A Place to Succeed
Meet a few of the students, alumni, faculty and staff who have found success at RIT/NTID.
Reyes Preciado
Reyes Preciado of Santa Clara, Calif., is keeping his options open. After he completes his associate degree in Accounting Technology next year, he plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in RIT’s College of Business, but he isn’t sure yet what program he’ll choose.
“I have time before I have to decide,” explains Preciado. “That’s one of the great things about RIT. I have the opportunity to get a wide variety of experiences.”
The range of options available to him here isn’t the only reason he chose RIT.
“I came here because I wanted to challenge myself with the superior education RIT offers,” explains Preciado. “RIT also has excellent support services, and it’s a mainstream environment, but there’s a large population of deaf and hard-ofhearing students to socialize with.”
The opportunity for independence in traveling across the country for college also was a factor in his decision.
“I wanted to see what it was like to be away from my family and live in another state,” says Preciado.
He chose an associate degree program in accounting to begin his academic career because it fit well with his strong background in mathematics. It turned out to be an excellent choice—he’s been on the Dean’s List every quarter since starting the program, and his accounting skills are so strong, he was hired to tutor other accounting students.
What drives him to excel?
“I’m Mexican,” he explains, “and I want to prove that Latinos can succeed no matter what.”
When he’s not tutoring or focusing on his own studies, Preciado likes to spend time with his friends going to restaurants, movies, and bowling.
His summer plans include enjoying time at home with his parents, getting his driver’s license, and doing some leisurely reading of “something besides textbooks.” But Preciado didn’t want to make too many summer plans in advance. He does, after all, prefer to keep his options open.
From the Spring/Summer 2006 issue of FOCUS magazine