Media Room

After spending more than 20 years in the transportation industry, John Russell Spear, Jr., decided it was time for a new direction. “I looked at several paths, and Houston City College offered the best opportunities,” he said. John enrolled at HCC Northeast where, in May 2025, he earned an Associate of Applied Science in Instrumentation and Controls Engineering Technology.

With the Houston region’s unemployment rate in August reaching its highest level in nearly a decade — 5 percent — the need for education and training opportunities is urgent. HCC is stepping up to help those who have lost jobs prepare for in-demand roles that require more than a high school diploma but less than a two- or four-year degree through its Connect 2 Workforce program.

In a quiet corner of Houston City College’s Northwest Campus is where literary theory and soil meet. That is where English Professor Cathy Clay tends to more than just blooming plants—she’s cultivating young minds. Through an innovative fusion of literature and gardening, she brings English texts to life by drawing connections between the resilience of plants and the complexity of human characters. Her method is anything but conventional, and that’s exactly the point.