A new partnership between South Texas College and Texas A&M aims to address the state's growing need for engineers

Engineer David De Sousa said he had to get through several roadblocks to become one.

“By starting in community college, it really open a lot of doors,” De Sousa said. "When I initially applied to Texas A&M, I was actually denied."

Now, De Sousa's job is to get more students into engineering through community colleges. According to Texas A&M University, Texas would need about 51,000 engineers by 2028.

To help fill the need, STC is partnering up with Texas A&M University to launch the Texas A&M Engineering Academy.

Students who are admitted can complete their first two years of school at STC and then finish their engineering degree at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Texas A&M estimates students could save over $4,000 in tuition costs every semester.

Applications for the fall semester are available online.