May 19, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Come to GRCC and learn from the best! Meet Ben Meyering, an adjunct faculty member in the Manufacturing Department is sharing his expertise with students to get them ready for a rewarding career.
GRCC’s manufacturing degree and certificate programs focus on teaching students the application of high-tech production equipment, software and techniques to achieve cost savings and quality in the manufacturing, service and distribution industries.
Ben values his position as an adjunct faculty member in the department because of the great communication he has with his colleagues, and the professional development programs they all have access to.
Ben teaches MN 218 Pneumatics, MN 217 Hydraulics, TE 103 Intermediate Technical Mathematics and TE 104 Advanced Technical Mathematics. He connects with students to teach them critical thinking and hands-on skills to prepare them for careers in manufacturing, plastics, tooling and welding.
Though he has found success, Ben did not plan to work in manufacturing when he graduated high school.
“I failed out of four-year college and then got an internship that led me to this type of work,” he said. “The rest is history.”
Looking back, Ben thinks there might have been an easier path to his career and teaching, but doesn’t regret his journey.
“It’s easier to go to college and get your degree when you are right out of high school,” he said. “Although work did pay for my college tuition.”
Ben has two decades of on-the-job experience in manufacturing to share with his students. He earned his associate degree in industrial maintenance technology and a bachelor’s in management.
He began his career working at Bil-Mar foods in security, then as a maintenance technician and refrigeration technician. He spent some time operating his own business, then began moving up the career ladder at Mead Johnson Nutrition – working as a reliability technician, senior reliability technician, then associate manager of reliability.
Ben worked as a maintenance manager at Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. in Holland, before he stepped into his current position, maintenance and reliability manager at Vertellus in Zeeland.