Humans of Chaffey

A technical specialist for the visual and performing arts department, Dreyer has been working at Chaffey College for about eight years now. He assists the department with administrative needs like making the photography and videography budgets.

He aids with the department’s technical needs including any difficulties with computers and cameras. Dreyer has been a technician for most of his life, but has many interests spreading across the visual and performing arts. In high school, he was the school newspaper’s photographer. When he attended college, he was a music major for two years before he changed his path and received a degree in illustration. He worked at a company for about twenty years as a mechanic, but was relieved from employment and returned to college for graphic design.

Dreyer has always been interested in art, but admits there have been difficulties finding what he enjoys. His career path changed multiple times, but he continued to work hard towards finding a job he loves:

“Let’s just say working at a job that I finally just was tired of working and the lay off when the economy took a dump, I had spent over 20 years with the company," Dreyer states, "I was their head technician and it kind of bothered me because I come from family that started a job, worked there their whole life, and retired from the job. My grandparents did that, my dad had done that, so I figured well I’ll just stay there forever.”

Finding a career path that suited his interests took longer than expected. He joined the Marine Corps, and was a mechanic that worked on aircrafts. Dreyer then enrolled in college for multiple areas including music, illustration, graphic design, and video installation. His favorite visual arts medium is video and has a degree for video installation from the University of California Irvine.

Dreyer states, “I’ve always liked art. I was a music major back when I first went to school, right out of high school, basically after the service, I went to college. I was a music major for two and a half years and although I had been playing music for a long time, I didn’t like sitting in a room, by myself, playing scales all day long, so they sent me to the art department.”

Don Dreyer exhibits how he is a walking paradox in multiple ways. Dreyer isn’t a big fan of school despite the fact he enrolled in college multiple times and ultimately ended up working at Chaffey. He also despises any photos taken of him, but is photogenic once in front of the camera. Although Dreyer is a reserved man and tends to keep to himself, Don is a big supporter of his students and enjoys working with them any chance he gets.

Dreyer is a well-rounded artist; he doodles and writes his notes in pictures, was a musician and studied music, is a photographer, and an expert in videography. Although he has been a technician for most of his life, art and music are his home.

HoC: Don Dreyer

Humans of Chaffey