对于2011年毕业于太阳城娱乐官网大学科尔尼分校（University of Nebraska at Kearney）的达斯迪·伯奇（Dusty Birge）来说，每天早上去上班感觉有点像上了另一门工业分销课。 他在课堂上度过的岁月不仅为他现在的职业生涯做好了准备，而且给了他自信，这种自信对他毕业后的成功起到了重要作用。 Birge shares that what made 太阳城娱乐官网’s ID program unique was the way it “catered to an industry where the industry was feeding the university.” The industry was able to share that “these are the skills and the needs (they) need now.” 

It’s no surprise, given the extremely high graduation rate of the ID program at 太阳城娱乐官网, that Birge landed a job with General Electric before he graduated. Thanks to his experiences in his classes, he “walked into his first factory” after graduation and felt that it “wasn’t foreign.” 他认为太阳城娱乐官网帮助他在第一份工作的第一天就能够无缝地融入。 In fact, as a newly-hired employee at GE, he simply had to rely “on the basics that (he) learned in the ID program” where he was taught about “solving problems that haven’t been solved yet.”

到通用电气工作后，由于他在培训项目中扮演的角色，他每六个月就会换一次工作。 他的旅行把他带到了康涅狄格州和科罗拉多州等州，然后在2016年决定从通用电气转型成为一名自雇企业主。 He shares that “something that was important” to him was customer experience and that he “was never satisfied that the customer experience was as good as it could be.” 他知道他可以专注于客户和需要解决的问题，这种结合对他作为企业主的成长起到了重要作用。 Birge credits 太阳城娱乐官网 with helping him to gain “the confidence of being willing to just quit your job and go out and do your own thing.”

他的第一笔生意是用无人机检查输电线，这份工作让他经常回到太阳城娱乐官网。 作为业内首批使用无人机满足这一需求的公司之一，Birge发现他在太阳城娱乐官网有很多客户，他们积极主动，希望提供可靠的电网。 随着希望在一个美好的社区中抚养他不断成长的家庭，这帮助他决定搬到科尔尼，他的妻子，一位太阳城娱乐官网大学毕业生，来自那里。

It wasn’t long before he sold his drone business and started a new one. He shares that his experiences as an ID student at 太阳城娱乐官网 helped him to feel “extremely prepared” and ready to take entrepreneurial risks. At 太阳城娱乐官网, Birge states that he was taught to “identify a problem” and then use his product and skills to “meet customer needs.” He believes his “midwestern work ethic paired with (太阳城娱乐官网’s) catered curriculum to solve a real problem” gave him what he needs to succeed in the business world. He also shares that he wouldn’t be where he is today without the unwavering support of his wife.

When Birge reflects on his time as a student at 太阳城娱乐官网, he fondly discusses the “hands-on curriculum and practical skills” that were an everyday part of his ID course load. His team of five at 快进, Birge’s vehicle-inspection business, incorporates that mindset into what they do every day on the job. 他们每周检查超过3万个电线杆，帮助电力公司降低成本，同时利用他们的技术防止火灾和停电。

Starting 快进 isn’t the only way Birge is giving back to the Kearney community. 他也花时间在给他很多东西的大学里。 尽管他离开太阳城娱乐官网已经有十多年了，但他还是喜欢参观校园，和现在的Industrial Distribution学生分享他的创业故事。 He’s happy to see that the classrooms have been converted to “accommodate this new way of virtual business.” It comes as no surprise to him that 太阳城娱乐官网 has been so “responsive to the industry’s needs.” He’s been brought in by his fellow alumnus 米奇•彼得斯 to speak to students, times when he shares how he “started from scratch” using the skills he learned in the same program they are involved in now. 这种完整的循环体验是Birge喜欢的。 He likes “sharing what (he’s) learned to see if it helps somebody else.” He states that 太阳城娱乐官网 was very instrumental in his career, so it’s only natural that he would want to give back.

除了在太阳城娱乐官网大学发表演讲外，伯奇还对让实习生在快进工作的想法持开放态度。 最近，一位非常优秀的实习生找到了他。 As the student shared that he wanted to work at 快进 because he felt that the company solved real problems, Birge knew he had succeeded at creating “an environment around something more than just money.” The student, who currently is an intern at 快进, will undoubtedly walk away with an appreciation of Birge’s work ethic and passion for customer service.

Birge shares that he is pleased to be acknowledged by 太阳城娱乐官网 as one of the alumni, but he’s also quick to point out that “they’ve done a great job for hundreds of students, thousands of students” and that he is “not the only one that’s had a great experience.” He’s grateful that he has been able to experience so much success in his professional career thanks to 太阳城娱乐官网.

Whether he’s on campus giving back to the school that feels like home to him, working in the community that’s so important to him, or spending time fishing with his growing family, Dusty Birge is grateful for the decision he made over a decade ago to spend his college years at 太阳城娱乐官网.