For the uninitiated, a modern high-tech manufacturing floor can appear intimidating. From the programming of robots to the complexity of pneumatics, transistors, and electrical boxes, it’s easy to be engulfed in the wires and mystery. For Matt Goss, his job and his passion is helping students decode it.
“We train individuals to leave with a broad set of skills, to become a jack of all trades,” says Matt. “Robotics, electronics, mechanical — they leave us with a full toolbox to go anywhere.”
Matt is an instructor and program director for the Manufacturing Engineering Technology & Mechatronics department at Blue Ridge Community College in Augusta County, where he oversees the Advanced Manufacturing Technology program. His specialization is training students on an integrated blend of mechanical systems, instrumentation, electronics, automation, mathematics, computers, and control systems used in today’s highly automated manufacturing processes.
“We have over 250 manufacturers in our region, many of them are hiring,” says Matt, listing well known examples like Hershey, Hollister, Nibco, Shamrock, and McKee Foods. “We help supply that workforce, and beyond.” The degrees that his students acquire open doors around the world, as Matt recounts friends and graduates who have gone on to careers as diverse as meeting major medical facilities’ technology needs to running the electronics and control boards for Cirque du Soleil performances.
Fast, Nimble, Responsive
“I don’t feel like I have to combat an old view of manufacturing,” says Matt. “In the Valley, it’s very well promoted as a viable career. These jobs are great for the variety of experiences they offer.”
Part of the success of Matt’s program is its ability to respond and adapt to both student and industry needs. When Matt first came to BRCC to administer the program, Mechatronics was a certificate program, used mainly for upscaling the skills of a manufacturer’s employee base. “But soon I had students coming to me saying, I want to take your program, but I need to earn a degree.”
The flexible structures of the college allowed him to pursue that program expansion. “Under Tech Studies, we could launch an experimental program for four years to see if it had momentum to grow into its own program,” says Matt. “That’s very nimble. It allows us to incubate and test new educational programs.”
Eight years ago, Matt grew Mechatronics into a two-year degree, and it has only expanded and evolved since then. “Mechatronics was doing great. But we also saw assembly line workers needing strong spatial skills but not necessarily robotics. That’s how our Operational Excellence program became a degree.”
After Merck evolved their production style and launched a vaccine pharmaceutical manufacturing center, the Advanced Manufacturing Technology department added a BioScience tract.
“Advanced Manufacturing Technology is a powerful parent program,” says Matt. “It allows for incredible specialization and customization. Students leave here, and they can pursue a four-year degree in engineering, or they can walk into a manufacturing center and soon earn a $60-80k salary range.”
Returning to Roots
Matt’s own professional success reverberates through the College’s programs, but his family’s legacy in Shenandoah Valley manufacturing extends back decades.
“When I was three years old, my dad worked for Hershey, when they built the Stuarts Draft plant in Augusta County,” says Matt. “He held a supervisory role in helping get the plant opened up.”
Following high school, Matt earned a two-year Electronics degree from BRCC, studying under many of the same instructors he would one day return to collaborate with. When his father was promoted into the Reading, Pennsylvania plant, the whole family returned to Pennsylvania to be near aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Matt took a job with East Penn Manufacturing, building lead acid batteries for Harley Davidsons, bulldozers, and telecommunication towers.
When Matt married his wife Jen in 2004, they dreamed of owning a farmette but couldn’t imagine doing so in markets under the influence of New York and New Jersey’s consumer demand. When they found a 6.5 acre farm in Augusta County, Matt knew they had to drive down to see it.
“We both had good jobs we were happy with, and we were near family.” But after a tour and some late night discussions, Jen said “Let’s put our house on the market.”
They bought the farm in advance of finding jobs, but Matt wasn’t worried given the Valley’s diversity of industrial employers. “With my skill set, I felt like I could walk into any manufacturer here. And the cost of living was so much more affordable, just the difference in property taxes alone was a $6,000 raise.”
He’s never looked back. “We were heavily on the fence about having kids when we lived in Pennsylvania,” Matt recounts. “But this felt like a great place to raise kids.” Their daughter Ashleigh was born a year after their move.
When not teaching high-tech manufacturing, Matt can be found working on his historic farmhouse and classic cars, riding bikes with his eight year old daughter, and tending the horses outside. Having succeeded in combining the life he grew up with and the one he and Jen dreamed about, Matt says simply “It’s more than enough.”
