NYIT Alumnus Recalls Landing His First Engineering Job in the '60s

John Crociante (B.S. '69), now a retired cooling tower consultant, chimes in with his memories of campus life: "In 1965, I was a freshman at the Atlantic Avenue branch in Brooklyn. Then, I continued my classes at the West 70th Street branch—a former Knights of Pythias temple. I remember spending time at the Central Park Zoo—New York City was unruly then, too." He notes that "the school sweatshirt for my class was purple with gold lettering that said 'NYIT CLASS of 1969.' I wish I still had it."

Crociante recalls jobs for engineers were scarce in the late '60s, a lesson he learned after taking a break from his NYIT education when he was just 12 credits short of a degree. "I went to work at a hot rod shop in Brooklyn," he says. "When I realized I was going to go nowhere without a degree, I went back to school at night. Once I had the degree I was able to get a job in the industry. My first job after graduating from NYIT was at American Electric Power Service Corporation in lower Manhattan. They are the engineering and support company for their power plants. I was in the heat exchanger and pump section as a staff engineer. This is where I got my start in the cooling tower business."

This content is part of The Box's "60 Years in 60 Days" series in celebration of NYIT's 60th anniversary in 2015.