Bob Zwahlen

Student

“I don’t think there’d be any other way for me to get a degree if it weren’t for the high quality of education and the extra care in counseling I’ve received from the SMC staff.”

Bob Zwahlen has a fulltime job as a manager in the manufacture engineering department at Northrup. He’s always wanted a mechanical engineering degree. So Zwahlen, 40, brings his homework home to his wife and two teenage children—who all have their own homework—and works toward his degree through the SEEK program at SMC. After three years in SEEK, Bob will earn an A.A. degree that will allow him to transfer to a four-year university.

“People think the classes in SEEK may be easier, but they aren’t. In fact, they may be harder,” Bob says. “But the thing that makes it fun is that we’re all in it together, we all have jobs. And it’s nice that the classes are geared for Saturdays and nights.” In 1982, Bob dropped out of school after feeling intense “burn-out.” He studied and worked in Switzerland, completing a four-year apprenticeship, but never received his degree.

“To me a degree is so important, and I really want to expand my knowledge,” Bob says. “So when my wife took a child development class at SMC, she told me that I should check it out. I did, and here I am.”

Evening counselors helped Bob plot out a detailed strategy for his studies. He now takes two classes three nights a week, and during the summer plans to include a Saturday music class. He loves management, and may steer away from an engineering degree.

“But right now I don’t have to decide,” says Bob. “I’m just happy expanding my knowledge with excellent teachers.”

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