Road Warrior, family man, doctoral student

Growing up in New Jersey, Chris Devine considered a “C” average good enough. It was good enough for his coaches, so it was good enough for him. But then he got out of high school and discovered that 2.0 GPA opened only one door. So he joined the U.S. Marine Corps.

In the Marines, Devine learned discipline, pride, personal accountability—and aviation electronics. When he left the service that electronics training became the foundation of his career. That career was somewhat limited, though, by a lack of formal education. So he went back to school.

Devine returned to school with a vengeance, quickly getting his BS in Business Management and going directly into graduate school, where he was awarded a Master’s in Organizational Management after just two years. At this point, Devine considered his education finished. But, he says, “I was so used to attending class I felt a void that needed to be filled.

“After exploring several options, Northcentral University offered me the flexibility needed because of my heavy travel schedule.”

Devine resides in San Jose, Calif. with his wife Connie, daughter Erin—a college student—and son Travis—a musician in the band Fallnup. His oldest son, Kelly, lives in Texas. Devine is Senior Program Manager for Boston Scientific Corp., a job which keeps him on the road about 70 percent of the time. “Without the flexibility of NCU,” he says, “ I would not be able to attend school.”

Devine—whose friends call him “Mongo”—still has time for hobbies, one of which is managing his son’s band; others including jogging with his dog Grizzly and being, along with his wife, “a sports nut.” He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Business-Management at NCU and would like eventually to teach. In that field, Devine believes, “My Ph.D. from NCU will be a gigantic advantage.”