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Terra's Success Stories 

Bennett B. Grimmett
1988 Welding/Nondestructive Testing Graduate

Bennett Grimmett’s advice for success is simple – think long term.

And he has some experience to back up that philosophy. Grimmett is now the Principal Engineer at BWXT Services Inc. in Lynchburg, Virginia. But it all began in 1985 upon his graduation from Marion Steele High School in Amherst when he enrolled at Terra and it’s not over yet.

“Terra provided an anchor in my career,” he said. “I was simply not ready to attend a major university let alone survive a rigorous engineering program. I needed time to mature and figure out what I wanted to do with my life while also improving my education. I had planned on being a welder, but a field trip to Terra in the spring before graduation opened my eyes that there were more opportunities in welding than simply ‘burning rods’ all day for the next 30 to 40 years.”

Grimmett left Terra in 1988 with Associate Degrees in Welding Technology and Nondestructive Testing.

“I was fortunate to have a mentor, James Harris, who was also attending Terra but was an older student (31 to my 18 years),” he said. “He knew someone in Columbus at a consulting firm and helped me land a position while I attended Ohio State for welding engineering.

“This experience helped set the stage for my career as I was able to work with other degreed welding engineers while attending the program at OSU – an extremely valuable experience that helped tremendously with my first and subsequent positions.”

Grimmett has been a Principal Engineer for 15 years, working in program and project management, code/regulatory compliance, welding engineering, materials joining, quality assurance and nondestructive evaluation.

“I have worked for an engineering consulting firm, oil refineries, chemical plants, a research organization and now a major defense contractor,” he said. “It has been a very diverse and interesting career plus I have had the ability through education and experience to not be pigeon-holed into one industry.”

And in terms of thinking long term, Grimmett continued his education after Terra, earning a degree in Welding Engineering at The Ohio State University and an MBA from Franklin University, finishing at the top of the class.

“One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is overly high expectations or passing up a good position to improve skills because it doesn’t pay quite what they are expecting,” he said. “Many students expect to graduate from college and think they are set for their entire career. It is simply not so. You must constantly be willing to adapt and learn, otherwise you can be pigeon-holed and then it really becomes a job – no fun at all.”

Grimmett said Terra offers a unique environment with a mix of younger and older students.

“This inherent diversity has the added benefit of providing the younger student with the ability to develop relationships with people who may very well be the same age as their future boss,” he said. “This experience really helped me cultivate business relationships and give me the ability to give presentations to senior managers and see them as peers, not ‘overlords’.”

He also feels the communications curriculum was invaluable.

“Keep all the communications courses from basic writing to speech,” he suggested. “Giving me the ability to communicate effectively has had the biggest impact on my career.”

A member of the 2000 class of Distinguished Alumni at Terra, Grimmett is a Registered Professional Engineer, an International Welding Engineer and member of several American Welding Society technical committees. He holds various welding certifications and is co-author of Welding Handbook-Qualification and Certification Chapter.

Grimmett lives in Forest, Virginia with his wife Lauren, daughter Molly and son Bennett II.