Ex-Navy sailor finds new career after earning TCC degree

On a humid morning outside, it’s comfortably cool inside the Virginia Beach Student Center, and you can thank Tidewater Community College graduate Kevin Cranmer and his employer Darmuth/Trane Systems for that.

Kevin Cranmer The 24-year Navy veteran earned his associate of applied science at TCC while still in the military, heavily relying on the college’s night classes. TCC was a natural fit given its convenience and reputation.

“I wanted a program of substance,” Cranmer said. “I got my degree at TCC, and every credit plus a couple of extra transferred to Old Dominion. You don’t get that everywhere. And with what I call the training mill out there, you don’t know who’s accredited and who’s not, especially in the state of Virginia.”

Cranmer enjoyed the entire curriculum at TCC, singling out Professor Bob Sterling for computer science and Professor Horace Pratt for philosophy and ethics.

“A lot of times when you’re learning, you don’t always know the whys at the time, but you end up using a little bit of everything,” said Cranmer, currently working toward a Certificate in Network Infrastructure at TCC and his bachelor’s in computer science at ODU. “You use all the skills that they teach you.”

Cranmer graduated from TCC in 2011 and has been at his current position for nearly three years.

In addition to the Virginia Beach Student Center, Cranmer has worked in temperature control at the Joint-Use Library, the Lynnhaven Building, the Kempsville Building and the Visual Arts Center.

“I actually look forward to going to work every Monday,” he said. “I really enjoy what I do. I’m a tinkerer. I get to do that a lot. I look at it this way. I make buildings better. I get to make someone’s day a little better.”