Eric Davis

Eric Davis spent twenty years in the Marine Corps before enrolling at MiraCosta College.  At first, he he took biotechnology classes in hopes of starting a career in that field.  However, as Eric explains, “…I didn’t have much luck with that.”  Instead, he followed his heart and enrolled in the Child Development Program.

“At first, I thought I would give a couple of classes a try,” he explains.  “Now, I have taken almost every child development class and have all the child development certificates you can get.”

Eric is now finishing up his associate degree in child development and works part-time at MiraCosta’s Child Development Center as an apprentice. 

“I work on lesson plans, prepare the meals and interact with the children and the parents,” he explains. Eric also gets the chance to interact with Marine families and their children, something he had missed when he first retired from the Marines.

“I come from a military town in Virginia, was in the ROTC in high school and retired as a gunnery sergeant from the Marines,” he says.  “I have been around the world with the Marine Corps, traveling to Japan, Cuba, Beirut, Saudi Arabia, Australia and the Philippines.  When I first came back to school, it was a really big change.  But, last semester I had sons and daughters of the military in my class, which I really liked.”

Eric’s enthusiasm for learning and his commitment to the Child Development Center has earned him recognition on campus.  In 2005, he was named Student Employee of the Year.  He also earned an award for his commitment to service learning.

“I love service learning.  I have done service learning every semester.”

Now that Eric is completing his associate degree, he plans to continue working in the Child Development Center with the goal of going into business for himself.

“Ultimately, I want to open a preschool, somewhere near the base to help military families,” he says.  “But, until then, I intend to stay here as long as I can.  I love MiraCosta!”