Wise Choice

In March 1965, Ernest Bruno was sitting at his kitchen table in Brooklyn with one question on his mind: “Where to go to college?” Intrigued by the potential of computers, he decided to pursue a degree in computer science at New York Institute of Technology’s New York City campus. Four years later, Bruno was ready to graduate but risked being drafted into the Vietnam War. “NYIT received a call from a [government-contracted] company in Syosset, N.Y., looking for computer scientists,” he says. “An interview was set up for me … and I was offered a computer programmer position. Because I would be employed by the United States government, [the company] wrote to my draft board requesting that I not be drafted. Needless to say, NYIT made that possible.” Bruno went on to program for the F-14 aircraft before switching careers to work in the software industry. After serving as vice president of sales for several companies, he launched his own firm in 2002. “None of what I was able to accomplish in my life would have been possible without the education provided to me by NYIT,” he says. “My advice to students today is follow your heart and be selective in choosing a field of study that the future will embrace.”