2008 Woodie Awards
Alumnus Still Passing TESSTs
Alumnus Profile
Travis Lockhart
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When alumnus R. Wayne Moore purchased the TESST College of Technology in 1984, it was a trade school with one location, roughly 25 staff members and about 200 students. By 2002, when Moore sold the college, it was an accredited two-year institution with four campuses in two states, nearly 2,000 students and over 300 employees.
TESST [Technology Education and Specialized Skills Training] is a private school in Maryland and Virginia that offers an associate degree in network information systems and certificates in computers, health care, legal studies and professions such as refrigeration, heating and air conditioning. Employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, Verizon Communications and other businesses and government agencies are products of TESST.
After completing his associate degree in business management at Catonsville Community College, Moore's choice to attend UB was an easy one. "It was the best school around for business management."
He found that the analytical and problem-solving techniques he learned in his management classes at UB prepared him well for the challenges of managing—and then owning—his own business.
Shortly after graduating from UB in 1972, Moore worked at TESST as an admissions representative. In 1984, after several promotions, he decided to sell his investment to purchase TESST.
Moore attributes his success to simple rules and practices, such as knowing himself. The formal technical school owner readily admits that he's not a technical person.
"You don't have to know it all or make people think you know it all…I'm a businessman, and I knew how to manage people," he said. "I had a knack for identifying people who knew the technical end."
Moore also knew the importance of a good reputation. The chief competitors for TESST and its two-year programs were community colleges that often cost a third of TESST's tuition.
"The only way we could be successful was if students got a good education, got a good job, and told people."
The formula worked, as 70 percent of students went to TESST through word of mouth.
Moore considers himself lucky to have ended up sitting next to Creig Northrop, the president of Maryland's top-selling real estate team, on a flight to Baltimore several years ago. Moore wasn't ready to retire after selling TESST and Northrop was looking for a person to help him grow his expanding real estate business. The two teamed up, and Moore now serves as the director of operations for the Northrop Team.
Moore also continues to serve on the board of directors at TESST.
"I've been very lucky," he said. "But the thing with luck is luck comes along when you prepare and plan ahead."
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