ECTC gives EET student goals and connections

ECTC student David Roche Meléndez has a goal – to earn his degree, find gainful employment, and help support his family.

“They’ve helped me so much so it’s only right that I pay them back,” he said.

Originally from Puerto Rico, the engineering and electronics technology student moved to the United States as a young teen – first to Maryland, then to Kentucky – after his family lost everything in Hurricane Maria. The third of four brothers, he left most of his extended family behind, including his father and oldest brother.

“It’s been a culture shock,” he said. “I don’t hear Spanish much anymore, and on the island, I was able to go from one side to the other in two and a half hours. Now that gets me nowhere.”

Roche Meléndez came to ECTC in 2023 after a suggestion from his mother that he explore different career options, and ECTC offers the lowest tuition in the state. He will graduate in May 2025. Despite the challenges of attending college with English as a second language and being so lost in college algebra he had to look up the math terms in Spanish, ECTC has afforded him the freedom to choose – his schedule, his path, and a career that suits. Not only has he found his place educationally, but also as an employee, working as an office assistant in the engineering and electronics technology department at the college.

“I’ve met a lot of great people here and made some good connections,” he said.

Some of those connections have come from ECTC’s VEX U robotics team where Roche Meléndez participated in the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas last spring. The team competed in nine qualifying matches with teams around the world. They placed seventh in their division and earned the highest score for an individual team when they beat Mississippi State University 222 to 70. 

“I got involved with VEX because of a friend, but I stayed involved because it’s fun and interesting,” he said. “And all the competitions are a learning experience. We can see what works and what doesn’t, then build on that.”

Roche Meléndez chose to study engineering and electronics technology because he likes working with his hands, learning how things operate, and putting his knowledge and skills to practical use. He especially liked studying circuits.

“It’s problem solving,” he said. “Getting to build a circuit or find out what might be physically wrong with it is a thrilling experience.”