CAD has small class sizes. Students get to know each other by name and I know the students by name.
What do you teach?
I teach Computer Aided Design and Drafting and Engineering classes. I'm also responsible for the engineering transfer program.
What exactly is CAD?
It's the old process of taking paper and pencil and triangles – board drafting is what we used to do, now it's computer-aided. So the computer is aiding the process of doing the drafting and the design work itself. So that's computer-aided design and drafting. It's part of engineering. Actually computer-aided design is everything that a mechanical engineer, an industrial engineer, and an electrical engineer uses. Somebody actually had to think about that product, create a drawing. And like I said, in the old days, it was paper and pencil. And now it's computer-aided generated. So they're actually creating that design and then creating, in essence, a prototype, which in the old days used to be manufactured through a machine shop or a mold-making shop or a foundry. Nowadays, it's 3D printers.
How would you describe your teaching style and what can students expect in class with you?
I'm kind of an open door, open book. A student has a question. They need help. Come see me, I tell them, I'm here for you. Communication's key. If you're struggling, you need help. Come see me during my office hours. If a student needs to get together on Saturday morning and get help, I get together with them. Or we can meet up at Starbucks. The classes I teach are entry-level. Everything we do from week to week builds upon the the next lesson and that builds upon the next lesson as we go through.
What should students know about studying CAD at Waubonsee?
There are small class sizes, students get to know each other by name. I know the students by name, so it's more personal. I want to help students succeed. One of the things we do also in our first year class is to create an electronic portfolio, a resume, and a LinkedIn account. So, I stay in touch with a lot of our former students through LinkedIn.I've got like 700 connections.
How did you become interested in the CAD?
So my first degree is in tool and die manufacturing. I had to take engineering graphics. I had to take drafting classes. I took design class on jigs and fixtures. When I went back and got my education degree in Career and Technical Education, I had to take drafting classes. When I left industry 20 years ago to get back into teaching, it was really to give back, to teach.
I taught high school for eight years. I taught AutoCAD, Inventor, residential architecture. Then I taught Revit, which is a product that Autodesk has. I did love teaching high school. But I've loved every day that I've been teaching here at Waubonsee. It's just been great. . .and it's been growing every year.
Do you have a favorite project?
Cross-collaborative projects are really fun. Next semester, I've got two female students from the auto body repair taking my class. And I'm excited to have them, because they want to work on old cars. And of course, with a lot of old cars, you can't get parts. Well, if these students can design parts, 3D print them, redo a car. . .to me, that's golden. That's the fun of what I do.
