Published Feb. 1, 2010
By Sara Schilling, Tri-City Herald staff writer
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| William Chesterfield, 19, operates a vertical milling machine in class at Columbia Basin College. Chesterfield left his home in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, in August to attend CBC’s machine technology program on a scholarship. He will lean to make tools, computer chips and other items while at CBC. After he completes the two-year program, he’ll take those skills back home to work in a power plant. Photo by Richard Dickin of the Tri-City Herald |
PASCO — William Chesterfield watched through his safety goggles as a block of steel moved back and forth in a vertical milling machine, getting a fraction smaller with each pass.
The steel eventually will be transformed into a vice used to hold other material that’s being cut. But right then, it just looked like a gray block.
Still, it made Chesterfield smile. The 19-year-old left his home and family and traveled thousands of miles to learn how to operate milling machines, lathes and other equipment in Columbia Basin College’s machine technology program.
“Everyone (back home) is proud. I’m proud,” Chesterfield said.
The teen is from the U.S. Virgin Islands. He earned a scholarship out of high school that’s paying for his two years of CBC training. Once he finishes, he’ll have a job waiting at a St. Thomas power and water plant.
Chesterfield said he never imagined going to college before he got the scholarship, and especially never thought he’d end up in such a technical field.
“I never thought I’d be an engineer in my entire life. I grew up hating math,” he said.
He also never imagined he’d move to Washington. Before Chesterfield enrolled at CBC, he hadn’t heard of the Tri-Cities.
He moved here last August — his first time ever out on his own. As he learns the ins and outs of independent living — like doing the laundry and cooking dinner — he’s also learning a trade.
In the CBC class, students make models on the computer and then try their hands at the milling machines and lathes. The other day, Chesterfield used one of the machines in the shop to fashion a set of dice out of aluminum.
The 19-year-old has 32 classmates — a record number for the program.
When instructor Rob Walker took over the program a decade ago, there were nine students. The number eventually settled at between 18 and 20.
Walker said the recent surge likely is connected to the struggling economy. People are looking to gain skills that lead to steady work, and there are jobs in the Tri-Cities area for people with machine skills because of the manufacturers in town.
Plus, “the skill set is portable,” Walker said. “You can use it all over the world.”
The program accepts students each quarter, so the 30-plus enrolled now won’t all graduate at the same time. This quarter, the students come from a variety of backgrounds and are all different ages, Walker said.
There’s a father and daughter in the class and also a man from Burma, he said.
Chesterfield said he’s enjoying the Tri-Cities and likes machine technology. Both are so new to him, but that’s part of the adventure, he said.
In the CBC shop, he watched the mill move slowly back and forth over the steel.
“It’s going to take a while,” he said.
But he’s got the time and desire to learn.
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