Information Systems Graduate Story

Before Dustin Beck graduated from Central Davidson High School in May of 2002 he was already employed at Food Lion as a cashier. Like most high school students he was earning a little more than minimum wage. After graduation from high school, Dustin enrolled in the transfer program for the Associate in Science Degree in Pre-Computer Science and planned to transfer to a four-year institution to work towards a bachelor degree. However, his plans changed after one class at DCCC.

“I took my first programming course of C++ with Mr. Richard Blue, and I decided that I wanted to program,” said Dustin. “At the end of that semester, I changed my major to the Associate in Applied Science in Computer Programming and Associate in Applied Science in Information Systems Technologies. From that point on, that is what I loved to do.”

Dustin graduated May 2005 and remained on the Dean’s List all six semesters after changing his major. He served as Vice President and President of the Computer Systems Technology Association. His work with the CSTA provided an opportunity for him to be selected to attend and graduate from the NCCC Student Leadership Institute. While completing his regular course work, Dustin earned the Microsoft Office Specialist certificates in Excel 2003, PowerPoint 2003, and Word 2003. He eventually graduated with two AAS degrees in Computer Programming and IST.

During his last semester, Dustin completed an internship at the Food Lion headquarters in Salisbury, NC. Dustin is working in a NET Programming position at Food Lion in the IT Solutions and Delivery for Real Estate and Finance Department. Dustin is now earning more than double his original starting pay as a cashier.

When asked about his new career Dustin replied, “I love working at Food Lion. The employees are very friendly, the pay is good, and the benefits are excellent. The supervisors understand the restraints of the job and give you an adequate amount of time to complete projects.”

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