Like many young men, when Nate Vogeler, Rochelle, graduated from high school, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He enrolled for a semester at Kishwaukee College, but found himself a bit unfocused. He left school after that semester and joined the Marines. Honorably discharged over four years later, Nate found new purpose and came back to Kishwaukee College, this time with a clearer plan: to become a Mechanical and Architectural Designer through the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) program.
“I think it all made more sense when I came back after Afghanistan,” he said. “The entire time I was a student these past couple of years, I missed maybe five classes. I realized this time that it wasn’t a game. This was my future.” That new sense of purpose paid off. Nate was selected for an internship this spring with Accelerated Machine Design and Engineering in Rockford, and landed a full-time position as a Mechanical Designer when the internship was completed.
From 2007 until July 2011, Nate was a combat engineer with the Marine Corps, completing one tour in Afghanistan. “I don’t regret that at all,” he stated. “I was with construction/demolition and I got to do a lot of unique things. When I returned home, I had an opportunity to go to school for free as a veteran. I had always been kind of interested in drafting, so I went to Kishwaukee for that.”
While a student at Rochelle Township High School, Nate took drafting with Rick Bunton, who is now the Coordinator of Programs of Study for the Career Technologies division at Kishwaukee College. After the Marines, he enrolled in the CAD Program and retook two classes he had taken when he was first a student the fall semester after high school. “The software had changed and was newer, so I wanted to retake those classes,” he said.
Computer-Aided Design is drafting in the digital age, using CAD software to easily and efficiently explore design possibilities. Creating drawings electronically allows for quicker, more precise manipulation of the design. The CAD Program at Kishwaukee College provides a solid foundation in traditional drafting skills and the latest CAD technology. Graduates from the Kishwaukee program have found employment in a wide variety of business and industry.
Mark Schwendau, CAD faculty, encouraged Nate to graduate this past May with not one, but two CAD degrees, an Associates in Applied Science in both Architectural Design and Mechanical Design. Nate explained, “Getting both degrees was easy to do—the electives I took for one degree doubled as the requirements for the other degree. Mark was great! I liked the way he teaches—he shows you how, gives the assignment and then lets you to work on it. The best way to learn CAD is to use it and he knows that.”
At Accelerated Machine Design and Engineering, Nate works with a team that includes several engineers, tool-and-die professionals and other designers like him. “We meet every week to discuss the projects. It is a really collaborative work place,” he explained.
“I like what I do. It’s fun. It’s challenging. There are so many different opportunities. What I do as a designer, a machine just can’t do,” he added. “Kishwaukee College gave me a good foundation to build on—the technology on campus was great. I could design something, send it to the 3D Printer and hold my design in my hand just a few hours later. “ For Nate Vogeler, learning Computer-Aided Design was a straight line to success!
For more information on the CAD program at Kishwaukee College, contact Mark Schwendau at mark.schwendau@kishwaukeecollege.edu or visit www.kishwaukeecollege.edu.
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