Life Dedicated to Community Service Prompts Fowler Alumnus to Pay It Forward

Second chances are not always easy to come by. 

Jim Reisweber

Fowler College of Business alumnus Jim Reisweber made the most of a second opportunity to enroll at San Diego State University. He earned his management information systems degree in 1978, which helped him pursue his passion for giving back to the community through his full-time position at the Red Cross and his dedicated volunteer service efforts. 

Reisweber, a San Diego native, initially enrolled at SDSU (then called San Diego State College) immediately after graduating from high school in the late 1960’s. “I think I enrolled mostly because a bunch of my friends enrolled, and I wanted to play drums in the marching band,” said Reisweber. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, although I thought I would major in biology.” 

A Controversial Decision

But it wasn’t Reisweber’s fate to be a biologist. “I wasn’t doing very well in school, hadn’t developed good study habits, and I decided to leave college,” he said. “That was when the draft was instituted, so instead of getting drafted, I decided to join the Air Force.” 

Reisweber’s time in the Air Force re-defined his career and educational goals through his exposure to military information systems. “These systems intrigued me,” he said. “So, I decided to pursue a degree in management information systems when I started back to SDSU in 1974.” 

Jim Reisweber greets Barack Obama who visited the national headquarters of the Red Cross during his presidency.   

Tragedy Impacts Career Path

Shortly after graduation, Reisweber’s life of community service began as a volunteer with the Red Cross, and he soon got a firsthand look at the work done by the organization during a real-life disaster. On September 25, 1978, Pacific Southwest Airlines flight 182, on approach to Lindbergh Field, collided mid-air with a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Both planes crashed into San Diego’s North Park neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of 144 people. The San Diego chapter of the American Red Cross was at the site to offer their assistance soon afterward. “I saw the work the Red Cross was doing, and I found out more about their disaster relief program,” said Reisweber. “I thought getting involved with the organization more would be a great way to help the community, and I started working full-time for the Red Cross in June of 1979.” 

Fun Fact #1: During his career with the Red Cross, Reisweber visited all 50 states. 

Reisweber’s first 11 years with the Red Cross was spent in various locations throughout California. In 1990, he took a position at the organization’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he managed information systems in their disaster relief programs. “I spent a lot of time responding to major disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and, of course, the events of 9/11,” he said. 

Though he was now a full-time employee of the Red Cross, this didn’t spell the end of Reisweber’s volunteer work. “I started volunteering for the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in 2003,” he said. “I went through training and became a docent at the Smithsonian Institution’s Stephen H. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport. I spent many weekends and evenings giving tours of the facility, which is the largest single-building museum in the U.S.”

Reisweber ended his volunteer work with the museum and his 38-year career with the Red Cross when he retired in 2015. Even though he spent a quarter-century of his life in the Washington, D.C. area and made many good friends, the Reisweber’s made the decision to retire in his hometown of San Diego. “I never found another place I would rather live,” he said. “For the things I like to do — golf, camping, going to SDSU basketball and football games, as well as Padre baseball games — there isn’t a better place to live.” 

Reisweber was recently given the opportunity to operate a diesel train locomotive.

Giving Back to SDSU

Fun Fact #2: Reisweber is a model railroad enthusiast: He has three model train layouts in his home and is a member of a club through the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.

Though Reisweber was retired from work, he was not retired from giving back to his community. He knew he wanted to leave a lasting legacy at SDSU and decided to leave a substantial planned gift to support the management information systems department in perpetuity. Reisweber’s generosity does not stop there. After further considering how he can make a personal lasting impact at the University, Reisweber decided to fund an endowment that provides scholarships to Fowler College of Business military veterans, like himself. 

Reisweber said that he was inspired to offer the veterans’ scholarship fund to the college by his parents, who instilled in him a desire to pay back his success by helping people. “I especially like the idea of helping those people who have served our country in the armed services,” he said. “Being able to help veterans attending SDSU in the Fowler College of Business is, I believe, a great way to pay back the success I have had in my life.”