Alumni Spotlight: Lifetime Friends
How the Cal Poly Experience Forms Bonds that Last for Decades
A group of eight students who transferred into Cal Poly’s dietetic and food administration program in the late 1980’s became fast friends – forming a bond that has lasted more than 35 years.
“When our small cohort started getting to know each other in our various upper division courses it was inevitable that we would become best of friends,” Michelle Pecchenino (Nutrition, ’87) said. “We studied together at Farm Boy Coffeeshop, ate ribs at Farmer’s Market, hiked the Poly P and various vistas, danced at Tortilla Flats, had fun at our Dietetics club ag events, and met our spouses.”
Through the years they’ve stayed bonded, sharing laughter, celebrating each other’s successes, and growing from their small group of eight to 29 including spouses and children, all while reminiscing about their years at Cal Poly with annual camping trips and semiannual gatherings in San Luis Obispo. Of the growing clan, three spouses and five of their children are also proud Cal Poly alumni including Pecchenino’s own husband Garth Pecchenino (Agricultural Engineering, ’87) and son Dante Pecchenino (BioResource and Agricultural Engineering, ’18).
“Pecchenino attributes the group’s strong relationship to the positive environment fostered by Cal Poly. “It goes back to Learn by Doing and not being afraid to jump in,” she said. “We vividly remember many of our professors – many of whom we formed close relationships with – as they empowered us to feel confident and open to trying new things.”— Michelle Pecchenino
Michelle Pecchenino, who has taught nutrition, food safety and therapeutic diets at Merced Community College for 20 years, said that of the original cohort all but one remained tied to careers in nutrition, working as registered dietitians, in pharmaceuticals, education and business.
Over the years they have camped all over the state together from Lake Tahoe and Big Sur to Huntington Lake, Pinnacles and Lopez Lake. “Our children all learned the joy of camping in a tent and bonding around the campfire so that they too have become great friends,” Pecchenino said. “As they have become working adults the time is even more precious and it’s a little more difficult to get the entire group together, however when we are together, we pick up exactly where we left off.”
While COVID-19 put a temporary pause on gathering the past few years – the group was able to reunite in May for a weekend in San Luis Obispo and a brief outing in nearby Morro Bay the prior spring. The group, which lives throughout northern, southern and central California, tends to congregate on the Central Coast for ease and nostalgia.
Pecchenino attributes the group’s strong relationship to the positive environment fostered by Cal Poly. “It goes back to Learn by Doing and not being afraid to jump in,” she said. “We vividly remember many of our professors – many of whom we formed close relationships with – as they empowered us to feel confident and open to trying new things.”
Little did they know, they would become lifelong friends.
“It is the wonderful moments together that will forever create the precious memories and maintain our strong bond,” Pecchenino said. “Thank you Cal Poly for the Learn by Doing experience you provided and creating the relationships that last a lifetime.”
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