After moving to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and realizing the need for additional technical expertise to obtain viable local employment, Donald Blankenship walked into Bay College for help. Don immediately felt welcomed and a sense of family.  “I think that is an important quality in a college that helps mold our younger generations AND our non-traditional, older adults who have decided to alter their career paths.”

Don enrolled in the Mechatronics and Robotics program to achieve his goal. Bay accepted his prior degree courses, allowing him to get on a fast track to reinventing himself.  He learned basic electrical circuit fundamentals to programing robots to complete complex tasks. “I had a great experience in Bay’s robotics program, I even spent extra time in the lab obtaining more hands on experience.”  

While completing his mechatronics and robotics degree at Bay College, Don was offered a part time job at Pisces Fish Machinery. Upon graduation in May, Don works full time for Pisces using his new technical training to program equipment and work on electrical schematics that make their way around the world in the fish processing industry.