Ryan Salinas
For Ryan Salinas, the road to graduation wasn’t something he could have engineered on his own. But, years of detours and determination made the destination well worth the wait.
Salinas will graduate from Victoria College on May 16 with his associate degree, marking a major milestone as a first-generation college student from Port Lavaca. He plans to transfer to a university to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering and is currently exploring his options.
After high school, Salinas entered the workforce, taking on a variety of jobs from pizza delivery and sales to building scaffolds at Formosa Plastics. But something was missing.
“None of those jobs ever really satisfied me,” said Salinas. “I always felt like something was missing.”
Determined to find a new path, he enrolled at Victoria College and began taking classes. After about a year, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted his plans, and Salinas relocated to Austin for several years. Eventually, he returned home—and back to Victoria College—with a clear goal of pursuing mechanical engineering.
“I was that kid growing up that was always building LEGOs, taking stuff apart and trying to put it back together again,” he said. “I love figuring out what makes something work.”
Through Victoria College’s partnership with Texas A&M University–Kingsville, Salinas became part of the Javelina Engineering Academy, a transfer pathway designed to help students complete core curriculum and major-specific courses locally before transferring to a four-year university.
That opportunity opened even more doors. Last summer, Salinas participated in a competitive, paid internship at Texas A&M University’s Center for Advanced Small Modular and Micro Nuclear Reactors (CASMR) in College Station, where he gained hands-on experience in a professional nuclear science laboratory.
As he prepares to walk the stage, Salinas reflects on the challenges he’s overcome and the persistence that brought him here.
“Failure is a part of life, but I would say ‘don’t give up,’ ” said Salinas. “I never thought I would go back to college at 28, but I have the drive to keep going, and VC has given me the support to be able to achieve my goals.”
With an associate degree on the way and a future in engineering ahead, Salinas is proof that it’s never too late to pursue your passion and that determination, paired with opportunity, can lead to life-changing success.