Student line workers conquer fear with football

Special to the NEWS

For many first-semester Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology students at Texas State Technical College, trusting their safety equipment and overcoming a fear of heights are important fundamentals for success in the program. Two of those students are San Benito’s own Michael Chis and Jose Lucio.

“The importance of safety is always discussed with the students,” said Angel Toledo, a TSTC Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology instructor in Harlingen. “We emphasize that training equipment is extremely important. (Students) must always have a complete uniform when doing hands-on training. They are educated about equipment and are tested on it.”

A fun-filled activity that Electrical Lineworker instructors implement to help students gain confidence is to have one student toss a football to a fellow classmate while both are atop adjacent training poles.

“This helps students become confident and trust their equipment,” Toledo said. “Climbing can come naturally for some students, and it can be more difficult for others. When they progress, they want to learn more.”
Chis is pursuing a certificate of completion in Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology at TSTC’s Harlingen campus.

He accepted the challenge from the instructors to climb the pole during the first week of the fall semester.

“My confidence now is great because I was instructed on how to use the equipment,” Chis said. “At the beginning, it did take me a few times to get adjusted. As for the football activity, it was entertaining. The purpose was for each student to not hold on to their strap or the pole. We also had to climb the pole at a faster speed. If you dropped the football, you had to go back down and work your way back up.”

Lucio is also pursuing a certificate of completion in Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology at the same campus.

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