Alumni Spotlight: Graham Heckert ’19

Graham Heckert '19 has followed his passion for automotive engineering all the way to Oxford, England, where he is currently employed as a junior simulation engineer at Mahindra Racing. 

His path to launching his career included earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Bucknell University, where he received the institution’s Presidential Fellowship. As a fellow, Graham had the opportunity to be involved in research from the day he arrived on campus. Working in the University’s automotive laboratory gave rise to his fascination with automotive engineering and sciences.

He feels that Shorecrest prepared him well for this course of study, saying, “[The teachers] were always ensuring that students were pushing the boundaries of what they were capable of doing, and I felt that in my science and math courses. It really made the transition to university and beyond extremely easy as my quality of work has always been high compared to my peers since high school.” 

From Bucknell, Graham went on to graduate school at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England where he could focus his studies on the engineering of high performance racing vehicles.  After completing his master’s degree, he secured his position at Mahindra Racing, where his job involves working on the correlation of mathematical models to simulate vehicles’ performance and behavior; and helping improve simulations and designs of the next generation of electric vehicles. He’s found it easy to adapt to life in the UK; and describes the city of Oxford as the most international part of the country outside of London, due to the influx of students from all over the world who come to study at the University of Oxford. 

When asked what advice he would give to college bound-Shorecrest students, he has two suggestions. “Be open to as many new and unique experiences as you can at university. These are some of the best years that you’ll have, primarily because it’s the best mix of intense academic learning coupled with meeting plenty of new people. …

"Secondly, don’t be afraid of tough decisions and go with what your gut is telling you. I switched my major from chemical to mechanical engineering my first year because I had a gut feeling it wouldn’t be the right path for me; and I’ve never looked back since. Take advantage of every new opportunity you get, and don’t be afraid to jump right in.”