WEBVTT

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CHRISTINA: I'm
Christina Michelle Smith.

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I'm 32 years old, and I
grew up in Orange, Texas.

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You know, I thought for years
I was an abstract artist.

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I had no interest in math
and science growing up.

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I love to write, I love to
paint, I love to doodle.

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I always throw in a red circle.

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I was 29 when I got pregnant.

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It's been the biggest
blessing in my life.

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My daughter's name is Samantha.

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We call her Sam for short.

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She really kind of
put my life on course.

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I kind of always been
happy just getting by.

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When I had her, it's
like all of a sudden,

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I had all these new goals.

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SAMANTHA: Like what?

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CHRISTINA: I needed to
provide this and do that and be

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this example.

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I got laid off and
right before that,

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my daughter had brain surgery
and I lost my health insurance.

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And it was kind of
a very scary time

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because I didn't have anything
to fall back on.

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It went from from good
money, insurance, to nothing.

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And one day it just
really hit me here.

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You know, it never mattered.

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It didn't.

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And then one day it mattered and
I wanted to go back to school.

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I just decided it's
something I needed to do.

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I needed my own career.

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I needed a college degree.

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So that I never had to
worry about health insurance

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or worry about her in any
kind of way and I kind of just

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sat down on a computer, looked
at the programs they offered.

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I like to use my hands.

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I like to learn, and
the PTEC program

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does seem like it'd be the
greatest thing for that.

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I was curious.

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Could you tell me what ATE is?

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PTEC DIRECTOR: ATE is advanced
technological education.

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I work for the Center
for the Advancement

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of process Technology.

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We started with the National
Science Foundation grant.

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And we are an ATE incentive,
and what we are tasked with

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is promoting process
technology as a career

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field across the country.

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We've created a set of
standardized curriculum

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that we encourage
our colleges to use.

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ATE is a very
integral part of that.

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CHRISTINA: I decided to go
to College of the Mainland--

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community college.

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They're very pro-PTEC
and involved.

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They talk the bigger
picture, you know,

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what this career could actually
do for me down the road.

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My initial interest in
looking at the PTEC program

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was basically saying that
it's a hands-on type job.

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The machines, the concepts
behind it, it's fascinating.

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I mean, who doesn't
want to make jet fuel?

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You know?

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DEPARTMENT CHAIR: We
teach students how

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to work in process industry.

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We give a very broad education
about the type of equipment

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that they are going
to be working with.

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CHRISTINA: As
an intern for Shell,

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I went to the plant.

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That allowed us
to get an overview

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of what we've been studying
in school for two years.

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SHELL ADVISOR: Students coming
out of the PTEC program

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have more knowledge
about the equipment

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that they are seeing
out in the field.

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PTEC DIRECTOR: I think it's going
to help fill that workforce

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gap that we've all been so
worried about when the baby

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boomers retire.

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They're going to come in, ready
to hit the ground running.

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CHRISTINA: It's just
an opportunity, not only

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for Shell to kind of
see you and your habits,

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but it was also an
opportunity for me to go, OK,

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do I really want to do this?

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DEPARTMENT CHAIR: These jobs
are relatively high-tech.

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Lots of computerization,
and so it

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takes a pretty broad
depth of knowledge

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in order to work in these.

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CHRISTINA:
Plants make everything.

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They make energy, they
make your oil, your gas,

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the plastic on your credit
card that you can't put down,

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your nail polish remover.

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I mean everything.

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It's mind blowing and amazing.

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But process technology
teaches you everything

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to kind of prepare you to
get you a job out at one

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of these plants.

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MOM: When she took hold
of this, she really took off

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and it's been amazing to watch.

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She's made me very proud.

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Very proud.

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CHRISTINA: I
definitely encourage

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people that didn't go
to college go back.

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You can do it.

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There are people
ready to support you.

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I've managed to make it
and graduate college.

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Everything's making sense now.

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I went from being
down here to up here.

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And it's an amazing feeling.

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I walk across the
stage the next Wednesday.

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ANNOUNCER: Christina--

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Thi Beta Kappa, highest honor.

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[CHEERING]

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CHRISTINA: It's
going to be a good feeling.

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My kid's going to
see me do that.

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SHELL ADVISOR:
Christina did so well

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in the internship we
hired her as an employee.

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CHRISTINA: It's
just been amazing how

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it's kind of all come together.

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Anybody who is interested
in going back to college,

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you can do it and
you can do it well.

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Better than you ever
thought you could.

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I know that I can do anything
that I put my mind to,

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that I have every opportunity
that anybody else does,

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and that's a good feeling.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]