Kit's Background
Christopher “Kit” Decker moved from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to San Francisco in 2006 to begin attending classes at the University of San Francisco. “I was a physics major for a few years, and then I had to drop out due to financial issues.” Kit worked on theater sets doing lighting, sound, and electrical work. He also had a model train growing up, “the little plastic ones that would go around.” Later in his career when he got the opportunity to work on those, he gained immense pleasure from it. “Trains are my thing. I like fixing trains, building trains, and knowing people get to ride them.”
What Brought Kit to CCSF
As far as school, when Kit found his passion it made a difference. There was always a love for electronics, but he had to overcome poor study habits and find a symbiotic relationship with math as well. Kit decided to take a class at CCSF and ended up loving the experience. “CCSF is the only school in the Bay Area that has an extensive electronics program.”
Kit's CCSF Experience
Kit attended CCSF and freelanced doing electrical work before landing a job with BART. He started out in train control, working on the tracks and repairing the electronics controlling the trains. “As a train control tech, I got to know the whole system.” He loved driving around in the middle of the night fixing problems and traveling through the tunnels. Kit valued his CCSF education, because it was simple and straightforward. “They are really good at teaching the basics of really strong foundations.” CCSF’s commitment to handson learning really made his degree worthwhile and allowed him to thrive in his field.
Why CCSF Was a Good Choice for Kit
Kit started working at Alstom Transport in Vallejo, refurbishing trains for Rocky Mountaineer in Canada and improving some Caltrain and Amtrak cars for public use. “I was basically a college dropout, and then I came here. I am now an engineer.” He is also a part-time instructor now at CCSF and looks forward to teaching more in the future.