By Heather Johnson-MPCC
North Platte Community College will bid farewell to longtime diesel instructor Kent Beel later this month. Beel has worked in NPCC’s applied technologies division for the past 35 years.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after I graduated from Hershey High School in 1971,” Beel said. “I ended up touring NPCC with a friend who wanted to go into diesel. I grew up on a farm near Hershey, so diesel seemed like a natural fit for me, too. At the time, however, the program was full.”
Beel started out in automotive instead. He took classes at a warehouse downtown because the diesel and automotive shops were just being constructed at their current North Campus location, 1101 Halligan Drive.
By his sophomore year, his classes had transitioned over to the new buildings. Beel ended up earning an associate degree in automotive and also received a diploma in diesel after taking a series of night classes.
“Mechanical work was a good fit for me,” Beel said. “I’ve always liked working with my hands. I also enjoy the critical thinking aspect. I like taking something and figuring out how to make it work.
After college, Beel became a general mechanic for John Hertz Chevrolet in North Platte. He spent a couple years there before returning to his family’s farm where he opened his own repair shop.
“I worked on all the neighbors’ equipment,” Beel said. “Trucks, tractors - I saw it all.”
His pathway morphed back into education in 1985 when Beel’s former auto instructor asked if he would consider subbing for him.
“I did for a couple days, and that was my first experience teaching at NPCC,” said Beel.
Beel was then asked to fill in for the first-year diesel instructor, who had cancer and was no longer able to be in the shop. Eventually, the cancer progressed to the point that the diesel instructor couldn’t teach at all.
“Ken Aten, who was the campus president at the time, asked if I would take over for a year,” Beel said. “They didn’t want to replace the instructor entirely in case he got better and came back.”
One year turned into three. Eventually, the college decided to rehire for the position, and Beel applied for it.
“At that time, Curtis was shutting down part of its diesel program,” Beel said. “The university called and asked that NPCC hold open a job for one of its instructors who had been teaching for 20 years. He got the job instead of me.”
A year later, that instructor fell off a barn and broke his back. Beel was asked to fill in again. He officially became the full-time instructor in 1988, and by that time, classes had relocated to another new building.
“The current diesel shop was constructed in 1988 because the old one had been outgrown,” Beel said. “First and second-year diesel had been sharing a space up to that point and each had 10-15 students every year. It was a good problem to have.”
Evolving facilities were just one of the many changes Beel witnessed during his time at NPCC. Another, and probably the biggest, was technology.
“Everything is about electronics anymore,” Beel said. “Fuel systems – you name it – it’s all computer-controlled.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is the need for good critical thinking skills.
“The foundation still has to be there,” Beel said. “In the repair world, you can’t always just rely on a scanner because there could be multiple reasons why something is showing up on the scanner. It’s still important to know how to use a shop manual and to know how to take something apart and put it back together.”
Beel has enjoyed the many aspects of teaching over the years – especially helping students grasp new concepts and grow as individuals. He also enjoyed learning more about the inner workings of the college through his appointment to applied technologies division chair in 1999.
“I started going to the Board of Governors meetings and learned all kinds of things I wouldn’t have otherwise known about,” Beel said. “A lot goes into running a college, and it was interesting to hear about all of it.”
Beel is appreciative of the freedom and independence he experienced working at the college, and he will miss both his students and coworkers as he enters retirement.
“I’ve made a lot of friends here, but the timing just felt right,” Beel said of why he decided to retire now. “I want to have some years left to travel and do other things with our grandchildren.”
Beel’s final day at the college will be Aug. 31.