Alum Transforms Military Experience Into High-Tech Career

Six weeks into a new career, designing and crafting jet engine parts for GE Aerospace, South Texas College alumnus Jose Maldonado said faculty with STC’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology program and its supporters in industry went above and beyond to get him the skills he needed to succeed in the workplace.

Maldonado said it took more than 20 years in the Army, a short stint in local law enforcement, and a degree in manufacturing to land his ideal job – but the additional work experience has been worth the extra time and effort.

STC has enabled him to hit the ground running as he transitioned into his new role as a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinist and operator with GE, among the top in the world for the design, manufacturing and servicing of aircraft engines and components.

“I wasn’t your traditional student,” Maldonado said. “Coming from the Army, I worked all over the United States, in bases in Iraq and served in several combat tours. I was looking for new opportunities in life and STC helped me make that transition. It all boiled down to the fact that my instructors at STC really took the time to guide me as long as I was willing to put in the work. There aren’t many colleges that do that for their students, so I’m thankful I had the opportunity.”

Enlisting in the Army right after high school, Maldonado said he served more than two decades as a Military Police. After retiring in 2016, Maldonado said he enrolled at STC and entered the Criminal Justice program, earning his associate degree in 2018, but was still eager to enter a career where he could use his hands and create something.

He toured the world and traveled in Europe for the next two years and when he returned to the United States, he said he utilized a hobby in firearms to enroll in a gunsmithing program in Colorado, earning a degree in 2020.

It was in that program where he was first introduced into the world of CNC machining, which would pique his interest when he began looking for a program in Texas that could help him move forward in the trade, he said.

“STC had a program that could add to the foundation I already had with gunsmithing so I learned more here at STC than anywhere else because every semester we would dive more and more into a project as well as blueprint reading while working on the product,” Maldonado said. “While the program I entered in Colorado still had us doing a lot of manual mill and lathe work with old school machines, the Advanced Manufacturing program here at STC had us designing our projects through a computer with extreme precision. I was amazed, to say the least.”

Maldonado earned his degree in Advanced Manufacturing Technology in May 2024. While in the program he said he made the most of the job fairs and networking opportunities he could find as well as scholarships from manufacturing supporters in industry.

He earned a scholarship from South Texas Manufacturers Association (STMA) in 2023, a regional industry association, which for the last 10 years has supported standout students like Maldonado who are entering the workforce.

“It’s important for young people who are going into their first job or their career in this industry to always have the desire to want to learn more and have that willingness to apply themselves in everything they do. We call them ‘diamonds in the rough’ and Jose (Maldonado) is certainly among those who has that potential,” said Mike Willis, STMA executive director. “It’s very rewarding personally to see young people opt into these programs, earn a degree, get jobs in the industry here or elsewhere and climb the ladder. A lot of the folks that have gone through these programs are now managers and supervisors and highly skilled technicians. So, you know, folks like Jose are going to be quickly moved up the ladder.”

Maldonado said he was most appreciative of the skill to read something on paper and translate it into something functional.

“What I enjoyed most about the program was being given the skill to take a blueprint, reading it properly, and then machining a piece of aluminum or steel into a perfect representation of what I saw in the first place. It takes time and practice, but it’s something we are taught early on here at STC,” Maldonado said. “Everything I learned at STC, from working with CNC and Five-Axis and Three-Axis machines to all the hands-on lessons I was part of – it all easily transferred to my job with GE Aerospace. It was easy to pick up everything quickly to help me transition into my job as fast as possible.”