Chaz Curtis is keeping a promise to his college professors. He's taking what he learned at Northeast Texas Community College and successfully applying it to the business world.
The NTCC alumnus is the office manager at Super 1 Foods and is on track to become a funeral director in Mount Pleasant. Curtis earned an associate's degree in Business Administration in 2012 and went on to earn his bachelor's degree on the same campus through NTCC's partnership with Texas A&M Texarkana. He recently graduated from mortuary school and he expects to complete his apprenticeship at a local funeral home this time next year.
Curtis is also on the board of directors for Titus County Cares and is an associate minister at Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Mount Pleasant.
Dr. Richard Herrera, one of his professors at TAMUT, told him, "In five years I want to see that you're still using the skills that we learned today."
"He was a store director with HEB, so the things we were talking about in class I was able to bring back and use in management," Curtis said.
He credits NTCC professors Joy Cooper, Heidi Wooten and Alan Carter, among others, for valuable lessons that have stayed with him.
"They were all able to relate what we were doing in the classroom to the actual field and how to use those skills in the workforce," he said. "I'm grateful for their experience in the business world and for their willingness to share what they know with their students."
Curtis also learned lessons outside the classroom while attending NTCC. He participated in the SIFE program, which stands for Students in Free Enterprise. The second year he was involved, his team won the regional competition in Dallas and went on to nationals.
"We were up against schools competing in community involvement and sustainability, and that allowed me to see business from a larger perspective," he said.
He was also president of Brother to Brother at the college, a mentoring program for area schools.
"We were reaching out to other young men letting them know the importance of education," Curtis said. "A lot of them were focused on sports, and we would ask them, 'What is your backup plan if a sports career doesn't pan out?' Some of them had never thought about it, and we would tell them about the classes and degrees that NTCC offers."
Curtis said being part of the program not only benefitted the students they mentored but made an impact on him and the other mentors.
"I enjoyed that. As college students, you don't always see what you can do to affect the world around you, and that allowed us to make a difference in their lives," he said.
Curtis encourages college-bound students to consider NTCC as an option, rather than to think they have to go to a four-year university as a freshman.
"A lot of students go off to college just to experience college life away from home. However, they are not considering the financial burden. I chose NTCC because it made sense financially. The same basic class here is a lot cheaper," he said. "It also gave me an opportunity to interact with my hometown community and not feel like an outsider."
He said many college freshmen haven't honed their study and time management skills and attending a large university can derail their success as a student.
"Being in a smaller environment allows you to stay focused on your studies and prepares you for the workforce and helps you master those study habits before you go on to a larger university," he said.
For Curtis, the partnership that NTCC has with TAMUT enabled him to take all of his classes on the Mount Pleasant campus or online.
"That saved me from having to drive two or three times a week to Texarkana, and I'm grateful for that," he said.
Curtis is eager to begin the next phase of his career as a funeral director, a job he feels called to do.
"Losing a loved one is painful, and if I can be there to ease their burden and give a word of comfort, I'm looking forward to that," he said. "I see it as a ministry. It is an opportunity to give them the word of God, and there is no greater comfort in such a time as that."
