After cross-country beginning 30 years ago, Craig and Lisa Koretoff retire together from GTCC

"In our college careers, we appreciated the time we spent at our local community college the most,” said Lisa. “Small class, hands-on instruction, and caring staff. We were delighted to find out that GTCC had the same warm, nurturing atmosphere and we got to participate in it.”

Craig and Lisa Koretoff fell in love with North Carolina on a vacation visit with friends in 1994. It was a trip that forever altered their lives.

Less than a year after that trip, they headed east from California and joined the staff at Guilford Technical Community College. Recently, the couple retired from GTCC, both with 30 years of service.

“It’s an interesting story, at least to us,” Lisa said of their move from California to the Piedmont Triad 30 years ago. “We had friends who moved from California to Hickory. We came for a visit in 1994 and fell in love with North Carolina. We told each other that if a job came up, we would apply.”

Jobs opened. They applied and were hired. And as they say, the rest is history.

“I found my current job online in 1995, applied for it, and was scheduled to fly out on a Wednesday for an interview at GTCC,” recalled Lisa. “That Monday, Craig came home and said that he had been laid off from his job. That decided it for us – if I got the job offer, we would move.”

Lisa was hired as GTCC’s director of financial aid, the same position she just retired from. Craig, who had a bachelor's degree in drafting, was hired later that year to teach a blueprint reading class on a part-time basis and the following year moved up to a full-time position. He retired as an associate professor in mechanical engineering technology.

Craig had not taught before taking the position at GTCC. He quickly fell in love with the classroom and students.

“The students I’ve taught and the projects we worked on together” is what Craig says he will remember the most from his years at GTCC.

“Some of the fun projects we did involve creating trebuchets (a type of catapult) and remote-control vehicles using the principles taught in our program,” he said. “We even won a nationwide competition in sustainable design.”

Lisa’s impact on the college and community were highlighted at their joint retirement party when she was presented the Old North State Award, which is presented by the governor to recognize “dedication and service beyond expectations and excellence to the great state of North Carolina.”

Lisa was nominated for the award by Ann Proudfit, Ph.D., the vice president for student services at GTCC who has witnessed Lisa’s impact in work and life.

“I nominated Lisa due to the positive impact she has had in training and providing financial aid services here at GTCC and across the state,” said Proudfit. “Her nearly 30-year career has been distinguished by a steadfast commitment to supporting the students and strengthening North Carolina’s higher education system.”

Lisa and Craig met while attending Fresno City College, and earned bachelor's degrees at California State University Fresno. Craig completed his master’s degree at East Carolina University.

The pair said Fresno City College and GTCC shared many of the same positive vibes.

“In our college careers, we appreciated the time we spent at our local community college the most,” said Lisa. “Small class, hands-on instruction, and caring staff. We were delighted to find out that GTCC had the same warm, nurturing atmosphere and we got to participate in it.”

The couple are looking forward to lots of rest and doing volunteer work in retirement and catching up on Craig’s rather unique hobby.

“Maybe we will have a little more time for gold panning,” said Lisa. “Craig is a two-time world champion gold panner!”