BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Students in 51’s HVAC program toured the TSC Recreation Center on April 14 for a firsthand look at the equipment that helps keep the facility operating, turning a campus visit into a lesson on real-world HVAC work.
The tour gave students an opportunity to see how the concepts they study in class apply in a working setting. Gerardo Mascorro, TSC HVAC supervisor, said the visit was meant to introduce students to another side of the trade and show them what the industry can offer.
“Hopefully they can [get] involved pretty soon because it’s the best way to get more earnings,” Mascorro said.
Federico Rodriguez, HVAC instructor at TSC, said the program offers both certificate and associate degree options while emphasizing the core skills students need to build on in the field.
“The HVAC program here, we have actually certificate and associate degree that we provide to students,” Rodriguez said. “We teach you the basics of refrigeration. We teach you the basics of electricity. Those are our two primary things that we emphasize throughout the program.”
Rodriguez said hands-on instruction continues to be one of the program’s defining features.
“What makes TSC different is that we have a lot of hands on,” he said. “We focus a lot on hands on, because that’s the most important way that students are going to learn.”
Charles Adams, an HVAC student at TSC, said the energy among students has helped push him to improve.
“Everybody’s interested. Everybody’s into it,” Adams said. “Everybody wants to grow… I love that feeling like everybody wants to get better and it makes me want to get better”
The April 14 visit to the Recreation Center gave students a chance to connect classroom instruction to working campus equipment while reinforcing the role HVAC systems play in keeping facilities running.
For students preparing to enter the field, the tour offered a closer look at the practical side of the trade and underscored the value of hands-on learning.
