Student Spotlight: Chris Cody

Like many students before him, Chris Cody selected College of DuPage in order to save money while completing his general education requirements. He then discovered a love of math, which led him to physics and engineering.

"I didn't do well at all in high school physics," he said. "But at COD, I took physics, math and engineering. The level of courses was extremely challenging, and I had to apply myself a lot more than I did in high school."

In 2011, Cody received a $16,000 Illinois State Assembly Scholarship through the office of Illinois State Sen. Kimberly Lightford.The scholarship is for students attending a state-supported university. Cody transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is using the scholarship to study electrical engineering.

"When I found out about the scholarship, I decided to take a leap of faith and apply because I knew I needed it in order to transfer," he said.

Cody's goal is to obtain a doctorate and work with prosthetics. Several of his friends need prosthetics, and he wants to be in the forefront of prosthetics research and development in order to improve their functionality.

Although he studied at College of DuPage for only one year before transferring, Cody believes that year prepared him well for the University of Illinois. He credits three of his professors – Bob Cappetta in math, Tom Carter in physics and David Smith in engineering – for pushing him to do his best.

"I will always praise, praise, praise my teachers," he said. "They were truly outstanding, and I am really pleased that I came to College of DuPage."

More about the Engineering program