Jasso said. “I wanted to see what STC could teach me and how far I could go.”
After a nearly a year of studying and late nights Jasso said he completed an Associate of Applied Science in HVACR in December 2024. By that time, he had also already accepted a position as a maintenance manager with Sharyland ISD, which gave him a broader understanding of building systems, further fueling his passion for the field.
By July of this year, Jasso said he had met the experience requirement to apply as a lecturer at STC, joining the college in August as a part-time faculty member. He was also recently hired as an educator of HVAC and construction at Sharyland High School.
His journey into education began as a natural progression, he said.
“When I was a student at STC, my classmates would come to me for help,” he said. “They understood me and the way I explained things because I was learning right alongside them. That’s when I knew HVACR was my calling.”
Reflecting on how far he has come from the ranches in his younger years, Jasso acknowledges that the transition from federal work to HVACR was not without struggle and recalls how difficult it was to start over financially and emotionally.
But these days he says he finds joy in seeing young students develop skills early in life. STC, he says, helped him build the foundation for a new career and a new life.
“Some of my students are 16 or 17 years old and they soak up the information so fast. I think about how different things might have been if I had the same opportunity at their age,” Jasso said. “I have come to see that STC really does have the perfect setup for anyone who wants to work in the field. If you put in the effort, the opportunities are there.”
For more information about STC’s HVACR program, visit southtexascollege.edu/academics/hvacr/.
