BE '80
I decided to get my mechanical engineering degree at CCNY because it was free. That was a big factor for me because my family had no money. It also had a good School of Engineering. The commute was very difficult for me. For the first couple of years it was two hours each way because I lived in Staten Island. Then I bought an old jalopy and I was able to cut the commute down to a full hour if I got there at six in the morning and left late at night. It was interesting because, at that time, the school had a North and South campus. The original college - with the Gothic-style architecture - was fantastic. Marcel Marceau came to CCNY and I got to see him in the Great Hall. I had some fun classes there. I loved all the liberal arts classes I took. My degree really helped me out in my career. I graduated in 1980 and went to work directly for General Electric as a young engineer in one of their program management programs. I spent 27 years with them. Through closures, I ended up going to a different company. I went to a company owned by Hitachi. For the most part, my entire career was mostly power generation. I think my entire career was a direct result of going to Brooklyn Technical High School and CCNY. It was like every person's college. Living in New York City really grounded me. I was able to use a lot of experiences I'd had in school in the real world. It was hard, but it prepared me for my entire career, so it's very rewarding.