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DUSTIN BOWERSOX—1998 Plastics Color Matching Graduate

As a youngster, Dustin Bowersox was pretty attached to his coloring book and box of crayons. Now his fascination is with coloring of a different sort – that of plastics.

Bowersox, a 1996 graduate of Old Fort High School, earned his Plastics Color Matching degree in 1998.

“General Electric held interviews at Terra in the spring of 1998,” he said. “I received an offer weeks before graduation.”

For the next 5 ½ years, Bowersox worked as a lab matcher and then lead matcher at the General Electric ColorXpress facility in Selkirk, N.Y.

Recently, Bowersox moved his family closer to home by accepting the position of Product Development Engineer at Uniform Color Company in Holland, Michigan.  In this role, he develops and maintains all color formulations for the non-automotive sector of the business, works with Research and Development to create exciting new colors and special effects, and interacts with customers to help them achieve a strong business relationship.

He began his coloring of plastics career at $20 an hour, but now has a salary of $65,000 a year plus incentive bonuses. Terra was a great choice.

“Terra begins the networking process for future careers in the plastic industry,” he said. “Companies respect individuals who have made a conscious choice to become educated in such a specialized field. The instructors were always available for questions and advice during my time at Terra.”

As with many fields, plastics graduates who are willing to relocate are much more marketable.

“Be willing to look elsewhere for your first job,” he said. “You really become valuable when you go into job markets that don’t typically see graduates of the plastics field.”

Bowersox lives in Hudsonville, Mich. with his wife, Angie, and children Dylan and Alyssa.