Student Spotlight: Sandy Pieta

Sandy Pieta compares her winding road to academic success with Illinois' state tollways: perpetually under construction with many detours.

Pieta said that while she excelled in high school, and all 25 colleges to which she applied responded with acceptance, College of DuPage became her choice because of cost and other factors.

While at COD, she worked two jobs as an accounting assistant and Realtor's assistant, and she maintained a GPA of 3.9, joined Phi Theta Kappa and served as a peer tutor of Mathematics.

"COD has time and time again proven to have been the best option for me because of the variety of classes, which helped me make the decisions about my life that were right for me," Pieta said. "I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends, family and, above all, dedicated COD faculty members, especially James Allen, who helped me find my true path in life to become a math teacher. I always knew I wanted this path, but he provided the courage I needed to follow it."

Pieta graduated from COD in 2006 and was named Outstanding Female Graduate. She then transferred to North Central College, where she earned her bachelor's degree in Mathematics with a minor in Secondary Education.

Currently, she works for an IT company and is attending North Central at night to finish her MBA with a concentration in Finance. Afterward, she will explore options for a Ph.D. program.

While Pieta originally wanted to teach high school math, the changing economy forced her down a different career path, and she's thoroughly enjoying her current job.

"The economy has been hard for teachers," she said. "But I still love math, and I would love to see the road of my academic life lead me back to COD, where I can teach part-time as a math professor and give back to other students the gifts I have received from this wonderful institution."

More about the Math program