Alumnus Joseph Czyzyk: Turning His Passion into a Career

Alumnus Joe Czyzyk had a long and complicated passage from his birthplace to his graduation from LACC. He was born in Poland, the son of Holocaust survivors. His parents left Poland when Joe was just a toddler, settling in Canada before moving to Los Angeles when Joe was 16. After graduating from Fairfax High School in 1965, Joe started taking classes at LACC, taking two buses every day to get to campus.

One of Joe’s most vivid memories of his first days at LACC was the diversity of the people on the campus. At that time, Fairfax High School was predominately Jewish and Caucasian. At LACC, Joe experienced his first interactions with students, faculty, and staff from other cultures and backgrounds. Since Joe’s introduction to other peoples and cultures at LACC, he has visited more than 100 nations and has established business in 45 countries throughout his career. His exposure to diverse ideas and cultures at City helped him build a career where international relations and communications were instrumental in his success.

Joe has many memories from the formative time in his life when he attended LACC, from his classes to how he kept himself occupied during long commute to and from campus. To pass the time between bus rides on his way to school, Joe would stop at Pink’s Hot Dog stand (coincidentally, owner Beverly Pink Wolfe is also an alumna of LACC) to grab a bite every single day. Boris, an astute Pink’s employee, would start preparing Joe’s hot dog as soon as he saw him walking toward the stand!

Military Service

Joe attended LACC for a year before joining the United States Navy Seabees to build roads and bridges in Vietnam. It was 1968—and the first day of the TET Offensive—when Joe arrived in country. He recalls spending four days in a bunker with shells falling constantly. After making it through that warm welcome, Joe said, “It was easy from that point on!”

Career Path

With his honorable discharge in hand, Joe returned to LACC, earned his A.A. and transferred to California State University, Los Angeles. By the time he graduated in 1973, it was nearly impossible to get a job. The recession of the 1970s produced ‘stagflation’ that combined high unemployment with high inflation. Even though his dream was to work in the airline industry, Joe wasn’t able to secure a position and instead accepted a job at Crocker National Bank. During this time, every penny went towards his passion: flying lessons to earn his pilot’s license.

His job at Crocker Bank required him to work at multiple locations, and while working at the branch across the street from United Airlines headquarters, he started to develop a friendship with one of the employees who came into the bank frequently. “We started talking and realized we both shared a passion for flying. This developed into a friendship and he was instrumental in getting me an interview with United. I was hired to work in operations and then eventually moved into sales. This opportunity changed my life.”

Joe later accepted a job at El Al, the Israeli Airline, in New York and remained there until 1984. He had been recruited by Mercury Air Group and was able to return home to Los Angeles, where he is now CEO and Chairman of the Board.

In 2011, he was elected to serve as President of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the oldest and most prestigious business association in the L. A. region. In addition, he has served as City Commissioner under the last three consecutive Mayors of Los Angeles and serves as Treasurer of the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Today, Joe is a member of the Board of Directors of U.S. Vets, as well as on the Board of the CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation, helping to carry on the Seabees’ “can do” tradition. Joe and his wife, Faye, are parents to four children and have one grandson; they reside in Los Angeles.

Advice

Joe’s advice to LACC students is, “Don’t waiver, stick to your studies, and give it all you can. The most important thing you can do is to set your future now; the financial gains will come later.”