Students use skills to make McAllen home owner more comfortable

Nine South Texas College students volunteered four hours each away from family and friends on a bright November morning to help Florencia Sepulveda of McAllen, Texas make her home more energy efficient. The students partnered with TXU Energy Company to give the Sepulveda home a makeover.
 
“The family was selected by the RGV Food Bank and we worked with South Texas College instructors to review the home and see where improvements could be made to make life better and bills more manageable for the family,” said Sophia Stoller, TXU Energy representative. “It was clear that the Sepulveda’s would benefit greatly from our knowledge and abilities.”
 
The STC students, who study in the college’s Electrician’s Assistant and Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration programs, were keen to put their skills and knowledge to use.
 
“We have learned a lot in the classroom, but there is nothing like field experience like this where you get to know what to expect physically and understand the expectations of the customer, and get put in different scenarios,” said STC HVACR Student Brian Sweeten. “It feels good to come out and solve their problems.”
 
Some of the tasks performed by the team include replacing the coil in the air conditioning unit, installing seven new flushmount lighting fixtures, installing switch and outlet insulation to seal the air pocket behind wall plates, installing two fire detectors and a carbon monoxide detector, repairing the aired bathroom exhaust fan and light, repairing several loose and damaged electrical outlets, and installing a programmable thermostat for the air conditioning unit.
 
“It’s has been a great learning experience for our students because not everything is in the text books and the students can learn some of the tricks of the trade that I bring to the table from my years as a service tech,” said Guadalupe Hernandez, STC HVACR Program chair. “We also got them caught up on some of the little things that normally we don’t even do in the classroom. But most importantly, they get to learn what’s it’s like in the real world.”
 
Between the generous donation of materials and time by TXU Energy valued at well over $1,000 and the donation of time and labor by STC students, the Sepulveda family benefited from more than $2,500 in material and labor costs to outfit their home. The makeover will save the family much more in future energy costs as well. But the real winners were the students.
 
“What we teach in the classroom is that when you learn the trade, it’s always good to give a little of what you know to the community and so we feel it’s very important to participate in projects like this to help others in need,” said Arnulfo Flores, STC Electrician’s Assistant Program chair, who helped oversee the students during the makeover.
 
For more information about STC’s Electrician’s Assistant Program call 956-872-6112 or for more information about STC’s Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Program call 956-872-6111.