W O R K F O R M E / S P R I N G 2 0 2 1 44
B
enjamin Henckel has an
"addiction to progress."
It's what first attracted
him to machining.
"I love to see things get com-
pleted, and working with my
hands has always provided that
satisfaction," he says.
Henckel, 24, is in his first year
at Southern Maine Community
College, where he's in the preci-
sion machining and manufactur-
ing program. He was honorably
discharged in August 2020 after
serving in the U.S. Navy as an
aviation ordnanceman attached
to a helicopter squadron at North
Island Naval Air Station in San
Diego, and he wasn't sure what
his next step would be.
After driving cross-country
back to Maine, his home state,
with his brother, Max, he de-
cided on SMCC because it's a
local school and he heard it had
a good trades program.
Navy vet finds machining program
surprising, rewarding
B Y M A U R E E N M I L L I K E N
ADDICTION
PROGRESS
Feeding an
to
John Bolduc, left, is
chairman of the SMCC
Precision Machining and
Manufacturing program.
P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y S M C C
M a n u f a c t u r i n g
