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GRANDFATHER INSPIRED GILBERT BY PUTTING A HAMMER IN HIS HAND

Contact: ROBurchette@gtcc.edu (Released 7/18/11)

GREENSBORO - Terry Gilbert's grandfather started him on a path of "learning hands-on things." It was a simple beginning: "At the age of 10 he put a hammer in my hand and had me pull and straighten nails out of old lumber," Gilbert said.

Gilbert's time with grandfather Ernest Allard in Clinton, MA, whetted his appetite for more exciting things than straightening nails. Among his experiences was spending six years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine mechanical operator.

Gilbert's career took another turn recently. He was named the division chair for the Industrial, Construction, and Engineering Technologies program at Guilford Technical Community College. Gilbert, 48, replaced Shanna Moore of Jamestown, who retired last spring.  

Gilbert moved to Greensboro at age 12. The words of grandfather Allard are still a part of his career path: "He said I could do anything I set my mind to and stuck with it."  

"I also grew up with an Erector Set," Gilbert said of the once popular toy that consisted of small metal beams, bolts, screws and other mechanical parts. Boys like Gilbert were able to build a variety of things from those sets, learning to build and tear down - and exercise their imagination and curiosity.

For the past five years, Gilbert was a lecturer and undergraduate laboratory director for N.C. State University Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering.

"I really see myself in a community college environment because it's hands-on. Having been a non-traditional student myself, I like the community College idea of working with a diverse student population. Like many community college students I was employed full-time while pursuing my education," Gilbert said.

Going into the Navy after finishing Smith High School was a good experience for Gilbert, he said. "That provided me a foundation for what I wanted to do; and it allowed me to mature as an engineering instructor. Still, I didn't have a degree and realized I needed to go to college," Gilbert said.  He had graduated at the top of his class from both the U.S. Naval Power School in Orlando, and the Nuclear Power Plant Operation in West Milton, NY, before going to Union College in Schenectady, NY. He received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Union College in 1995.

Gilbert received a master's degree in mechanical engineering from NC A&T in 2005. He also has been a part-time instructor, adjunct associate professor and a lab manager at NC A&T. He also has been an adjunct instructor in algebra at GTCC.
He's known as a strong lecturer, who tries to inspire students to higher levels - just like Grandfather Allard did for him.  

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