Jamie Mullet never thought he would end up back at Sinclair Community College.
Mullet, 55, enrolled at the college in January 2009 after nearly three decades of work at the General Motors assembly plant in Moraine.
After spending 27 years with GM, Mullet said he took a pre-retirement package where he kept his normal wage for three years.
“After the three years, they will fully retire me,” he said. “So I got lucky there to get my retirement out of it.”
Mullet first spent time at the Moraine plant when Frigidair owned the building. Mullet was hired in 1977, but was laid off two years later. Mullet said after being let go, he enrolled in classes at RETS Tech Center for heating and air conditioning and graduated with a certificate. Mullet, who at the time was working in a different field, never used the certificate.
Mullet returned to the assembly plant in 1985 as a second-shift GM employee. Mullet eventually became the union’s ergonomics representative. When General Motor announced the closing of the plant in June 2008, Mullet used the six months to plan out his future.
“It was an anxious time because we didn’t have a lot of answers on what we were going to have available to us as far as the retirement,” he said. “I put my house on the market. It’s still on the market. Once GM closed, the housing market went to hell.”
Mullet, who is majoring in Computer Information Systems, said the biggest difference between his job at GM and his role as a student is obvious: Money.
“With the finances, I was used to living at a certain level,” he said, “and now I’m at this level. I still have the bills from when I was at a higher level. It’s kind of been rough going to school. My ambition is to get through school and I’ll go from there.”
“The biggest challenge for me is math,” Mullet said with a laugh. “I feel like I’m doing pretty good. I’m getting A’s and B’s and I didn’t do that in high school.”
Mullet said he is more focused on his studies than when he was younger.
“It’s a challenge, but I’m getting through it,” he said.
After Mullet graduated from Fairborn High School in 1972, he enrolled in classes at Sinclair.
“I signed up for two classes (English and psychology),” he said. “All I was doing was going to the game room and playing, so I dropped out.”
Now, Mullet isn’t wasting time. He said he normally takes around 12 credit hours with hopes of one day owning his own business. Mullet expects to be finished with his degree in one year.
“The state wants me to find a job and I’m going to find one to gain experience, but my goal is to have my own business,” he said.
Mullet is aware of the extensive network of former GM-Moraine employees that are now students at Sinclair.
“Everyday I see a few,” he said. “It’s different. It’s nice to be able to keep in contact. Facebook keeps us in contact. I am just surprised by how many are (at Sinclair).”