Debbie Riley is carrying on a family legacy in NDE

When Debbie Riley began the Nondestructive Examination Technology program at Central Piedmont Community College, she became the fourth generation in her family to pursue a career in the field.

“It's really cool to be able to continue this family legacy and not just in the way of, my family did it, so I need to do it, too,” Debbie said. “I’m really interested in this stuff.”

Nondestructive examination — sometimes referred to as nondestructive testing — is a technique of using high-tech methods to check the structural integrity of materials, parts or systems without taking them apart. It’s a way to ensure infrastructure and builds are intact without destroying metals or welds.

Debbie’s great-grandfather on her mother’s side, Thomas Kirk, worked in NDE in the navy, achieving Level III status — the highest certification available. He influenced his daughter, Deborah, (Debbie’s grandmother) to enter the field as well. She had a Level II certification and discovered interest in quality assurance work, eventually founding and running a quality assurance consulting company in the nuclear power industry. 

Deborah’s daughter, Frances Faulkenberg (Debbie’s mother), helped her run the operation for many years, starting in the early 2000s. Today Frances works at a company that provides pipe systems for the nuclear and aerospace industries, among others. She is a quality engineering technician and working to become a certified quality engineer.

"Having a grandmother and a mom that have been in this industry, they've instilled that quality mindset into me,” Debbie said. “I'm a very detail-oriented, meticulous person. I think this is kind of perfect for those types of personality traits.”  

Debbie is originally from Orlando, Florida, and has long been interested in science and mechanics. She was dually enrolled in high school and earned 20 college credits before graduating with a 3.9 GPA. 

However, when she started college, she was unsure of what she wanted to do. Without a specific direction or goal, she dropped out. She first moved from Florida to Highlands, North Carolina, and lived with her grandmother. But missing city life, she moved to Charlotte nearly three years ago.

Debbie has been working in a restaurant for the last handful of years as an administrative assistant, manager, server and bartender. Still, in the back of her mind, she always wanted to go back to school and pursue something with more financial and scheduling stability.

After talking with her mom and grandmother, and doing copious amounts of research, Debbie decided to follow the NDE path. 

“I was doing a lot of research on NDE in general and just seeing where I could learn that,” Debbie said. “My mom pointed out that Central Piedmont has a great, renowned program. And it was right down the road from my house.

“It’s affordable, too, which is also really good for someone like me that's independent, works full-time and needs money to pay my bills as well as school.”

Debbie, the oldest of six children, a weightlifter and a voracious reader, is currently in her first semester attending Central Piedmont part-time. She plans to begin in a full-time capacity over the summer and will graduate with her associate degree in May 2028. 

Debbie explains that for each method of examination, she and her classmates spend two days a week in class, with the first focused on lecture and theory and the second spent in the lab.

“We’re able to input the theory and be hands-on, which I think is super important because the field is so detail-oriented,” Debbie said.

She plans to get her first certification in the fall, allowing her to begin work as a trainee in Liquid Penetrant and Visual Testing. She hopes to graduate with at least one Level II certification and, like her great-grandfather, wants to get to Level III as often as possible. 

Debbie’s dream is to work in a lab in the nuclear industry, explaining it is the next generation of energy as natural resources diminish.

However, NDE opens a world of possibilities.

“It’s a lucrative, growing field,” Debbie said. “You will always have a job, and it's not just in nuclear, like what I want to do. It's in aerospace, it's in infrastructure. You can work anywhere.”

Her family has proven that fact, and now Debbie is setting out to carry on her family’s legacy while making a name for herself.