From Security Guard to Programmer to Bowdoin Student: An Employee's Path to Graduation

It Started with a Supportive Boss

Tim Hanson, the former associate director in the Office of Safety and Security, first recognized Reed's technical aptitude and gave him room to explore it, said Bowdoin IT Senior Director and Chief Information Security Officer Jeff Doring, who initially hired Reed.

"He granted Anthony something rare in any workplace: the latitude to try something different.
And Anthony ran with it," Doring said.

When Reed's proof-of-concept application worked well, IT staff worked with him to refine and launch it. It is still in use today.

Others at Bowdoin got behind him as well, including Chief Information Officer Michael Cato and Tama Spoerri, former director of human resources. "They all believed in Anthony," Doring said.

"This is a story about one person," Doring added. "Yet it represents something larger-the very thing that makes Bowdoin what it is. Bowdoin's leadership encouraged thinking outside the box, encouraged growth, and then provided an opportunity. Anthony used that opportunity to reach a level that can only bring a tear to my eye. He will graduate from Bowdoin College-a non-traditional student via a non-traditional path."

Taking one to two classes a semester, he studied, worked full-time, and raised two young children. "My wife is incredible, and the IT department and HR have been on board and very supportive of me. Everyone has been very flexible," Reed said.

Each semester, Reed submitted a plan outling how his work schedule would accomodate his classes and how any missed hours would be accounted for, Doring said. "Bowdoin's support was genuine, but it was not unconditional-Anthony was still expected to fulfill the responsibilities of his position," he explained.

And the professors asked a lot from him, as they would of any traditional student. "The quality and quantity of work expected was significantly demanding, in a great way," Reed said. "It was challenging and interesting, and I enjoyed what I was doing, but there was no question that it was a rigorous educational experience."

While a computer science major was a natural fit for him, he ended up adding a cinema studies minor. "I have always loved storytelling and film," he said. Some of his favorite classes were in the cinema studies department, such as Madness in Korean Literature and Film, with Assistant Professor of Asian Studies John Kim, and the History of Film from 1895 to 1935, with Professor of Cinema Studies Tricia Welsch.

At Framingham, Reed had majored in economics and taken zero computer science classes. He dove into the Bowdoin department's offerings, enrolling in courses like Data Structures, Computer Networks, Algorithms and Computer Systems, Operating Systems, Software Engineering, Computational Game Theory,Integral Calculus, and Artificial Intelligence.