When Learning is Fun, You Go Far

Robert Enly Brockman

When Learning is Fun, You Go Far

As told to

Charles Reams

Biographer

Robert E. Brockman took easily to leaning. And a degree from  Clemson University resulted. His early interest in math and science would take him far. As a child he frequently went to the library, often reading way beyond the requirements. Looking up stuff on mechanics on his own time was fun. He loved machines of all kinds; tractors, cranes, automobiles and motorcycles were fascinating to him.

Though my parents, Brockman says, did not have a college education, they promoted learning for all their children. The World Book Encyclopedia and other reference books were more than household fixtures. All in the family enjoyed researching their favorite subjects. Study was interesting and fun. It fed my natural inclination to learn, he said.

I studied mechanical engineering at Clemson. After four and a half years, I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. My first job was working at the Charleston Naval Shipyard in the Navy Nuclear Submarine Test Division. My department was responsible for setting safe conditions for overhaul, repair, and refueling operations on the nuclear reactor systems and related fluid, hydraulic, mechanical and electrical systems. We were also responsible to conduct testing to ensure proper and safe operation of these systems after work was completed. I worked there from 1983 to 1989.

I wanted more challenging work. So I next worked for Impell Corporation in Atlanta, GA, an engineering consulting firm with  a focus on performing work for nuclear power utilities. I started there in May, 1989. My first project with Impell was working for the Florida Power and Light Company at Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant, a few miles south of Miami, FL.

After two years, I moved back to the Atlanta office for a stint. Then to Birmingham, AL., for six months to work on a project with Southern Company Utilities.  This project ended in 1992. I was then transferred to the Impell Corporation office in Lincolnshire, IL. The projects I worked on there involved modification and design work at Commonwealth Edison’s Zion Nuclear Power Plant. I worked there from January 1992 until August 1993.

As intellectually stimulating as that work was, I grew restless and longed for warmer weather. The Chicago winters are hard to take. I could not imagine working there the rest of my career.

Soon I happened to be a spectator to a bike race in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There I encountered an old high school friend, Darryl Burns. While Darryl and I were talking, I discovered that his father was involved in the BMW land search to establish an automobile production plant in Greer, South Carolina.

I was instantly excited about the prospect of working for BMW and being home again in upstate South Carolina, so I sent out resumes and eventually landed a job with BMW. I gladly moved back home to Greenville. I started with BMW in September, 1993 in the purchasing and engineering department, and worked there until I retired in December 2020.

During my satisfying career, I did many different jobs and traveled a lot. I had oversight over companies that supplied parts to build the automobiles manufactured there.  The companies I was responsible for produced drive shafts, differential gears, transmission, steering systems, braking systems, fuel systems, radiators, engine cooling systems, axle carriers, control arms, tires, wheels, springs and stabilizers. My oversight involved monitoring and checking supplier production processes to ensure quality standards, production capacity and production cost standards were met.

Much of the work was hands-on, so I had to travel to Mexico, Canada and Germany. To enhance communication skills, I took German and Spanish classes. Of course, there is a lot of technical jargon for the various parts and components. I also needed to learn conversational German and Spanish.

In time, I married my college girlfriend Ernestine Thomas in May, 1994, in Greenville.  She was a freshman and I was a senior when we met. At first we were just friends. After graduation, I worked in Charleston and went to games in Clemson. Dating came later, it was not a linear relationship but on-and-off again. Ernestine majored in computer science, and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. She still works in that field today at Lockheed Martin.

Ernestine and I remained in touch during my work stints in Atlanta and Miami. She graduated from Clemson and first worked at Clemson Research Center just outside Anderson,  South Carolina. Then she worked in various positions at Piedmont Technical College and Greenville Tech.

Married life became a whirlwind. Our daughter Christine was born in 1996. Robert III was born in 1998.What made family life so challenging was that Ernestine and I both maintained professional careers. So dividing time between work and home was not easy. But we had a lot of help from my mother’s sister. Sunnie Voorhees made a big difference in our life. She picked up the slack on many occasions and saved many days.

All our children were born after the advent of the Internet. So gone were the home reference books like the World Book Encyclopedia. So we exposed our children to many other books on various subjects and fields. Often when we visited our college friends, the children went along. We were very active in the African-American Sister-Brother Book Club. Our children freely participated in events that were hosted in different cities. The adults they met were all avid readers and learners in many and varied fields. Our children learned about intellectuals from James Baldwin to Maya Angelou.

The couple was deeply involved in the education of their children. Ernestine did her part while Brockman was involved in basketball, and monitoring their progress in math and other subjects. Their interest in marshall arts grew and grew. Robert first joined Master Kim’s World Class Tae Kwon Do. And he was having so much fun that Christine joined. Since Brockman was already on hand as a guardian-spectator, he soon joined in the fray.

Robert III enrolled at Clemson pursuing a degree in communications. Then he changed his major to English, but he did not yet graduate. Robert now works at Publix in Greenwood.

Adrianne Brockman, born 2005, now attends North Carolina A&T in Greensboro NC, studying Architectural Engineering. She’s in her second year.

Christine got her Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Tech in Material Science Engineering. Christine is now working on her PhD at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa OK. This past summer, however, she worked as an intern at the NASA research center in Cleveland, Ohio. Though continuing her NASA internship, she is now back on the campus at Tulsa.

Brockman has long had a keen interest in music. He especially likes to play the bass guitar but also plays other instruments. Though retired as an engineer, Brockman can be seen at any one of his favorite jazz haunts like the Jazz Boulevard in downtown Greenville. Brockman also plays at his church and with other musical groups around the upstate. He has been playing the guitar since he was 15. And even during his professional career he periodically played with other musicians.

Their home remains a hub for the family, immediate and extended, throughout the year and at special occasions.