Robert Thurman Class of 1992

I gained career level employment before graduation at MIT with Sarget & Lundy in Chicago. After 2 successful years there, I moved back to Peoria and worked at Caterpillar, performing functions such as Technical Author, Project Manger, and finally Capacity Manager for the Enterprise. Today, I work at Belcan Engineering as a Project Manager and Manufacturing Engineer, doing project oriented work. I've also owned a small business and was elected as an Ambassador to the Washington IL Chamber of Commerce in 2003, helping drive new business investments in my community. In each phase of my career, I've noticed that employers like the fact I graduated from Morrison. MIT has a solid reputation, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

I knew I wanted to attend Morrison by my Jr. year of high school. A campus visit solidified that. I made lifelong friends, and will forever be grateful for the solid skills gained here. In fact, I would not have met my wife if not for Morrison! I met my roommates' girlfriends' best friend while here (what a mouthful!), and we married several years later. I can't imagine my life without having attended Morrison.

At Caterpillar, I became a Six Sigma Blackbelt, working on a project to come up with a solid process to develop the future manufacturing capacity & enterprise footprint. After years of work, we changed the way Caterpillar invested for the future. I managed the process after it's development for nearly 8 years. At Belcan Engineering, I was one of the lead manufacturing engineers developing the assembly line and all of the detailed process steps to get the JLTV truck into production for the U.S. Government. The JLTV is the replacement for the HumVee. I was quite proud of having a hand in making an efficient assembly line for an important part of our U.S. Military!

Currently, I work onsite at Caterpillar in East Peoria (as of 2019). I am here managing and reporting out the past dues, related inventory, and will be involved in the closure of a nearby facility while the facility I am in takes on the new lines. My role is specifically in the Supply Chain, adding yet another diverse part of my overall knowledge and value. See more at my LinkedIn profile.