A BORDERS man now living in America says his education helped kickstart a career that has seen him travel the globe.

Craig Ferguson, who grew up in Walkerburn, resides in Houston, Texas with his wife and two sons.

The 45-year-old engineer’s career has also seen him call the Netherlands and Australia home, but he says he still misses the Borders.

“I have been fortunate enough to travel the world and have worked in some interesting places but I miss the Scottish Borders,” said Craig.

“I attended Walkerburn Primary School in 1982, where I became friends with recent Borders College Honorary Fellow Ross Dickinson and we remain good friends to this day.

“I developed a passion for the Borders landscape as a youngster and loved exploring the rolling hills. As a keen cyclist, I used to enjoy the challenge of the terrain. Here in Texas, it’s pretty flat.”

Craig, who works for energy and technology company Baker Hughes, studied ONC and HNC electronic and electrical engineering at Borders College from 1991 – 1993.

And he says the college was “an excellent starting point” for his career.

“Studying at Borders College served as a good foundation for pursuing engineering as a career and was a key stepping stone to attending higher education.

“Currently I lead a development team that writes cloud-based software that enables field engineers to create and download their specific configurations to downhole tools.

“The tools acquire crucial subsurface measurement details and transmit them back to the surface for engineers to interpret and help facilitate decision-making.

“The work itself is software-intensive and the programs I completed at Borders College helped to pave the way for the analytical-thinking and the basis for the software design skills needed.”

After completing his course at Borders College, Craig studied BEng electronic and computer engineering at Edinburgh Napier University. He added: “Borders College is a very strong alternative path for those who have interests in higher education studies with course syllabuses aligning with degree program courses offered at Scottish universities.

“It was an excellent starting point for me.”