Interning at GKN Aerospace in St. Louis during his last semester of college turned into a great job for industrial technology graduate Matt Palmer. Completing the 2+2 program at St. Louis Community College, Matt is a true success story of Southeast’s extended learning experience--an opportunity that allowed him to take all of his classes in St. Louis while earning a Southeast degree.
At GKN, Matt helped develop new scheduling systems and redesign work areas and processes for Boeing. His team helped bring the C-17 area from a poor on-time delivery performance to 100 percent on-time delivery. He also was involved in developing a scheduling system for the B-1B Bomber that earned Boeing’s Outstanding Achievement Award.
Having never set foot in a manufacturing facility, Matt was able to expound upon his classroom experiences while learning and applying new, cutting-edge techniques.
“Always ask lots of questions,” he advises. “You will never learn without them.”
This attitude, along with his experiences and hard work, landed him a full-time position with GKN after graduation. He began by providing shop-floor support for the Resin Transfer Molding department which makes parts for various engines and aircraft including the F-22 Raptor. After seven months, he was promoted to lead manufacturing engineer for the Sikorsky helicopter program.
Matt took full advantage of the experiential learning opportunities afforded to Southeast students, and, he says, they have quickly propelled his career.