Introduce yourself!

[Andrea Strzelec]

One thing that usually happens at Residency is that everyone gets the chance to introduce themselves to each other – and not just to the people in their classes – so – lets try it here!  Tell us who you are! Where you are from! Where you work! And anything else you want to share about yourself!

[DON STEWART]

Dear Dr. Strzelec and MEES Colleagues,

My name is Donald (Don) Stewart and I currently live in Parkersburg, West Virginia.  Although I am a West Virginia native, I have lived in Georgia, Alabama, and Kentucky and in a curious coincidence returned to West Virginia in order to work for Toyota and build Internal Combustion Engines!  I have been privileged to serve in several roles in both Manufacturing and Support roles while manufacturing automotive engines and automatic transmissions.  So I have indeed been fortunate to have a career by combining two fields that I love; manufacturing and engines/transmissions.  For the past two years I have been on assignment at Hino Motor Manufacturing, a commercial truck factory that is part of the Toyota Group which has allowed me to gain Vehicle Plant/Vehicle Assembly experience but I am closing in on the end of my assignment and my return to the World of Powertrain.

My undergraduate educational background is such that I have Bachelor degrees  in Mechanical and Civil Engineering.  My Thermodynamics experience during this time was not one of joy to be sure.  I have come to realize that the material was not the issue, but rather a result of the instructional method and I have to admit my perspective at the time.  My focus at the time was on Mechanics and I had little to no interest in Thermodynamics and Energy.  In an odd twist I have to admit to enjoying a course in Heat and Mass Transfer, so perhaps all is not lost.

On my journey I have managed to receive my MBA which has been helpful in gaining an understanding of the business aspects of the job, and even though I am glad that I did that, I must add that gaining my Masters in Engineering is a goal that has been a long-time in the making .  Life circumstances was such that it was not feasible for me to do this early in my career and basically put it off until recently when I decided that I was running out of time.  I began to research various programs and schools until I sort of stumbled across the MEES program.  Even though I continued to research other programs I continued to find myself returning to the MEES program for consideration.  Other programs have materials and courses that are perhaps more in line with my experience and would make the pursuit easier, but I finally decided that since this was something being done truly for myself, I would take the program that I was interested in and had the most opportunity to learn new things.  Maybe not the easiest path to take, but I feel that this will be a journey worth taking and look forward to making it with all of you.

 

Sincerely,

Don Stewart

[Author]

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