As an engineer, Dana Timm embraces the idea of failure. Engineers are trained to actively plan for failure as an integral part of the process. It’s viewed not as a setback, but as an opportunity to learn. That’s why in his role as a Mechanical Design Technology instructor, Dana encourages his students to trust their fail. “I want my students to feel comfortable with trial and error,” he says. “If I can push them to do that, then they'll be successful without fear.”

Dana himself is a graduate of the program, and after a career splitting his time between teaching high school engineering and working summers as an engineer, he decided to return to his roots at Fox Valley Technical College.

What classes do you teach?

I teach Intro to Engineering and Design and Advanced Engineering… the second level engineering courses. But I also teach a capstone math class called Kinematics which is the study of motion. So the students would see me for one full year, then they get a semester break for the mental recovery, then they get to see me at the end.

What did you do before you worked at FVTC?

Many things, but mainly I was an engineering high school teacher for 15 years, and I was also an engineer at the same time over the summers. I kept up on the skills, and I would bring it back to the classroom and do pretty neat projects with my students per whatever I was doing over the summer.

Why did you decide to go into teaching?

Well, there's many reasons. One of the main reasons is that I graduated from here about 20 years ago, so I knew what Fox Valley Tech produced. Going into the field and working, realizing that the hands-on skills I obtained from FVTC and the skills I learned just fit, and I was able to actually go in and work in the field pretty seamlessly. But then I would work with people from other universities who went to top tier schools who were struggling to comprehend or help with the design. So I realized early on that it wasn't necessarily the school you went to; it's what you did with your experience and the influence that your instructors had. The instructors here gave me the confidence to dive deep and to fail comfortably, so I wasn't afraid to jump into a project and fail because I was going to learn from it. That’s why I got into teaching because I want my students to feel comfortable with their future, and I want them to feel comfortable with trial and error. If I can push them to do that, then they'll be successful without fear.

What do you enjoy most about the classes you teach?

Definitely the engagement with the students. Everybody comes in with an open mind. Some come in with different backgrounds, and I love learning about them, because I can kind of pepper that into a lesson or a lecture because I don't know everything. When it comes down to a topic I'm not 100% sure on, I could pool the students and ask them for clarity. And that then also broadens my horizon on the understanding of it too. I truly like learning about the students.

What’s one piece of advice you have for students?

Don’t be afraid to fail. Try it out. I tell my students in my math class, trust your fail. You might get a wrong answer, but you have the right structure, and somebody will catch your fail and correct it. But that shouldn't be anything that shuts you down. That should be “well, I'm good at my formula. I'm good at designing this. It just had a little error here and it got corrected, but 98% of it was correct.”

What’s the best professional advice you’ve ever received?

Probably the best professional advice I've ever received came from one of the instructors who was really pushing me to accept this position. He said, “What's the worst thing that could happen if you don’t like it?” I thought about it, and because I live in Milwaukee, the worst part of my job would be the drive. So what do I have to complain about? And he still to this day says, “If that's the worst you got, you’ve got nothing to complain about.” That’s pretty good. So, take the whole picture of everything and don't just focus on the one thing, look at it all and realize that, percentage wise, there’s really nothing to worry about.

What skill are you currently working on?

We’re always trying to advance our technology in our lab. Currently, I’m working with one of the companies we have printers with to gain a deeper understanding of their software. If I can learn the technology, then I can come up with better solutions and troubleshoot why the machine is acting in a certain way.

What’s one thing about you that might surprise your students?

I'm kind of quirky. I have a lot of different hobbies. For example, I am obsessed with barbecue and smoking meats. I think I'm up to about eight smokers now, and I joke with my students, this is the type of addiction that doesn't have a patch. Like, I can't put a patch on or chew a gum to get rid of it. So I just keep getting more smokers. And they all have names and they have purposes. I love them so much. And so what's weird about it too is I got my kids into it as well. So like now my kids have their own smokers and that is like it's just a domino effect. It's bad. I really need help.

But it's fun. I bring food in for the students too, because I compete. I like cooking meats and it's a hobby that feeds people. So why would I not share that? My kids love it and I like it. My wife hates it, because I smell like smoke. It's like campfire all the time.

What are some of the names of your smokers?

Well, there’s Tina (Tina Turner), because it's an iconic Weber kettle grill. Everyone knows that type of grill, just like everyone should know Tina. There’s Grillie Nelson, Flank Sinatra, and R2-Grill2, because it's about the size of R2-D2 and one of my sons is obsessed with Star Wars. The little baby one is Grill Collins—small, but packs a punch. 

What do you like to do outside of the classroom?

I like my kids. They’re fun. I have three boys, and they're all the same age—I have twins and a younger son that's 11 months younger—but they have such different personalities from each other. We could be sitting at the dinner table doing face painting on each other. And then we have another son painting a basketball that he found outside because he believes it makes it shoot better. Then my other son is calculating air purification systems in Canada. And I'm thinking, where do these kids come from?

What was your first job?

My first job ever was at Empire Autoglass in Riverside, California. I was an auto glass repair technician. I was 14 years old, and I was fixing chips and windshields.

What was your best job?

This one by far. This was a dream. I lived in California, then Florida, and when I moved back here, my old instructor reached out to let me know he was getting close to retirement and a job would be opening up. I didn’t think I was ready; I didn’t believe I had the foundation yet, but he said, “oh you do. Why don't you try it out?” When an adjunct position opened, I started with that and realized I do belong. I felt good here, like I could really make an impact. So in July of 2020 is when I signed on full time. Since then, no questions asked. I know where I belong. I love it.