Saturday, February 2, 2013

Propelling My Career

Working in research and development helped me become a better academic
by Wayne M.

I was employed in product assurance at Lockheed Propulsion Company (LPC) from 1956 to 1975. LPC worked with my schedule so that I could attend school part time. Because of this encouragement, I was able to earn a master’s degree with an emphasis in mathematics. After the plant closed in 1975, I taught mathematics at San Bernardino Community College for 30 years before retirement.

I feel a real sense of gratitude for the inspiration of those I worked with over the years. Most of our work was research and development. The people I worked with were top-quality. The experience was a real asset in teaching. It enabled me to present the material in ways that showed practical useful concepts that might have otherwise seemed abstract.