More than 800 Coastal Bend students explored career paths at Del Mar College, highlighting workforce demand and job opportunities in multiple sectors.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — More than 800 high school juniors and seniors from across South Texas got a firsthand look at career opportunities Thursday during “Discover Del Mar Day” at Del Mar College.

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Students from multiple school districts including from as far away as Laredo — visited the college’s Windward Campus to explore hands-on programs tied to high-demand local jobs.

Faculty and industry partners showcased career pathways in fields like healthcare, welding and process technology, all of which continue to see strong workforce demand in the Coastal Bend.

“In the healthcare industry and the refinery industry, there are demands all over — in welding, process technology and other industrial fields,” said DMC Dean Gracie Martinez. “We’re working closely with public services and industry to make sure we fill those needs.”

One of those fields — industrial instrumentation — caught the attention of H.M. King High School senior Artemio Alanis.

After meeting a professor during the event, Alanis said he now plans to pursue the program.

“It opened up meeting new professors, seeing things I didn’t know were here,” Alanis said. “I was able to talk to the professor I’m going to be taking classes with Mr. Mike for instrumental tech. Very nice guy.”

Mike Creacy, the “nice guy” Alaniz referred to, says instrumentation careers extend far beyond refineries, with graduates working in a wide range of automated and environmental systems.

“That’s only 10% of our students. All the other 90% go to work in all the other facilities,” Creacy said. “I worked at the Corpus Christi Army Depot, retired 2019. I was a supervisor instrument tech out there when I retired. Everything that’s environmental, everything that’s automated has an instrument tech working there.” 

As automation and artificial intelligence continue to expand, demand for those jobs is expected to grow.

“As stuff becomes more and more automated, there’s more demand for people in our field to install, repair, to maintain and calibrate that automated equipment. You walk up to the grocery store, the door opens and closes automatically. Somebody’s got to install that equipment, repair it, maintain it and calibrate it, to make sure it works the way it’s supposed to,” Creacy said.

For Alanis, the event was about more than career exploration — it was about building a future close to home.

“It would help us out a lot,” he said. “The money is real good, its a plan for the future, and I want to try to get all the way to the top to be able to support my mom, my pops, and my little siblings.” 

Del Mar College also highlighted its “Freedom to Dream” tuition waiver program, which aims to remove financial barriers for students within the college’s taxing district, which includes areas served by Corpus Christi ISD, Calallen ISD, Flour Bluff ISD, Tuloso-Midway ISD, West Oso ISD, and parts of London ISD and Robstown ISD. You can find out more about the  “Freedom to Dream” program here.