If moving up in the world means graduating from high school in Merritt and landing a high profile mining job in Mongolia, consider Bradley Bennett a perfect example.

After sitting in the front row of the Merritt Secondary School graduating class on a warm June day at the de-iced Nicola Valley Memorial Arena a few months ago, the 56-year-old heavy duty mechanic is now steering the maintenance department at the Oyu Tolgoi (Mongolian for Turquoise Hill) mine in southern Mongolia.