Alumni Spotlight - Dianna Biringer

What is your current occupation/career?

I am a co-owner of Biringer Farm.

How did you choose EvCC? Was there a selection process involved in your decision making?

I moved from Seattle to Everett to be closer to family. I decided to go to college after working for four years after high school.

Do you think your time at EvCC helped you pursue your current career? How?

Yes, it broadened my horizons in pursuing something outside of work. At that time, I did mostly office work…typing and detailed work. The math, business, business math, speech, German, social culture anthropology, bookkeeping, and accounting classes all increased my knowledge for future use.

What did you do after you left or graduated from EvCC?

I married the farmer and learned quickly how to manage several hundred pickers and hourly employees! 

Was there anyone during your time at EvCC who acted as a mentor for you? If so, please tell me about that relationship and why it was valuable.

My German Instructor; she was a joy to learn from and was very pleasant.

What words of advice would you give to current EvCC students?

Think for yourself. Don’t feel like you need to go with the flow. Care about goals in your life and go after your passion. Study and don’t cheat or you will be cheating yourself.

Any other information you would like to provide?

I loved my German classes. I took two years! I met my husband-to-be while visiting his mother in Everett General Hospital after surgery. My goal at that time was to become a nurse. When I found out that she was German, I practiced my German conversation on her (during my second year of German class). Our assignments were to make conversation outside of class as much as possible. I was working full-time at nursing homes and then on the medical/surgical floor of the hospital while going to college. I absolutely loved my German class, as well as the German Club. I remember writing the program for a German banquet and bringing an elderly German gentleman from the nursing home where I worked.  Fifty-eight years later, Ich spreche ein kleine Dutsch immer.

I also learned how to discipline my time between working and studying. At that time, I lived by myself and sometimes worked at the college between classes. I also worked in a jewelry store during school breaks. I loved the feel of being on campus and learning new things.

I still have dreams of getting a degree in my old age. Many of the classes I took in a more business direction have helped in business management over the years. I also credit my Social Cultural Anthropology course with helping me understand the perspectives of the variety of people who work for me. What I most enjoy about our business is people, I see our business as a mission field and try to help people get along. We bring thousands here, so it’s been wonderful.