Texas Border Business
By Clarissa Martinez
A surplus of food product turned into a token of appreciation for South Texas College students, staff and faculty this week.
Trancasa USA Inc., an international ground transportation leader and recent STC educational partner, donated a truckload of about 7,600 bags of Barcel’s Takis potato chips as part of its ongoing partnership with STC.
STC and Trancasa partnered to bring a commercial driver’s license program to the region with Trancasa providing the 18-wheelers used in training and instruction.
The CDL program consists of 200 total hours of instruction delivered over five weeks; 40 hours of classroom and computer lab instruction, as well as 160 hours of observation and driving on a training range and public roads.
President Ricardo J. Solis was joined by STC leadership to welcome a Trancasa truck to the Technology campus in McAllen as it delivered hundreds of boxes of potato chips to be distributed among all six campuses.
“This partnership with Trancasa has been very significant to the CDL (commercial driver’s license) program that we have,” Solis said. “This event today is a testament of the positive ramifications that occur when you have a strong partnership. And, what better items to give to our students and staff.”
When Trancasa had surplus packages of food products that could be distributed, they turned to their area partnership, said Jose A. Martinez, Head of Marketing and Public Relations for TCA Logistics LLC.
“We thought ‘Let’s share with our partners and give back to our city,’” Martinez said. “Through this, STC students will see that we work with great companies. And, we are very thankful to Barcel for allowing us to share their products with our students.”
Martinez said Trancasa hopes STC students will not only enjoy the gift, but connect it to the delivery process and see what is accomplishable in the CDL program.
“They will see that we deliver a lot of the products that they hold in their hands,” Martinez said. “And, hopefully, students will be able to envision themselves one day being able to haul the packages themselves.”
STC Board Trustee Dalinda Gonzalez-Alcantar said this type of pipeline between quality students from STC to businesses like Trancasa is valuable for the entire community. And, in order to create strong partnerships, everyone involved has a responsibility to reciprocate the efforts given.
“Today Trancasa is showing that they recognize the importance of giving back to the community,” Gonzalez-Alcantar said. “The community belongs to everyone and giving back has to be reciprocated. Everyone should have a responsibility to each other. I think it’s great that Trancasa is showing they understand that.”
And, Martinez said Trancasa is proud to find ways to continue strengthening their partnership with STC. Even in the seemingly small gesture of delivering a snack to the students.
“Right now, in these times, we have to find ways to collaborate,” Martinez said. “And, we’ve found that sharing our success will make everyone else successful, as well. That’s what we strive for.”
