Texas Border Business
By Joey Gomez
McALLEN, Texas – More than 1,000 students from across the Rio Grande Valley gathered at the South Texas College Technology Campus to attend the first-ever Worlds of Work South Texas event held in Texas.
After months of coordination through a partnership with STC and Texas Workforce Solutions, the event offered hands-on career exploration meant to guide students into career pathways and discover real-world opportunities.
Students from 11 school districts within Willacy, Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr Counties enjoyed demonstrations and gathered information from nearly all of the college’s career and technical education programs along with federal and local law enforcement, healthcare organizations and first responders for the one-of-a-kind event.
“Having these hands-on activities is very important because this could be the next potential step in their careers,” said STC Business, Public Safety and Technology (BPST) Interim Dean Joe Vela. “This is not only our pilot program, but it’s a first for the state of Texas and we’re excited to see where this goes in the future.”
Representatives from Texas Workforce Solutions said the event grew from its annual youth conference, which is held in the spring. The organization asked employers from across the region to provide exhibitions that included tools of the trade to give students insight into their industry.
“This is our region’s spin on what is a national event. It was born here as this new entity so they interact with those employers who will possibly hire them in the future,” said Julio Salinas, communication specialist with Workforce Solutions who was present at the event. “We are thankful for this partnership with STC because the college opened its doors to us and has given us the chance to grow this even bigger in the years to come.”
Criztian Garcia, a student from Mission Junior High School, said he was attending the event to start learning about career skills and get a head start on the options available to him while in middle school.
“You never know, this could lead to something you decide to do for life,” Garcia said. “It’s all here for us, police officers, fire department, electric companies – I feel like everything is on the table to find what we want to do in the future. I feel excited about what I am going to learn next.”
Elizabeth Jalomo, a senior at Progreso High School, said she attended the event with a goal in mind to enter a career as a federal investigator. The Worlds of Work event opened her mind to all the unique opportunities available to her as she looks ahead to graduation, she said.
“This is just opening the door to all the careers out there as I look ahead to graduation, but it really doesn’t matter what grade you’re in,” Jalomo said. “You must always take advantage of these opportunities when they are presented to you. That’s why I am so thankful to STC for giving us the opportunity to visit the campus and give us the chance to meet and talk to people in these career fields.”
