• Raleigh Moody, Cuyamaca College, A.S. Computer Technology; student body president 1989-90

    Raleigh Moody earned a four-year degree in aerospace engineering at San Diego State University, but credits the computer technology classes he took at Cuyamaca for his career path.

    Now the network engineer and associate director of information technology at California Western School of Law, Moody graduated with a bachelor’s degree at SDSU at a time when aerospace jobs were scarce. He started working at the law school as a temporary employee, but in 1987 wowed his bosses with new technology he learned as a Cuyamaca student – computer spread sheets.

    “They thought it was the coolest thing ever,” Moody said. “I was offered a full-time job in the IT department.”

    At Cuyamaca, which Moody called his “second home,” he worked as a tutor in the math and physics lab. “Some of the best instructors I ever had, including at a four-year university, (Jerry Riley in physics, and Kermit Eckert in electrical theory) were at Cuyamaca. I had planned to just get my AS degree, but those two instructors were helpful in pushing me along. Kermit Eckert said, ‘Raleigh, you are an engineer at heart,’ and I should go to a four-year university.”

    “I would encourage anyone who is not sure if they want to pursue higher education to go to a community college,” Moody added.