At 64, Tim Witherow is not looking to retire; it's not in his thought process at all. Instead, this father of eight and grandfather of 16 is working toward a certificate in welding technology at SMC.

Witherow owns Witherow Autobody in Buchanan. Life has taught him about business and the need to pivot when opportunities or challenges arise. On December 1, 2020, a fire destroyed his business' building and everything in it. But he relocated and started again.

That's what he's basically doing now, starting again. “With welding, I've been MIG (metal inert gas) welding since 1981, but I was self-taught. I want to get into TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding. It's a field that's growing, and they're short of welders, so you can pick and choose,” he said.

Witherow intends to integrate welding into his body shop and eventually phase the body shop into a welding business.

After checking out three welding programs, Witherow choose to attend SMC because the program intrigued him. “My classes are mostly at night, and that works for me as a business owner,” he said. “I'm not only older than the other students, but I'm also older than the instructors. It was a choice to come back, but I'm very happy with the decision.”

Witherow received an SMC Guarantee scholarship and will soon complete the certificate program