Zachary Ryberg has always liked building things.
As a kid, it was Legos and Lincoln Logs. By senior year of high school, his thoughts wandered to the invisible forces that hold the universe together.
“What was very impactful for me my senior year of high school was when I took AP physics,” Ryberg said. “Learning about just how the universe operates and forces and stuff made me very interested to going into the hard sciences, but I wanted to be more hands-on, which is where I chose engineering."
That choice led him to SUNY Jamestown Community College, where he graduated in 2024 with an associate degree in Engineering Science. Today, Ryberg is pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the University at Buffalo.
His path from high school to a four-year university ran directly through JCC, which Ryberg said has made a big difference on his path toward a career.
Ryberg got a head start before he ever set foot on JCC's campus. Through College Connections, a program that allows high school students to take college courses in partnership with JCC, the Jamestown native completed several general education requirements while still in high school.
The program is one of several pathways JCC offers students looking to accelerate their education or reduce future costs.
"What was incredibly useful was the broad range of courses that some of the local high schools offer in conjunction with JCC," Ryberg said. "It allowed me to take a lot of the general ed courses that are required to graduate with your associate's degree from JCC, which allowed me to clear up some coursework ahead of time and give me a great head start when I finally started at JCC out of high school."
Once at JCC, Ryberg found an environment tailored to student success, particularly in the sciences.
The college's Engineering Science program offers coursework aligned with those at most four-year universities, easing the transfer process for students pursuing bachelor's degrees in engineering fields.
The personal connections also stood out to Ryberg.
"A great part about JCC is the relative small scale compared to a lot of the bigger universities,” he said. “It allowed me to create great bonds and connections with a lot of the professors who teach the mathematics, engineering, and physics courses at JCC, and prepared me very well for my time at four-year, using the relevant topics that are required for the major."
Ryberg’s favorite class was Analytical Physics II, taught by Sean Nowling, an associate professor of Physics. The course covers electromagnetism, electronics, and the science behind everyday technology.
"That class delves into electromagnetism and the crazy world of electronics and electrons and DC motors and magnetics and it provides math and explanation to things that we use in our everyday lives, such as charging cell phones and using electronics as it is," Ryberg said.
Beyond the classroom, Ryberg credited JCC's lab work with preparing him for the rigor of a four-year engineering program. Courses like Analytical Physics I and Strength of Materials included physical experiments that reinforced theoretical concepts.
Ryberg encourages prospective students not to overlook JCC when weighing their options — whether they plan to transfer or enter the workforce directly.
"JCC has a very large variety of different majors, not just engineering, physics, and hard sciences,” Ryberg said. “So basically anything that you can think of doing as a career, whether you just want to go to school for two years and maybe get a certificate or if you want to go to two years at JCC and then transfer elsewhere, they have a very large catalog of both courses and majors that will set you up for success in the future.”
His advice for students considering a transfer path is equally direct.
"Regardless of what university you look to transfer to, whether it be a SUNY school like UB or another school, education is invaluable,” Ryberg said. “If you're in a position to where you can transfer and seek higher education and get a bachelor's, master's or even up to a doctorate degree, if you have the opportunity, it's certainly in your best interest to do it. Learning is an invaluable skill, and it can set you up and take you wherever you'd like to go in your life or career."