Ricky Legree, 26, Cedar Rapids
System Test Engineer @ Intermec

California born and bred. Ricky Legree is doing his own California dreamin’ right here in Iowa.

He came here for college and stayed for the opportunity to do a little bit of everything he loves. Computers. Sports. And meeting new people.

Ricky spent most of his days on sunny beaches in Cali, until his dad stumbled upon Cornell College in Mount Vernon. They spoke with football coach Steve Miller and discovered that the Rams offered football, baseball and computer science. The decision was easy.

“I checked out their Web site and asked questions on a couple of phone calls,” Ricky said. “I didn’t even come out for a visit.”

What started out as a leap of faith soon paid off. Ricky played running back for the Rams and lettered all four years in both football and baseball. He was also a member of Cornell’s hockey club. He graduated with a computer science degree in 2005 and got a job as a system test engineer at Intermec in Cedar Rapids.

For fun, Ricky puts his computer skills to work as the technical adviser for Access Iowa, Cedar Rapids’ young professionals organization. He’s also on the social committee.

Still, this former college athlete needed an outlet for his competitive bug. The answer lay in more than a few places.

Ricky plays recreational sand volleyball and slow pitch softball. He’s been an assistant coach at rival Coe College for the last three years. He started playing rugby with the Cedar Rapids Headhunters last spring.

“I’d never seen rugby played before but I heard that there was a team in Cedar Rapids,” he said. “I saw some bumper stickers, found their Web site and e-mailed the coach. After that first practice at Noelridge Park, I was hooked.”

And, earlier this year, he started boxing.

“I started going in January for the fitness aspects, but after four weeks, the coach suggested I fight in the Golden Gloves tournament. I was skeptical but after five more weeks of training, I went to Des Moines and was runner-up in the novice 178-pound division,” Ricky said.

Luckily there are different seasons for some of the activities. And Access Iowa doesn’t have mandatory attendance for programming, allowing Ricky to be present at only what interests him.

“Obviously, I can’t do everything I want in a given week. I try to manage practices and meetings so I miss as little as possible.”

He’ll often work 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., go to Coe for football practice and then head to one of the many other activities.

– JUSTIN

DID YOU KNOW: When Ricky moved to Iowa to go to Cornell College, he hopped on a Greyhound for a 48-hour bus ride. “Someone was supposed to pick me up at the station but that didn’t happen,” Ricky said. “Greyhound left one of my bags in another state. I was lucky enough to have some cash on hand for a cab.”
WHAT HE CAN DO FOR YOU: Ricky is proof that it doesn’t take much to get involved. Need some pointers? He’s your man.