Auto tech student to train in Belgium

  Friday, January 24, 2014 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

Philip Lierz had never traveled much. 

Sure, there was that trip to South Dakota and another to Washington, D.C.

“Typical tourist stuff,” said the Pitt State senior.

Then, in mid-May 2013, he began an eight-month internship with Case New Holland, a world leader in the agricultural and construction equipment businesses.

“From May 19 until the end of my internship, I traveled to 16 states and two Canadian provinces,” Lierz, an automotive technology major with an emphasis in diesel and heavy equipment, said. “It was somewhere between 42,000 and 44,000 miles. It was quite the experience.”

And it’s not over yet.

Lierz will add nearly 5,000 miles to his travel log as part of a week-long training course at the New Holland Agricultural plant in Zedelgem, Belgium. The trip comes as he prepares to begin his full-time role as one of four New Holland forager harvester specialists in the nation.

“It’s pretty crazy to think about,” said Lierz, an automotive technology major from Seneca, Kan. “I’ve never even seen the ocean, let alone fly over it. I’m very excited about this opportunity.”

Upon graduation from Pitt State in May, Lierz will move to Racine, Wis., to begin his job at New Holland.

“I’m very appreciative of all of the opportunities New Holland has offered me, and to already have a full-time position secured is a great feeling,” he said. “This is why I came to Pitt State. The auto tech program is one of the best in the country, and I knew it would open up doors for me. Everything I’ve done in the past year and will do in the future is very much because of the education I received at Pitt State.”