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Rick Verhaagen
Rick Verhaagen, of Sugar Grove, isn't interested in a quiet retirement. A retired Naval Submarine Officer who served his country for 24 years, Verhaagen's impressive career has taken him from the engine rooms of aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines to the halls of NATO headquarters and the nation's top nuclear facilities.
Now, he’s on a new mission: pursuing his passion for cars as a student in Waubonsee’s Automotive Service Technology Program. The program is housed in the Waubonsee’s state-of-the-art, 100,000 square-foot Technical Education Center (TEC), on the college’s Sugar Grove Campus.
As an automotive service technology student, Verhaagen has gained the confidence he once lacked with modern cars. "I used to open the hood and I’m looking in there and I’m like, what is all this stuff?" He jokes. “I used to be baffled by the wires and all the plastic covers. I take classes at Waubonsee to keep me busy and because it's a passion that I have,” Verhaagen says. “And I like to think I'm a lifelong learner."
Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Verhaagen joined the U.S. Navy right after high school in search of a greater purpose. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do at the time,” he says, so I enlisted as an electronics technician.” While at sea on the USS Midway, Verhaagen took his first community college course, English 101, taught by a faculty member who came aboard with the students on the aircraft carrier.
“It’s full circle for me,” Verhaagen says. “I started my career taking a community college course and now, in my second retirement, I find myself back at a community college.” That early course ignited his passion for lifelong learning. After eight years as an enlisted sailor, Verhaagen was accepted into the Naval Enlisted Commissioning Program. This led him to Purdue University, where he earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in math in less than four years.
"After I graduated from Purdue University, I was commissioned and I joined the submarine force," Verhaagen recalls. He became a qualified naval nuclear engineer, serving on two submarines. His service included high-level roles as an electrical officer and damage control assistant. He even served a unique two-year tour in Brussels as an aid to the Deputy Chairman of the NATO military committee, with travel that included visits to St. Petersburg, Kyiv, and Moscow.
Verhaagen retired from the Navy in 2008 and immediately transitioned into a second career in federal service, spending 18 years as an engineer and oversight manager at the nation's most classified facilities, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory. It was his final role as a manager for the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory that brought him back to the Chicago area.
After achieving the rare milestone of a second retirement, Verhaagen was ready for a new challenge. “I’m not one to kind of sit around and do nothing," Verhaagen says. As a Sugar Grove resident, Verhaagen discovered a hidden gem in Waubonsee’s Sugar Grove Campus.
“I’ve always loved cars and I wanted to pursue it as a hobby, but I lacked modern technical knowledge” he said. “I remember handing wrenches to my dad as a child, but modern cars these days are wired differently.”
Verhaagen credits the Waubonsee's Automotive Service Technology program, especially the new facility and equipment available in the TEC. "A lot of big car dealerships don’t have facilities this nice," he notes, highlighting the high-tech tools available at every student workstation.
The most significant takeaway for the retired officer has been the new skills he’s gained as he prepares for the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification. He now tackles complex repairs on his own vehicles, including replacing intricate auxiliary systems and swapping the brakes on his 2020 Ford Raptor. Verhaagen’s pursuit of new skills is about more than just fixing cars. "It keeps me mentally fit, teaches me some skills I don't have, but it keeps me out of trouble in retirement," he says with a smile.
He encourages his neighbors and fellow community members to recognize the value of Waubonsee. "This is a hidden gem in our community," he says. "Not just from the automotive technology perspective... but there’s also just a lot of other opportunity here at Waubonsee itself and the faculty are excellent.”
