Student Success Stories

Juggling a variety of tasks at the same time was never an issue for Jessica Johnson, a facilities and housing specialist for a community services organization in Northern California. But when she wanted to become a project manager, her CEO suggested she enroll in UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education’s Project Management Certificate Program.

Wanting a program that would work with her schedule, teach practical skills and provide a good return on her investment, Terri Taylor found what she was looking for in UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education’s Accounting Program.

Following a successful 30-year active duty and reserve career in the Army—which included time served in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as intelligence support for special ops—Sam Hartwell retired as a colonel and was ready for a different kind of “action” in his life.

Suzette Westsmith of Camino, Calif. enjoyed a career serving in special education and with disadvantaged youth prior to retirement. She’s also a graduate of UC Davis with degrees in sociology and psychology.

Merrie Callinan has been an OLLI member for 10 years, most recently with OLLI at UC Davis. After serving as a middle school resource specialist for students with learning differences, Callinan is now the student.

“Since I’ve been introduced to OLLI it’s been great,” says Gail Yokote. A member of OLLI at UC Davis for only a year, she is already volunteering as the interim secretary for the OLLI Board of Directors.

As a landscape architect, Richard Krumwiede, now winemaker/viticulturist at Sycamore Ranch Vineyard & Winery, always enjoyed visiting the grounds of the many wineries he worked on. In 2007, he decided to plant a zinfandel vineyard on his own property after a beetle infestation killed off the native pines. As the vineyard developed, he began making wine, further cultivating his interest in viticulture and winemaking.

4,083 days. That’s how long it took for Amy LaBelle to realize her dream of making wine full-time. She began her career as a corporate attorney, but five years into practicing law, she realized she had missed her calling. From that moment, until the day she opened the doors of her winery, she did something every day to move her dream forward, and now she is the founder and winemaker of the award-winning LaBelle Winery in Amherst, NH.

Damian Espinase Nandorfy, a scientist at The Australian Wine Research Institute, completed the Applied Sensory and Consumer Science Certificate Program in September 2018.