St. Philip's College Nets SIx-Figure Grant from Port San Antonio for Aerospace Worker Training

(l to r) Vernard Grice, SPC director of Extended Services, SPC-Southwest Campus; Bill Champion, Standard Aero; Maureen Cartledge, interim dean of Applied Science and Technology, SPC Southwest Campus; Jorge Trevino, SPC director of Institutional Advancement; Bruce Miller, Port San Antonio; Dr. Adena Williams Loston, SPC president; Ron Cherry, Chromalloy; and Jim Ferguson, Chromalloy.

San Antonio’s aerospace industry got a great liftoff. This week, St. Philip’s College received a grant worth $139,000 from Port San Antonio, the aerospace and industrial complex located at the former Kelly Air Force Base.

“Thank you for this investment in our students,” said Dr. Adena Williams Loston, President of St. Philip’s College. “We are actively involved and engaged in training a hi-tech workforce,” she said. “This partnership will help us better address the economic concerns of San Antonio.”

St. Philip’s College is facing that challenge head-on. The college’s Southwest Campus at 800 Quintana Road is an industrial center filled with hi-tech vocational programs that include a well-developed airframe and power plant program that meets Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and aircraft industry standards. Many of the programs are designed to train high school students and adults in two years or less for high demand, well-paying technical careers in the aviation industry.

“St. Philip’s allowed me to get a foot in the door in the aviation industry,” said Albert Fuentes, an aircraft mechanic who makes nearly $12 an hour with only two years of training.

The grant awarded to St. Philip’s will be used to train employees for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of airplanes. This grant targets employees who primarily work for Chromalloy, Lockheed Martin and Standard Aero.

For nearly twenty years, the aircraft technology program at St. Philip’s College’s Southwest Campus has been a pipeline for skilled labor in San Antonio’s aerospace industry. Many of St. Philip’s graduates are now employed by various companies in the aerospace community.

Northwest Vista College Faculty and Staff Build and Donate Computers to Students

Thirteen Northwest Vista College students have recently been awarded free computers for their home use. It is a project spearheaded at Northwest Vista College by Dean of Workforce Development, Patrick Fontenot, and Computer Forensics Program Coordinator and instructor, Dr. Warren Mack.

A few months ago, Patrick Fontenot and Dr. Warren Mack called on fellow Information Technology faculty and staff members to purchase old computers, and use their technical expertise to refurbish the equipment and then donate it to students who could not otherwise afford to buy a personal computer.

“This project is our way to answer the chancellor’s call to narrow the digital divide,” says Patrick Fontenot, referring to Dr. Bruce Leslie's call to narrow the technology gap that exists among the majority of our student populations, especially the lower income. “Several of us (IT faculty and staff) got together and submitted a bid for a pallet of computers, monitors, and accessories and won the bid from ACCD surplus property.” 

It is a win-win situation for everyone involved, says Dr. Warren Mack. "The students from my Microsoft computer support class had a chance to refurbish the computers, so they gained valuable hands-on experience in computer support and repair. The recipient students received a working computer, complete with software to help them with their college class work."

The faculty who have been involved in the project include Pat Fontenot, Dr. Warren Mack, Bobby Yeater, Fabius Bascon, John Grillo, Aaron Hackney. Additional support has been provided by the Information and Communications Technology staff.

Technology Support Manager Gloria Lopez says that much effort went into selecting the recipients of the computers. "We worked hard to ensure that the computers were well matched with students who truly need them, those who had no computers at home at all."
Student Roxan Gonzalez was one of the recipients. She says that with four children, getting a free computer is much appreciated. "It's wonderful to get this level of support from the college."

By the year's end, the faculty and staff who are participating in the project hope to reconstruct 28 computers and monitors for students' personal use.
Network administrator major, Monica Gonzales, was another student who received a free computer for her home use. "I think this is wonderful," she says. “I could never afford to have a computer at home. It’s been a big help financially and I want to thank everyone involved.”