By Manny Lopez (CityTimes Newspaper) Photo courtesy of City College

Jim Sinegal, president and chief executive officer of Costco Wholesale Corp., is one of the many prominent and distinguished graduates of San Diego City College. Sinegal enrolled at the school then known as San Diego Junior College in the fall of 1953, and had earned an Associates Degree by the summer of 1955. Billed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as “the only company that Wal-Mart fears,” Costco has become a leader in the $76 billion United States warehouse club market with 443 stores worldwide. Founded in 1983, Costco has gone from $100 million in annual net sales to over $47 billion recently agreed to share his story in the hopes that it will serve to inspire current college students.

Why did you attend community  college?  Well you know it’s a funny thing because I was accepted by San Diego State, but they looked at my grades and recommended I go to junior college. I had gotten a fairly good score  on my examination, but I had gotten a lot of C’s along the way. I only intended to go for one semester and if I did well then transfer up to State. Well I went there for a semester and  enjoyed it so much. I had friends there, so I stayed for the whole two years.

Were there any valuable  lessons that you learned at City  College that you carry with you  today?  It’s tough to articulate exactly what it could have been. I would say it was almost like an epiphany. When I was  going to school, there were a lot of GI’s returning from Korea. Many of these guys had families. The government was paying for their education and they were very serious. It was a real  challenge to keep up with them. They were very tough competition. I think that helped to make me a better student and ultimately a better person. I was working part time and going to school. It made me more focused and mature.

Did any City College professors  inspire you?  Dr. Ganoway. I had him all four  semesters that I was there. He  taught history. He was probably  the best teacher that I ever had. A  fantastic teacher. He was a legend.  He taught both history and political science. He was legendary for years and years. I’m sure if you check, people will remember him. You would be ashamed if you weren’t prepared for one of his tests. We all loved him. He was a Southerner from Tennessee. He went to Vanderbilt  and he had this marvelous southern accent. He was just so intriguing and such a great storyteller. When you went into his class, you wrote from the minute you got there until you left because you didn’t want to miss a single thing he said. He was great.

What advice would you give City students?  Take advantage of a great opportunity for education. If their inclined, I would encourage them to go on and seek higher education. The community college system gives a lot of people who perhaps thought they weren’t prepared to go to college and pursue higher education, the confidence they need. I think that’s a great thing particularly because it’s so inexpensive. It’s an opportunity for young people to go to college that might otherwise never have been able to afford it. Once they get that confidence that they can get in place like community college, then they will be prepared to go from there.

What did you do after City College?  I attended San Diego State  University, got a degree,  worked for FedMart for over 20 years, then for the Price Club, and in 1983 I started  Costco with my partner.

Have you maintained any relationships with people from City College?  Sure, some of them work for us. A very good friend of mine who was a great football player at San Diego Junior College works for us in Salt Lake City. Two or three others also work for us around the country. 

What do you think about City today?  When I look at the school today, I see great diversity. I was there a couple of years ago when Jerome Hunter was the president. It was a diverse school 50 years ago and it’s even more diverse today. I think they’re doing a wonderful job getting young people educated and helping them get into a better position.

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