Success Story: Joe DiRaddo
![[photo: Joe, inside, wearing glasses and a grin]](images/joe.jpg)
He's been interested in why people do the things they do since he was 10. Joe DiRaddo is climbing toward a career in motivational psychology and he is using Pierce College and the men's mentoring program as a ladder.
"I see it as a way for me to succeed in school," DiRaddo said. "It helps me to talk about school and my personal life and goals and some of the overwhelming aspects of life."
He meets each week with Ed Leitner, his mentor and an instructor of psychology at the Puyallup college.
"It's nice to have Ed to talk to. He has helped me with some issues stemming from my rough childhood," DiRaddo said. His family was split by the effects of alcoholism and at 14 he went to live with an aunt and uncle.
Of course, the road is still rough sometimes. Certain classes have been challenging, but Leitner is there to listen and DiRaddo is excited by the way his classes in psychology relate to his classes in anthropology and sociology.
"It's a lot of work and time, but it's great having a goal."
