I, Gregory (“Greg”) Candy, B.A.’76, had a varied undergraduate experience entering Michigan as a Music Performance major on a Navy ROTC scholarship. Go figure.
It was a strange combination, even during the Vietnam War. After a couple years in Music, I shifted to Mathematics and graduated with double major, getting credit for both fields of study.
During my junior year, when changing majors, I joined the brotherhood of Delta Chi. At that time, roughly half the house was associated with Army or Navy ROTC. It was an interesting dynamic that exposed me to a wider range of students than were at the School of Music.
After graduation, I embarked on a 6-year active-duty career in the US Navy Submarine Force, as well as the Navy Nuclear Power Program. I continued to serve another 16 years in the Naval Reserve, retiring at the rank of Captain, in 1998. Upon leaving the Navy, I leveraged my math and engineering background with businesses dealing with the electric power industry. I earned two master’s degrees in both Mathematics and Computer Science.
I worked outside the energy industry for 3 years as a project manager at a hospital, and 6 years as an IT consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. I’m now in my 12th year working as a Senior Technical Manager for ISO New England; a non-profit entity that manages the New England power grid and its energy markets. It is a position that allows to me to use my engineering, computer science and management skills in equal measure.
I recently had a number of significant milestones. In 2013, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and received external beam radiation therapy and was injected with radioactive “seeds”. Happily, the therapy has left me with a clean bill of health! I celebrated this with an “in your face” symbolic gesture against cancer on a recent holiday to New Zealand. I bungy jumped from the famous Karawau Bridge (the site of the first bungy jump ever) from 43 meters.
I caught the attention of some Brothers in the Bond when I posted this photo on Facebook with the caption “F**k cancer!” The jump occurred one month before my 60th birthday, the second milestone. This year my Navy pension starts, and my wife of 12 years, Cristina, will retire. I hope to join her in retirement in the next few years. I’m an active professional musician (timpanist) in regional symphony orchestras, active in veteran’s organizations, and the Commander of my VFW post.
I look forward to meeting up with brothers from Delta Chi at an upcoming Homecoming and am excited for the day when the new Chapter House is complete!
