After completing Dallas College’s Mechatronics program and beginning a career in the private sector, Marcus Russell saw firsthand the opportunities the field could provide. But he also recognized something more; a chance to help others follow that same path.

Today, Marcus has returned to Dallas College as a Mechatronics Facilitator at the RedBird Center, where he’s helping students discover what’s possible.

“I tell all my students, not only could you get an automation job, you could be a professor, you could own a company,” Marcus said. “There’s so many things that you could do from this program to change the trajectory.”

In communities like Wilmer-Hutchins, DeSoto and Lancaster, the need is clear. Dozens of automation technician roles remain unfilled, not because the jobs don’t exist, but because there aren’t enough trained workers to fill them.

Marcus is working to change that and the impact is already being felt. Marcus has seen students transition from uncertainty to stability in a matter of months, including recent high school graduates stepping into high-paying roles as PLC technicians.

“I have 18-year-olds who are now PLC techs, making $36 an hour, who just got out of high school three months ago,” he said. “(They) were having problems at home. Now they don’t have (those) problems.”

For Marcus, the work is personal. What started as his own journey through Dallas College has come full circle; now guiding others toward new opportunities and helping transform lives along the way.