Presidential Scholarship Winner Found Opportunity and Enrichment at Washtenaw Community College

April 20, 2020 Washtenaw Community College

Benning working on equipmentAs a calibration technician at General Motors Proving Grounds in Milford, Michigan, Benning is responsible for making sure the instrumentation put on test vehicles to measure everything from acceleration to air pressure to fuel consumption is working correctly.

In fact, she’s been asked to lead a group of specialists to develop a new standard for calibration intervals that will be used on all GM vehicle test equipment – over 80,000 pieces of equipment – used at the Proving Grounds. This includes equipment used to develop the next generation of electric and autonomous vehicles.

“With the new electric vehicles coming out, we have a lot of new equipment that has to meet the new standards set by National Conference of Standards Laboratories International (NCSLI),” Benning said of the global, non-profi t organization that sets world standards for scientifi c test and measurement equipment. “It’s also interesting how different the instrumentation is for autonomous vehicles. There are sensors for anything you can think of from seeing in front, to the temperature, to humidity, to pressure outside.”

After contemplating other four-year institutions, Benning chose WCC after graduating from Chelsea High School in part because she earned a President’s Honor Scholarship. WCC annually offers five President’s Honor Scholarships to graduating seniors from each public high school in Washtenaw County.

“That was the kicker,” Benning said. “I was thinking of going to WCC just because smaller class sizes were really crucial for me. I really like one-on-one interaction and the freedom to ask any questions I want and have my questions answered by someone who is very knowledgeable, not just a teaching assistant.”

Not long after starting at WCC, she was connected to General Motors. Benning answered an email from WCC Experiential Learning Coordinator Barb Hauswirth regarding three internship positions at GM Proving Grounds that were being off ered to WCC math and science majors.

“At first, I wasn’t sure if I should apply,” says Benning. “But I got my application together and had two really good interviews. My manager says that I was selected because I had already taken several calculus courses, as well as diff erential equations.” “I feel like WCC prepared me really well,” continued Benning, who earned a General Math and Natural Science associate degree from WCC. “The hardest thing for a lot of students in engineering is calculus and with the personalized help I got at WCC, it not only encouraged me to keep going for my engineering degree, but also put it in my mind that I might want to teach at the community college level. In engineering, math is so important. Everything builds on calculus.”

Along with her full-time job, Benning is currently completing two bachelor’s degrees at Oakland University, in mechanical engineering and actuarial science. She says the transition from being a full-time student to being a full-time student with a full-time job was challenging but rewarding.

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