Alumni Spotlight: Scott Cody

What is your current position? Why were you drawn to this line of work?

Scott Cody

I am currently a part-time high school English teacher, part-time Instructional Support Specialist (both with a high school in East LA through LAUSD), and adjunct professor at USC Rossier School of Education. I originally thought I'd be a film editor after graduating from Poly, but after teaching the FCC Rules and Regulations course at KCPR, I realized how much fun I had teaching. After working as a substitute teacher for a few months, I've now been in education for nearly 17 years.

What accomplishments are you most proud of in your career/life?

My proudest accomplishments are probably the relationships I've built with literally hundreds of young people in South Central and East Los Angeles over the course of my career. Many of them are now grown adults with their own families, and I appreciate that they still reach out to me for support.

How has your English degree from Cal Poly impacted your career/life?

I always tell people: Cal Poly is where I learned to write. Between Doug Keesey, Mark Roberts, Kevin Clark, Bill Fitzhenry, Kathryn Rummell and Jimm Cushing, I found my voice as a writer. That voice helped me tell my story as a teacher, as well as a graduate student. (An admissions officer at Harvard GSE, where I did my master's degree, told me that my personal statement is what pushed my application over the top.)

Favorite author/book and why? (or if you can't choose, favorite genre?)

Favorite book, all-time: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. I still have my beat up Penguin copy from Mark Roberts' ENGL 302 course. Current favorite: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. He might be my favorite living author.