Crossville, Snead State alum Nabors lands job with Bezos-owned company Blue Origin
Crossville High School and Snead State Community College alum Josh Nabors has the opportunity to potentially shape humankind's future.
In November, Nabors was hired by Blue Origin, a global aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company founded by Amazon founder and executive CEO Jeff Bezos, according to a press release from Snead State.
The goal of Blue Origin, the release said, is to help establish a future where millions of people live and work in space for the benefit of the planet. In expanding, exploring, searching for and finding new resources and moving industries that stress the Earth into space, the ultimate aim of the company is to preserve our home planet.
Nabors, who works in Huntsville, is responsible for ensuring that all products delivered from suppliers are following manufacturing specifications and company standards, the release stated. Nabors said that he became interested in working for Blue Origin after doing research on it and discovering the company's mission.
"Everyone at Blue Origin believes we are not in a race and there will be many players in this human endeavor to go to space to benefit Earth," he explained in the release. "Blue’s part in this journey is building a road to space with reusable launch vehicles so children can build the future."
Once Nabors graduated from Crossville in 2004, he decided to attend Snead State, which he believed would help him toward finding fulfilling work in his chosen field. He received a scholarship for the Electronic Engineering Technology program, and said he's grateful for what he learned there.
"The instructors made the program fun and exciting," Nabors said. "Because of their enthusiasm and dedication, I excelled at the coursework and knew that a technical or engineering-related career was the right path for me."
Nabors earned an Associate in Applied Science in Electronic Engineering Technology (now known as the Industrial Systems Technology program) in 2006 from Snead State, according to the release. He instantly found work after graduation.
"I went straight from a Snead State classroom to starting a career in defense and aerospace as an electronics debug technician troubleshooting (printed circuit board assemblies)," Nabors said. "The AAS degree I received from Snead State laid the foundation for the career I have today. My degree allowed me to pursue opportunities in a technical/engineering field that, without my degree, wouldn’t have been available to me."
Nabors also is a certified quality engineer, a certification he earned through the American Society of Quality in 2019.
"Josh is one of our best graduates from our previous Electronic Engineering Technology program," said Dr. Greg Randall, director of Career and Technical Programs at Snead State who also taught Nabors while he was at the school. "He excelled in his work and has been very successful. He is the first graduate in Snead’s history to work for Blue Origin."
To get to where he is, Nabors said those who helped along the way have been vital for him.
"I would like to thank Snead State for awarding me a scholarship and give a very special thanks to Dr. Randall for his dedication to Snead State and for inspiring me to pursue my dreams,” he said.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Crossville, Snead State alum Nabors hired by Blue Origin
