When Barry Long graduated from Sanderson High School in Raleigh in 1978, continuing his education was the last thing on his mind. “I had no interest,” he says – but his mother did. “She wanted me to go to college and talked me into it.”

Barry enrolled in the Business Technologies program at Wake Tech, and it turned out to be the best move he could have made. He got involved in the Student Government Association and was elected SGA president in his second year. He had a great experience. After graduating in 1980, he was inspired to continue his education at Appalachian State, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. Barry went on to have a very successful career in the printing business, eventually opening his own company.

With more than 20 years in the business, Barry now serves as a trustee for the Printing Industry of the Carolinas, and he gives back to Wake Tech as a member of the Wake Tech Foundation Board of Directors. He credits Wake Tech with changing his mind about higher education – and his mother with giving him some great advice. “Had my mother not talked me into going to Wake Tech, I don’t know where I’d be today,” Barry says. “It was the best thing I ever did.”