Graduate Profile: Alyson Crabtree
Alyson Crabtree started computer programming in high school. After struggling with her college decision, she decided to pursue her dream at Alma College.
“When I was looking for colleges, I was determined to get far away from home and assert my independence,” the 1990 graduate says. “To me, that meant getting out of Michigan. I visited some New England schools and was planning on heading east. But Alma kept pestering me, and when I objectively looked at what it had to offer, it met all of my criteria -- liberal arts, computer science major and a small school.”
“The only thing it had against it was that it was too close to my parents,” she says. “But still I couldn't rationalize dismissing it for such a petty reason. So I went to visit. And what a difference! Unlike those East Coast places, people actually made eye contact, smiled and said hello, even though I was a complete stranger. I realized then that Alma was the place for me.”
The computer science major now works as a staff software engineer at Sybase, Inc. in Boulder, Colo. After her time at Alma, she completed a master's degree in computer science at the University of Virginia. She also recently completed a master’s degree in Jungian psychology.
Her favorite things about Alma were the small classes and the professors.
“The small classes and enthusiastic professors made it possible to get into some interesting group discussion in class and to receive individualized attention,” she says. “That was an absolute must in order to keep me from feeling lost in a sea of people and information.”
While at Alma, Crabtree was involved in the Alma College Choir, Union Board and Kappa Iota sorority.
