Big Country TSTC Students Win Gold at Nationals

BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Texas State Technical College (TSTC) students from Abilene and Sweetwater brought home gold medals from the SkillsUSA conference in Atlanta.

The national competition involved thousands of students from hundreds of technical and trade schools across the country, and three TSTC students from the Big Country proved they were the best in their field by winning the gold medal. The fields that won gold for TSTC were EET (Electrical Engineering Technology) and EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). Engineering instructor and state director of wind energy technology adaptation Russell Benson shared what the award means to TSTC.

“Students leave here with a 99.9 percent employment rate. I couldn’t be more proud, and that just speaks volumes about what we do here at TSTC,” Benson said.

Hunter Spohn and David Aman from the TSTC Abilene campus competed in the team competition in the EMT category. Hunter and David initially had separate teammates for the competition, but their remaining teammates were unable to compete in the national competition due to circumstances beyond their control.

The stress of competing in a team event is high enough for a well-trained group, but the pair had only one practice session together before the competition. Fortunately, they found that their prior training at TSTC had prepared them to work together effectively, and that training allowed the pair to take first place.

“We had a scenario where we simulated a 911 call — we had to run, take care of a patient and get them to the hospital, and then we had a few other skills that we did,” Spohn said.

The couple spoke of their surprise when they learned they had won.

“It’s just amazing,” Aman said.

“My jaw dropped to the floor. We didn’t expect that at all,” Spohn replied.

The competitor on the Sweetwater campus was Toby Styron. Styron is considered an unconventional student because he returned to college in his 30s, but he says his motivation is stronger in his old age than many of his peers. Styron’s event was a high-stakes scenario challenge in which he took on the role of a facilities manager for a large entity.

“I was a facility manager at a hospital with 600 patients. We were doing construction on one of the patient rooms on one of the random floors. A construction worker hit a sprinkler head. The sprinkler head was energized. It was spraying 280 gallons of water a minute. I had to make a recommendation on what I would do in that scenario to solve the problem,” Styron explained.

While students appreciate the merits of their achievements, they say that the example they set is more important to them than personal accolades.

“He’s 19. I’m 70. So it’s never too late for anyone to learn,” Amin shared.

Styron shared that sentiment, saying, “I hope this sets a standard for students who come after me to want to go out and get it. Go out and get it.”

All three participants were the first in school history to win gold in national competition for both the Abilene and Sweetwater campuses.