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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBack to school<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
It was this desire to do more with her career that led Oestmann back to Dunwoody. This time, for Industrial Engineering Technology. The College had just added the program and Oestmann would be part of the very first graduating class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She graduated from the program in 2013 and soon after started a new position with the Railway \u2014 Rapid Responder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The position came with a big salary increase and a chance to move to Illinois. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her new role, Oestmann was part of a team that chases down broken trains and did what they could to fix them out in the field. It was a physically-demanding job that required a lot of ingenuity and creativity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe did a lot of bale wire and bubble gum fixes,\u201d
she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leaving a legacy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Oestmann stayed in her position as a Rapid Responder until she retired when she was in her 50s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After retiring, she and her husband bought a hobby farm out in the middle of the Ozarks, in a small defunct township \u2014 population five. There Oestmann grows vegetables and helps out her neighbors when things break down and need fixing. They are even building an addition on their home and doing much of the work themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oestmann has always believed in living frugally and that lifestyle has allowed her to save enough to leave her own legacy behind. One that will benefit future Dunwoody students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to provide opportunities for others to have a way up in life,\u201d she said. She encourages others to explore a technical degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oestmann is one of the College\u2019s legacy donors, meaning she has included Dunwoody in her will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDunwoody was a wonderful environment and a wonderful experience for me,\u201d she said. \u201cI want other people to have the chance to use their talents in the best way possible. We all do better, when we all do better.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of Dunwoody’s first Industrial Engineering Technology alums, spent a career working on the rails Terri Oestmann has always been a bit of a pioneer. And it\u2019s that pioneering spirit that led her to Dunwoody and the railroads. Now, through a legacy gift, others will get that same opportunity. Back in the 1980s, Oestmann was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[305],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-and-friends"],"yoast_head":"\n