Each year, the UMKC Alumni Association recognizes the achievements of outstanding alumni with an awards celebration. UMKC School of Computing and Engineering is honoring Bonnie Gorman (B.S.M.E. ’86), with its Class of 2020 Alumni Achievement Award.
(B.S.M.E. ’86)
Bonnie Gorman serves as director of modernization and innovation for Olin Winchester, an industry leading ammunition manufacturer and current operating contractor of the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Missouri. A natural leader, Gorman has held roles of increasing responsibility at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, including engineering director and manager of manufacturing, quality, safety and facilities. In 2017, she was awarded the Orbital ATK President’s Award for Execution Excellence for restoring a critical operation after a catastrophic event. A longtime supporter of UMKC, she joined the School of Computing and Engineering Alumni Association board in 2015 and helped recruit new members. She continued this work on behalf of the school’s alumni board, stepping in as board president during a time of need and helping to grow its membership.
What are the challenges and benefits of your field?
The challenges are integrating new technology and continuous improvement efforts into processes (and facilities) that are over 70 years old; identifying and finding time to give engineers assignments that promote growth; and hiring the right engineers that have a passion for their assignments. The benefits are creating the new and different in order to meet business goals; making the manufacturing processes easier on the employees; and experiencing the diversity of opportunities and assignments.
How did UMKC prepare you for/contribute to your success?
While at UMKC, I made some lifetime friends who had a wide variety of backgrounds, talents, intelligence and experience. With them I learned the importance of diversity and the variety of talent that each individual can and does bring. We helped each other with homework, studied for exams and solved life problems. In short, I learned the extreme value of relationships, trust and friendship that I have carried through all aspects of life.
What advice do you have for students who’d like to follow in your footsteps?
Push yourself to learn as much as you can – and vow to never quit learning. Get involved in activities that support your continued learning. Be brave and ask questions, even if nobody else seems to have any. Remember the saying that the only dumb question is the one that does not get asked.
About the Alumni Awards
Join us in honoring Gorman and the other Class of 2020 Awardees in our first-ever virtual celebration at 5 p.m. April 16. Go to umkcalumni.com/alumniawards to register for this free event. If you are unable to attend the event but would like to donate to student scholarships, contributions can be made online.