Convenience Turns into a Pathway of Lifelong Learning
“Going to CCM really helped kick-start my drive to continue my education and push through to new achievements. It all started at the campus on the hill.”
It was a matter of convenience and a lot of curiosity that brought David Hendrickson to County College of Morris (CCM) in 2010. He grew up in Randolph, so the sprawling campus was practically in his backyard, and it just made sense.
He enrolled in the Landscape Management and Design Program, where he felt he’d be able to feed his interest in design.
“I liked learning how things were made,” he says. “That along with enjoying the outdoors led me to landscape design. It gave me a chance to combine creativity with technical thinking to create new spaces.”
With its flexibility of night and online classes, the program also allowed him to continue working as he pursued his degree.
Hendrickson completed his course of study at CCM in 2015, when he tied things up with his final requirement, an internship, which became a critical part of his resume.
He transferred to Purdue University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture and was pleased at how many of his classes, even field-related courses he took at CCM, translated into credits in the university's highly rated program.
After graduating from Purdue in 2016, he moved to Nashville where he’s now working at an engineering firm on a variety of projects ranging from small-scale commercial sites, to large-scale mixed use and residential developments. He has also helped design public projects like parks and greenways. Along the way, he also became a licensed professional landscape architect (PLA).
“I’ve been lucky enough to end up at a great company. I’ll also plan to take an online course at Cornell to earn a business certificate in engineering leadership and hope to carry that on to work towards an MBA,” says Hendrickson.
“Going to CCM really helped kick-start my drive to continue my education and push through to new achievements. It all started at the campus on the hill.”