“Great Bay was the gateway for me to explore some amazing pathways.”

Nathan Kecy’s interest in high-performance motorcycles started early. Now at 35, after completing his Certificate in ACM at Great Bay and starting a career using his skills, Nathan is back, this time focusing on CNC and now a bit closer to a lifelong dream of building his own high-performing motorcycle made with carbon fiber.

Nathan Kecy’s interest in high-performance motorcycles began taking hold at age 7, when he watched his karate instructor “rip away” after class on an early-90s Kawasaki Ninja. Fifteen years later Kecy began riding motorcycles and eventually acquired his dream bike, a Ducati Superbike.

“Before I knew it, I was taking racing lessons on racetracks, and raced in 2014 for an entire season,” he said.

Kecy stopped racing when he learned that would become a father, and refocused his life after his own father died in his sleep. “I lost my father and became a father in a blink of an eye. My world had drastically changed from the year prior,” he said. “This was the catalyst that pushed me to change.”

Shortly before Kecy’s father died, he told his son that he regretted he hadn’t taken any big risks in his life and everything that he accomplished had been calculated. Kecy, now 35, used his father’s words as motivation to begin taking classes in Advanced Composite Manufacturing at Great Bay Community College’s Advanced Technology and Academic Center in Rochester. Motivated by the memory of his father and the hope of his daughter, he began a journey of learning and self-discovery that he hopes will enable him to build what he calls “the ultimate motorcycle in my own style” made with carbon fiber.

He enrolled at Great Bay in fall 2016 and six months later acquired a Technical Certificate in ACM. Since then, he’s honed and advanced his skills at many of the region’s leading innovative manufacturing companies, including East Coast Metrology, Durham Boat Co. and Arch Global Precision.

In January, he’ll enroll at Great Bay once again, with a two-year plan to become a machinist with a specialty in CNC technology. He sees himself as an artist, whose long-term goal is creating three custom-made carbon-fiber motorcycles each year. “I don’t plan on building my prototype motorcycle for probably another five years, as I continue to learn and master the primary areas of design and construction,” he said. “Eventually, I’ll have the knowledge to create everything but the tires for a very artistic and high-performing motorcycle.”

Kecy credits Great Bay for providing him a path for his future and a foundation for his dreams.

“Great Bay was the gateway for me to explore some amazing pathways,” he said. “One thing will always remain static throughout my journey in this chaotic, mysterious life: The more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn, and there is no ending as it broadens with every stroke of curiosity. It has made me humble, to say the least.”