George Bomboy, a 2001 graduate of Kane Area High School, has been recruited by General Electric for its Edison Engineering Department. He is based at the General Electric plant near Erie.

Major college football and basketball coaches routinely scour the nation for “recruits” to improve their teams.

They may not have a game to play, but large industries also are involved in recruitment. They recruit “stars” for their workforce.

General Electric recruited Kane native George Bomboy while he was attending college at Penn State Behrend near Erie.

Bomboy, a 2001 graduate of Kane Area High School, currently is working on the design of large off-highway vehicles. Under the leadership program, he previously designed diesel engines and locomotive cooling systems.

He said the General Electric leadership program is giving him “lots of experience and lots of training.”

While attending college, Bomboy also worked for two years with the General Electric “design team.”

Bomboy is the son of Tina Rupp of Kane and the stepson of Ron Lucore of James City. His maternal grandparents are Alan and Deborah Asp of Highland Township. His siblings include a sister Shana McClellan of James City, a brother Ronald Lucore of James City and a sister Brittany McKay, who is a member of the U.S. Air Force and is stationed in Nebraska.

Bomboy’s path from Kane High School to General Electric has had a few twists and turns.

After graduating from high school, Bomboy prepared to enter his freshman year at Penn State Behrend to major in mechanical engineering. At the same time, he enlisted in the Army National Guard.

“I joined the Guard to pay for college,” Bomboy said. He said “it seemed like a good deal” even though he was joining the Army about the time of the “9/11” terrorist attack in the U.S.

After his freshman year in college, Bomboy underwent “basic training” in the Army as a “transportation specialist.” He said his training as a “truck driver” qualified him to serve with the National Guard unit based at the Kane Armory. He spent one weekend a month in training with the Guard.

On Christmas Eve 2003, Bomboy learned that he would be deployed in Iraq. Three other “buddies” from college also were being deployed in Iraq with their units, Bomboy said.

After two months of training, Bomboy and other members of the Kane unit set foot in Kuwait in late February 2004. They returned in March 2005.

“It was the best and worst experience of my life at the same time,” Bomboy said in describing his deployment in Iraq. “I really grew up.”

Bomboy credits Army “discipline” for helping him attain the Dean’s List academic achievement honor in college.

He said his Army training gave him the “focus” he needed to achieve high grades in college.

After his military duty in Iraq, Bomboy returned to college and graduated in 2007.

He has “no regrets” about joining the Army National Guard.

“It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done,” Bomboy said. “They paid for college and then some.”

While in high school, Bomboy worked as a stock clerk at the Quality Markets and with a landscaping business. He was a member of the school wrestling team and the Science Olympiad team.

“Kane was a good place to grow up,” Bomboy said. “It’s a nice quiet town for the most part. You know everybody.”

Bomboy, who no longer is an active member of the National Guard, plans to obtain his masters’ degree and “specialize in diesel-engine design.” He also wants to “one day teach at the college level.”

Bomboy’s hobbies include hunting, fishing and target shooting.

He also enjoys his two motorcycles.

One motorcycle is a BMW, which his grandfather recently turned over to him.

“He never rode it; I always did,” Bomboy said in discussing his favorite cycle which he has restored.