TSTC graduate makes impact in family business with associate degree

HARLINGEN — Texas State Technical College alumna Isha Rodriguez recently graduated with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Business Management Technology and is already putting her skills to work.

“I am part owner and oversee the business office of our family business, Terra Works LLC, in Harlingen,” she said. “My husband handles the landscape and construction side of the business. We build multi-family apartment complexes. I use QuickBooks Desktop every day for our business. The skills I gained (at TSTC) help me create invoices for customers, keep bank transactions organized, and use correct verbiage when I email business proposals to our clients.”

Steven Szymoniak, a TSTC Business Management Technology instructor, said the skills that Rodriguez learned in such courses as Computerized Accounting and Small Business Operations are vital to a small business.

“Each course provided Isha with important and essential information for her, her husband and their business to stay profitable,” Szymoniak said.

Rodriguez said her training in the program was comprehensive in scope.

“In the online program, I learned how to create business proposals, a finance report and personal statements,” she said. “I learned about the correct verbiage to use when applying for a small business loan. Most importantly, I learned how to interpret finances (that determine) if a business is going to be profitable.”

Now that Rodriguez is putting her degree to use, she is optimistic about the future of the family business.

“If I can … be successful with the skills I learned (at TSTC) in our business, our business will do great,” she said.

TSTC offers online training for its Business Management Technology program. Students can pursue an Associate of Applied Science degree in Business Management Technology and certificates of completion in Office Assistant, Bookkeeping Accounting Assistant and Business Management Technology.

For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.