As a child, Meagan Geer remembers going to CCA alumni barbecues with her mom, Sally Maxwell. Meagan also grew up hearing her mother’s stories about CCAC in the 1960s, including the time Jim Morrison came to Sally’s poetry class to read poetry with Michael McClure. When it came time to choose a college, these childhood memories helped influence her decision. “I would be part of a community that I already felt comfortable with, because I pretty much grew up on the campus.”

Charly Wittock has the alphabet to thank for his successful architecture career. At 17 he left Brussels to windsurf in Hawaii, but after two years his parents wanted him back in school. While registering for the University of Hawaii he scanned the alphabetical list of majors and picked the first one that sounded laid-back. "I had friends in Brussels studying architecture. They were always at the café hanging loose, so I thought I'd have a lot of time to windsurf. I realize now I chose a very busy profession. I've never windsurfed again."

When Gary Hutton found himself working at a mall after graduating from UC Davis with a degree in fine arts, he decided it was time to go back to school. He had always loved interiors, and CCA seemed like the natural choice.

Aaron Petersen researched all the Bay Area’s art schools, but was most impressed with California College of the Arts. “I felt like a lot of the other schools were loosey-goosey,” he laughs. He enrolled at CCA because of its stalwart first-year core curriculum required of entering students.